Bouquets & berries

摘要

Rose Drummond is well known for its roses and strawberries If Jean-Denis Lampron has his way, travellers on Highway 20 in Quebec won't drive any further until they take a few minutes to drop by his greenhouses -- Rose Drummond -- to buy flowers or fresh strawberries. It's hard not to notice the large colourful billboards on the Jean Lesage Autoroute advertising specials like a dozen roses for 9.95 dollar. In fact, fully half of his marketing budget goes toward the highway signs. "Most of our clients are business people travelling between Quebec City and Montreal," he says, adding that 90 per cent are from outside Drummondville. "The fact that we're open late and 365 days a year is really appreciated." What was once for Jean-Denis a small operationof 5,000 square feet over a decade ago is now one of eastern Canada's largest growers. Rose Drummond has three hectares of greenhouses, in which four million roses are cut and sold each year, fully half of Ouebec's rose production -- and it's all done at retail. Jean-Denis previously counted a few hundred retailers as his client base, but quickly found he had little control over his flowers once shipped, thus preventing him from maintaining the quality of which he is so proud. Despite the best effortsof retailers, there was often a loss in quality. So he moved into retail. "But we did it gradually, we didn't re-invent the wheel. This is common in Europe."