BILLINGS — Beautiful roses are a classic gift to give your significant other for Valentines Day, and people across the country are finding that the cost for a dozen of them has risen over the past year, but not at Gainan's Flowers in Billings.
"We've got something for everybody at all price points," said Mick Gainan, co-owner of the flower shop on Monday.
For the next few days, it's all hands on deck at Gainan's prepping for Valentine's Day, with hundreds of orders already on the books.
But other florists across the country have increased prices as much as 40 percent due to supply chain issues. Mick said the floral industry has lost some suppliers over the course of the pandemic.
"It's definitely changed, because there's a lot of suppliers that aren't there anymore. There seems like there's always someone ramping up to take care of the void that there is," Mick said.
Around $100 dollars or more will be the price some pay for a dozen roses this year, but Gainan's customers will find the price on a dozen the same as last year: $79.95. The secret to the steady price is that Gainan's eats the cost instead of passing it on to the customer.
"We just try to have a fair markup on things. Our costs go up during the major holidays, there's no doubt about it, for the product, but there's more volume there. If we're planning and we're taking care of what the requirements are and we have numbers that we shoot to have prepared for the grab and go ready to go flowers, then we're in good shape that way," Mick said.
Mick said it also doesn't hurt that the 71-year-old business has good rapport with its suppliers.
"We're in a tier of being able to get most of the product that we want. And if it's something that we can't get, we take what else they have," Mick said.
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