> FLORAL WHOLESALE IN FLUX


ownership and the growing need for scale. Many emphasized their com- mitment to continuity of service, investment in logistics and technology, and the ability to keep serving local markets in an environment where margins are tight and succession plan- ning has become a pressing concern.


What’s Driving the Acceleration While consolidation in the floral indus- try is not new, the pace has quickened over the past few years — and for rea- sons that go well beyond growth for growth’s sake. Charlie Hall, Ph.D., the Society of


American Florists’ chief economist and the Ellison Chair of Floriculture at Texas A&M University, traces the current wave back to the pandemic, which temporarily reshaped the economics of the floral supply chain.


“They didn’t invest in us to watch


us do the same thing we did yesterday,” Dahlson says. “They’re looking for growth — and for ways to achieve that growth — but we still run the business the way we always have.” Hall emphasizes that the pandemic


surge did not create consolidation so much as accelerate a process already underway. As demand normalized, wholesalers were left navigating a far more complex and costly operating environment. Inflation, rising freight costs, labor shortages, wage increases and tariffs have all squeezed margins since 2021. Those pressures reward opera-


tional efficiency — and scale, Hall says. Larger companies are better positioned to manage waste, logistics, labor fluc- tuations and inventory risk, making consolidation a rational response once markets stabilize.


“When a wholesaler starts to lose its edge or closes with nothing to fill the void, that becomes more


harmful for retailers than a smooth transition.” — Charlie Hall, Ph.D., SAF Chief Economist


“In most perishable industries,


when you go through a global pan- demic and see an expansion of demand, you’re going to see some consolidation occur,” Hall says. “When you have above-average profits, that attracts equity capital.” That influx of capital has become


more visible in recent years. Delaware Valley Floral Group was acquired by a private equity firm in 2023, and in 2025 Mayesh Wholesale Florist entered into a private equity partnership. Pat Dahlson, CEO of Mayesh


Wholesale Florist, says the decision to partner with a private equity firm was driven by long-term growth strategy — which includes opening new locations when acquisitions aren’t the right fit — rather than short-term pressure. The partnership, he says, was designed to support measured growth while allow- ing Mayesh’s leadership and culture to remain intact.


“The cold chain and last-mile deliv-


ery aspects of the supply chain are getting so competitive, and margins are so tight that you have to have economies of scale,” Hall says. “There are fewer empty miles, fuller trucks, and advan- tages to spreading fixed cold-chain and fleet costs over more volume.” That pressure is felt most acutely by


smaller and single-location wholesalers, who have less room to absorb volatility. Hall says those conditions can nudge owners toward selling — not because they want out of the industry, but because scale has increasingly become a survival strategy. “Consolidation is a clean path to


liquidity,” Hall says. “It allows owners to recover some of their equity without just shuttering the doors.”


Succession, Not Surrender Across interviews with wholesal- ers, one theme surfaced repeatedly:


28 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | Mar/Apr 2026 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


Consolidation is often driven less by ambition than by succession planning. John S. Wilkins, CEO of Delaware


Valley Floral Group, says many longtime owners are facing a difficult reality. “When you’ve been working in the


business for 30 years, with long days, and there’s no next generation coming in, you start to look at your options,” Wilkins says. “Most [owners who are selling] aren’t saying, ‘I just want out.’ They want to make sure what they’ve built can carry on — and that their employees are taken care of.” That distinction matters to florists


watching familiar suppliers change hands. Wilkins emphasizes that acqui- sitions are typically initiated by owners seeking continuity, not forced exits. “When an acquisition happens, it’s


usually the result of a wholesaler who is looking at succession planning and sees selling the business as the solution for their family, their employees and their customers,” he says. Bill LaFever, president of Bill Doran


Company, echoes that view, noting that he receives frequent calls from wholesale owners looking to sell, and that many of the wholesalers Bill Doran Company has acquired were owner-led decisions. “A lot of these owners got to the


point where they didn’t want to con- tinue to move boxes and deal with the day-to-day operations and felt the best path, exit path, was to consolidate,” LaFever says. That point underscores how consol-


idation can function as a bridge rather than a break in the supply chain. “When a wholesaler starts to lose


its edge or closes with nothing to fill the void, that becomes more harmful for retailers than a smooth transition,” Hall says.


Scale, Efficiency — and New Capabilities For wholesalers that are acquiring or being acquired, scale is about more than footprint. Executives point to technology investment, logistics coor- dination and purchasing power as benefits that can strengthen service — if managed carefully.


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