A Legacy In Bloom
A glimpse into four decades of the family-owned Peninsula Flower Shop
Flowers brighten up any room, but more than that, they have huge cultural significance and can mark the most important milestones from the beginning of a life up until the very end. Florist Woo Loh Wai Mui knows something about marking life’s memorable moments.
October marks the Peninsula Flower Shop’s 40th anniversary. Woo Loh’s daughter Sue-lynn Woo-hwa, the shop’s managing director, reflects on its romantic history. “My mum has owned the shop for 40 years, but the business actually started in 1963,” she says, explaining that her mother began her career as an apprentice at the florist, which was originally inside its namesake hotel. “For my mum’s 40th birthday, my dad bought the shop from its original owner, Mrs Talamo. On the day, he gave her a golden key: the key to open the shop. Then she started Peninsula Flower Shop which has been with us for 40 years.”
In 1993, Woo-hwa left her career in banking to undergo two months of intense floristry training in France; upon her return, she became marketing director, working alongside her mother. Clients range from luxury brands to celebrity families, but Woo-hwa is sentimental about all their customers: “We start with you at the beginning: when you have a baby, people send you flowers; when you get married, they send flowers; and then when you die. So we’re walking with you every step of the way.”
Now aged 80, Woo Loh retains her place as chairman, and has passed the day-to-day business over to her daughter. “We really work as a team because she knows the flowers a lot better than me,” says Woo-hwa. “I’m like a spy: I go around town scouting luxury stores or beauty parlours—places that have a need for flowers— then I bring our experts with me to check it out and offer a quote that Mum has put together. She is always stationed in the shop; we have very separate roles, so there’s never been conflict in our relationship.”
Having served Hong Kong’s floral needs for four decades, the Peninsula Flower Shop’s team wants to look to the future. “Before we can set our next big goals, we need to go back to how things were before Covid-19. We were once working with a different brand every day of the week, but with smaller budgets these days, clients want to try plants, which last longer.” Banking on a Hong Kong revival, the motherdaughter duo hopes societal change will ensure their continuing success. “With quarantine being reduced, people are coming back, and businesses will pick up; then we have a chance. There is light at the end of the tunnel.” Besides, no matter what the state of the industry, life’s milestones will always be celebrated— and people will continue to “say it with flowers”.