Women breaking barriers in New Covent Garden

When Zest Flowers and Arnott & Mason joined forces with Floral Trade Group just over 18 months ago, the newly formed company Green & Bloom (G&B) immediately became the largest in New Covent Garden Flower Market and set out ambitious nationwide expansion plans, including an online platform selling 15,000 flower and plant lines.

But while G&B remains firmly committed to its Nine Elms base, the introduction of three women to its sales team has not only provided the business with valuable new skills and a new perspective, but also promises to shake up the dynamic at the traditionally male-dominated Market.

But, as we discovered, the introduction of Account/Sales Managers Brogan McGuinness, 30, Lara Richens, 31, and Fiona Christensen, 32, was an important part of the project for G&B Managing Directors Graeme Diplock and Freddie Heathcote. We met up with the team to find out why.

FTM: G&B are the first flower and plant trader in the Market to employ multiple women as salespeople and account managers. It’s a significant change of direction and a real line in the sand moment for the Market – why do you think they have done that?

Fiona: I think Graeme and Freddie are progressive in the sense that they are always looking to evolve and take things in the direction that serves our customers best. The Zest/Arnott & Mason merger, the development of online sales and the modernising of our business structure have shown that in the last 18 months, And when they brought the three of us in, it’s clearly not just because we’re women, but I think they know that it was an important part of the equation.

Brogan: They saw that the business and the Market environment were ready for change. They didn’t just want woman to come and work here – they wanted women who had skills and knowledge that would add value to what Green & Bloom does.

Fiona: It’s quite a brave thing to take on – to change the way you work in a market that has been doing it this way for so long.

Lara: No-one else has done it yet, but there’s no doubt everyone has been watching what’s happening here with interest. A lot of the old ideas about women working in the wholesale market and working these hours will hopefully be changing.

FTM: What points of difference do you think the three of you bring to the trading floor?

Lara: There are a lot more smaller businesses and non-trade customers who come in these days. The regular, long-term customers don’t need to ask as many questions - like ‘how long will these last, upside down and out of water?’ The boys who have worked here for years are hugely knowledgeable, but probably not ideal for answering some of the more specific floristry questions, which Fi and I can.

Fiona: They will know far better than we do where the best version of a particular variety of rose comes from at a given time of the year and lots of other stuff, so we complement each other brilliantly.

Brogan: With our different areas of expertise, I think we cover all bases now. Customers definitely seem to like that.

FTM: You all knew the Flower Market pretty well before you came to work for G&B. Do you think you and other women working here might be changing the feel and the dynamic of the Market?

Fiona: We obviously don’t think about it every day, but there probably has been a change. It’s true that to a customer, particularly new and particularly female, the Market could appear intimidating, loud or overwhelming. And to some people, that can be daunting.

Lara: I think the presence of more women possibly softens the edges a bit for some customers.

Brogan: [laughing] Don’t mess with us though, we’re not pushovers!

Lara: What Green & Bloom have done reflects the evolving Market and creative industry. The people we serve are no longer just florists, gardeners or vendors – we are also finding we have an influx of customers such as production companies, fashion houses and interior designers.

Brogan: It’s the same with plants – when I started here, most of my customers would be men, largely market stallholders and increasingly now, I’m serving more people with shops or working from home, especially with our online service which makes buying from home for collection so much easier and they can escape the early morning.

FTM: Has working in the Market lived up to your expectations?

Fiona: Previously I’d spent plenty of time in the Market as a customer and so I was aware of the job I was taking on. It is a lot more running around than I anticipated but it is always such fun and there’s lots of banter.

Brogan: I think the banter and laughs is what makes the job what it is. It’s what we enjoy and what makes the Market such a unique place.

Lara: Maybe it’s luck and maybe they saw it in us, but I think we were the right type of people to start this process. We are all different characters and have different attributes and personalities that each bring something unique to the stand.

Fiona: One of the most important things about the Market is there is always room to just be ‘you’. When there are tough moments, and everything is going at a million miles an hour, Graeme will always crack a joke that just lightens the mood and you forget that you were even rushed off your feet.

Brogan: The people are definitely the best thing about working here. I love the flowers and the plants, but 100% it’s the people.

Lara: Someone asked me what I’d done at work the other day. I couldn’t really remember the specifics, but I did know that I’d spent the whole day laughing. Not every day is like that, but lots of them are. Something I wasn’t expecting was how you might walk in to work when it’s dark outside, it could be hammering it down with rain, but walk in and forget it’s the middle of the night.

Fiona: It’s a nice environment to be in – you’re not in a horrible location looking at a computer screen, you’re surrounded by people you like and beautiful flowers and plants.

Brogan: And if you’re ever having a tough day, there is always someone here to give you a cuddle. Not just your colleagues - your good customers are your friends. You certainly see them more than your friends out of work!

FTM: How have the men in the firm responded to you being there?

Lara: The boys welcomed us into the family straight away and it might sound like a cliché, but it really is like a family.

Brogan: Yes, sometimes they’re like annoying brothers!

Fiona: They do look out for us though – not in a chauvinistic way, more because they care and know we’d do the same for them.

Brogan: We’re all able to take a joke and give as good as we get and we all put the work in. That might alter a few old-fashioned expectations.

Lara: So many people work from home these days, I don’t think getting up at 12.30am would suit everybody. This probably isn’t the right job for every woman by any means, just as it wouldn’t be the right job for every man.

To get the management view on the thinking behind impact the three women have made and how they came to employ them, we spoke to Graeme Diplock. He said: "We needed to change things around, both at Green & Bloom and in the Market. We wanted to up our game and make sure that we were delivering exactly what our customers needed and desired, but more than that, we wanted to change the perspective that people had of us as a business and of the Market generally.

A lot of the customers here are women and while the majority were happy to be served by men, it’s still important to be mindful of anyone who would feel more comfortable with there being more women around. I think from a business point of view too, it can make things a bit more relaxed and balanced sometimes. Obviously, this is nothing against men, but maybe at times there has been a bit too much testosterone flying about!

Fiona, Lara and Brogan have been great. They are still relatively new to the Market – it certainly took me a long time to get completely bedded in when I started all those years ago, but they knew the industry before they came to Green & Bloom and they were used to the hours and the environment to a certain extent. The impact they have already made is fantastic and will stand us and them in good stead for the future.

I think some of the other firms in the Market are looking at the girls on our team and asking themselves whether they can do the same. That can’t be a bad thing, can it? There are far more women in the Market than there used to be, and it’s already changed the dynamic – we’ll certainly employ more women if we can and it won’t surprise me at all if we see a lot more women coming into the Market during the next couple of years. We are flying as a firm; we’ll definitely need more people."

The girls in profile

Brogan

I worked on my uncle’s stand at Colombia Road Flower Market for a while and then in hospitality – bars and events. My uncle, John Sait, also worked at New Covent Garden Market and he got me in as a Saturday girl at the Plant Stand. I loved it and almost immediately, I was working more days, although I was also packing fruit at New Spitalfields Market and working in hospitality at the same time. I’ve always been busy - I also had a spell as a teaching assistant and a few months as a football coach for kids in New York and New Jersey!  

I worked with flowers before I worked with plants, but now I guess I’ve become a bit of a plant specialist. I didn’t have any real desire to work in the flower industry or in markets, like most things in my life so far, it was just the way it went. The Plant Stand isn’t in the market any longer and Freddie asked me whether I fancied coming and working for him. Of course, I did and now I’ve been at Green & Bloom for about 15 or 16 months. I love it!

Lara

I studied Fine Art at university and although I enjoyed it, I realised that there wasn’t going to be much money in it for me. So, I went to Merrist Wood and did a floristry qualification as well as working in a local shop as florist. I then became a Lead Creative for contracts at a top florist in East London. Part of the role involved buying from the Market so knew the environment already, and I was also often at my hotel clients before they opened up in the morning, so I was used to the early hours too.

I worked with Fiona and when she was offered the role at Green & Bloom, I was going through a tough time in the job. I handed my notice in soon afterwards and Graeme called and said, ‘why don’t you come and work for me?’ My family ran TA Miller Ltd, a company in old Covent Garden and the previous flower market at New Covent Garden.

My mum and dad actually met through it – she was the granddaughter of the owner and he worked for the business. My parents (and I) were delighted to know that I was moving back into the wholesale flower industry because I think they felt like I was in some way returning to our family’s home.

Fiona

I grew up on a foliage farm in Nelspruit, South Africa and then moved to London seven years ago after completing my Fine Art degree. I desperately tried to find a job – any job, but the job market in London was so saturated so I really struggled!  My first role was as a matron at a boarding school, where I was responsible for looking after a lot of 7-year-olds, which was an interesting experience but not one I could see myself doing forever. I wanted to move back to my creative and outdoor roots so did course in floristry at the Flower Appreciation Society.

I really wanted to be a florist so started working for a couple of shops whilst freelancing at the same place as Lara in East London, which later became a full-time roll. We worked closely together for about two months in the contracts team, and we gelled really well, but they split us up, probably because our skills were valuable across a wider area, and so we didn’t work so much together after that.

After what was a miserable Christmas, Graeme called and asked me whether I’d be interested in working for him and I jumped at the chance. I haven’t looked back since! It also meant Lara and I finally got to work together again which was an added bonus.