12-05-2025
The economics of Mother's Day: inside a Wichita flower shop
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Across the nation, people scrambled to buy last-minute gifts for Mother's Day. The single most popular present during the weekend was far and away flowers, generating around $3.2 billion in 2024.
The months from Valentines Day to Mother's Day are the make-or-break season for florists, according to the owner of Tillie's Flower Shop in Wichita. The success of these holidays can determine their success for the rest of the year.
'We do a lot of planning for both those two holidays, I mean Christmas is great too, but that's where we determine whether or not we're going to survive the year,' Ken Denton, owner of Tillie's Flower Shop, said.
With over 500 deliveries and 200 sales up front, every corner of the shop pitches in to turn their storefront into a hub for anyone looking for the mothers in their lives.
'The product has been very good, we've been able to get good help, which for the last few years wasn't the case. Last year it was really hard to find help, it's been a little easier this year,' Denton said.
The shop was founded by his grandfather then passed to him from his parents. Originally, a greenhouse and flower shop, the store renamed to 'Tillie's Flower Shop,' when his mother passed away.
'I mean everybody knew Tillie, she was well known everywhere,' he said. 'I think she'd be pretty impressed the way things have gone … The flower shop was not that big and now we're the largest retail florist in Kansas.'
It's the most profitable time of the year, but months of prep and taking on extra hands increase the price as well.
'Just in the last four days, I had to hire an additional 25 people,' delivery manager for the shop, John Thomas, said.
Their supplemented workforce inflates costs, made slightly worse by tariffs on imported goods.
'We import almost everything. The majority of flowers that we buy come from Ecuador and Columbia,' Denton said.
He says despite flower costs rising between 1% and 3%, Mother's Day 2025 ended as one of their biggest ones yet.
'Being able to help people celebrate a holiday like Mother's Day. It feels good, it also feels good in the bank,' Denton said.
He says despite the tariffs, he was able to keep his prices the same.
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