They are Long, the Days of Wine and Roses
From finance to flowers, Danielle Gubbay, Chief Executive of online rose delivery company Roses Only opens up to Riddle
Article and photography by Andy Barnham
For most Australians, there is only one place to purchase roses and flowers for weddings, engagements and Valentine’s Day and that is Roses Only. Founded by James Stevens in Sydney in 1995, the business has been running successfully for over 20 years supplying roses in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Looking to expand into the UK market, James was in London in June 2015 searching for someone to lead the Roses Only expansion and attending various networking events where two different, unconnected, people recommended the same individual and fellow Aussie, Danielle Gubbay. Working in the world of finance, Danielle had been living in London for three years and was stepping into a board meeting when an Australian number flashed up on her mobile and James invited her to meet with him. Familiar with the brand from her youth Danielle was honoured to be considered and saw the passion that James had for Roses Only. Unsurprising given her financial background, Danielle completed her due diligence in regards to the UK market and the figures, and seeing an offer clearly too good to pass up, promptly left her 11 year banking career.
Coming on board with Roses Only, already in the UK market for 18 months, in November last year, Danielle cuts a calm figure in her Notting Hill flat as she explains she is Roses Only, UK. While she works with wholesalers, florists and courier companies, as the only UK employee, the buck starts and stops with her. In her previous role, if she was out of the office, the self generating momentum of the banking machine would continue without her; not so at Roses Only, which makes her demeanour even more impressive. However her background in start ups, capital raising and managing multiple stake holders makes her the ideal person to push Roses Only forward in the UK.
So why roses and what makes Roses Only so special? Danielle explains that a simple rule of thumb when buying roses is the stem length; the longer the stem, the larger the flower head and the longer the flower life. All of Roses Only roses are long stemmed and come from Ecuadorian farms located at an altitude of 3,000m or more. This means that the normal growing cycle of the roses is 15 weeks, compared to the norm of eight weeks, leading to thicker and longer stems of approximately 70 cm, able to hold a flower height of 5- 6 cm with the flowers staying fresh for two weeks. All the farms are fair trade and organically certified with the roses flown and arriving in the UK within one day of being picked. Arriving at New Covent Garden Market the roses are put straight into water for a day to recover having been transported flat in a cool temperature with heat tags (used once a month) to ensure no heat spikes during the transportation process to ensure freshness.
Danielle reveals that, at 75 per cent, the majority of her clients are men gifting for women who know and trust the brand to deliver a romantic statement rose. Roses Only deliver to London addresses within a day and next day UK wide, perfect for men who are frequently creatures of the last minute variety. Following regular calls from customers seeking assurance the roses have arrived, Danielle is about to implement an SMS text message service whereby clients are informed of both the delivery time window and confirmation of delivery. From being picked in Ecuador to arriving at a UK doorstep within two days, Roses Only control the whole process, unlike other online companies who use multiple florists to fulfil their orders, ensuring quality and speed other competition can not compete with.
Of the roses on offer, Roses Only’s most popular offering are the red ‘Explorer’ roses, with the firm gearing up for upcoming Valentine’s Day orders. By far and away the largest event on the calendar, Valentine’s Day sees one third of yearly sales occurring for just one occasion, with notable other days being Mother’s Day and also Chinese Valentine’s Day, held in August on a fortuitous double 7 date according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Though the bulk of Roses Only’s turnover is for individuals, the brand is part of HSBC’s Loyalty Programme and Danielle is looking at other corporate supply opportunities. Through her love of horses and having ridden in Hyde Park, Danielle also offers a 10 per cent discount to the Household Cavalry.
Danielle admits that while necessary, it is sometimes hard to take a step back and reassess the big picture, stressing how important it is to stay flexible and not rest on any laurels. Current collaborations see Roses Only deliver full and half bottles of Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon champagnes with Danielle in ongoing talks with boutique chocolatiers as the next project. The relationship with these two august champagne houses had been nurtured by James in Australia and Danielle was able work off the existing goodwill when setting up the Roses Only brand here. The aim is to grow brand awareness and sales with sights set on Europe once UK domination has been achieved. 
Enquiries: Roses Only/ 0208 772 6699/ www.rosesonly.co.uk