Standing among the colorful decor at Floro Distributing in Corpus Christi are (right to left) owner Greg Posada; his wife, Diana Posada; son, Andrew Posada; staff Yolanda Salinas, Adrian Alaniz, Alice Riojas, ‘Grandmother’ Matilda Rodriguez and Sandra Zamora. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Though the brightly painted yellow warehouse on the corner of Baldwin and Rosewood might not seem like it from the outside, inside is a floral designer’s paradise. Colorful ribbons, arrays of decorative supplies and rainbow rows of artificial flowers line the aisles and walls of Floro-Distributing Inc. in Corpus Christi.
“Our store has all the floral arrangements you need for your special event — from wedding bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres to baby shower decor, funeral wreaths and quinceañera supplies,” said owner Greg Posada, noting that his company only sells artificial flowers, not real ones.
Since the late 1970s, Floro Distributing has provided wholesale florist supplies to local shops and businesses across the Coastal Bend. The company was originally started by Posada’s older sister, Maria Rita Flores.
“My sister had a small warehouse and a garage where she operated from,” Posada told Corpus Christi Business News. “She provided wholesale artificial flowers and florist supplies.”
When her son, Johnny Joe Flores, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in the early 1990s, he helped her expand the warehouse to include a showroom. After Maria Rita Flores retired in 2010 because of illness, her son continued to run the business. Not long after, he had a stroke, which caused permanent brain damage. His mother devoted her life to caring for him and was about to close shop.
“That’s when my wife and I decided to relocate from the Valley to support her,” Posada said.
He and wife, Diana, had successfully operated their own floral shop in McAllen. They helped Flores bring Floro Distributing Inc. to another level.
“Instead of being entirely wholesale, we decided to make it a retail store as well, which increased our customer base,” Posada said. “In addition, we decided to hire floral designers with my wife, Diana, and her mother, Matilda, among them. Being able to create floral arrangements in house gives our customers more product options.”
In addition to special-occasion arrangements, bouquets and corsages, Floro Distributing also markets itself as “Homecoming Headquarters” for local schools.
“During high school football season, we get a lot of orders for homecoming items like mums and trinkets,” he continued. “Not only do we make the mums, we have a lot of people who buy the materials and accessories to do it themselves.”
A major aspect of Posada’s business strategy is encouraging clients to ‘copy’ or ‘imitate’ the company’s original floral arrangements.
“Besides weddings, quinceañeras and baby showers, we also do funeral arrangements using artificial flowers,” he said. “We make wreaths and crosses. Much of the time, however, customers will come and take photos of our designs and will try to copy them on their own. We just sell them the materials.”
Flores died in 2015 at the age of 86.
“We decided to keep the business going because we are one of the very few distributors in Corpus Christi that carries the supplies needed by our clients,” Posada said. “We get orders from all parts of the Coastal Bend, which includes Alice, Robstown, Sinton, Odem, Mathis, Benavides and more. They depend on us and rely on the services and products that we’re providing.”
After 40 years in business in Corpus Christi, Floro Distributing has seen several generations of customers.
“I recently had a customer who told me that my sister was the one who helped her get materials for her own quinceañera,” Posada said. “Now, she came back to us to get items for her own daughter’s quinceañera. It makes me feel so happy when customers come back and share stories about my sister.”
While Floro Distributing’s clients are mostly florists and local businesses, it also caters to a rising number of individuals who work from home making their own arrangements as well as do-it-yourself hobbyists inspired by what they see on social media.
“We specialize in customer service and freely share our design ideas with them,” Posada said. “We follow up and keep stock of materials that are currently trending and popular right now.”
As for passing the business along to the next generation, Posada feels his own children are interested in different pursuits.
“My wife and I have two sons, one is a senior at Southern Methodist University majoring in mechanical engineering and physics, the older one is a tax lawyer in Los Angeles,” he said. “My other children from a previous marriage are working either in real estate, accounting or pharmaceuticals, so we’re not sure what will transpire in the future. As for now, we plan to continue taking Floro Distributing Inc. to multiple levels. Now that we’re no longer strictly wholesale, we can advertise more to the retail market.”
Posada feels that keeping the business successful is one of the ways he can honor his sister’s legacy.
“Even though we are really busy, and I myself am still working at 78 years old, I thank God for giving us all another day that we are still able to keep on going and helping the business my sister began to continue to flourish,” he said.
Floro Distributing Inc. is located at 625 Rosewood St. in Corpus Christi. For more information, call (361) 884-2610 or fax (361) 884-2680. Like Floro Distributing on Facebook.
