Jay’s Flower Shop
Sharma Building, Rte. 8
Barrigada, GU 96929
By Bryce Guerrero
Derived from the names of Vijay H. Sharma and his brother, Sanjay, Jay’s Flower Shop is Guam’s long-standing provider of decorative floral pieces. After offering its services in Anigua for more than 20 years, the shop moved to Barrigada late last year. Guam Business Magazine sat down with owner Vijay Sharma to talk about the shop’s move, its history and its services.
How did the business start?
Jay’s Flower shop started 20 years ago. We actually had an electronics store — electronics and clothing and a little section of flowers. We saw the flower business and its demand in the Anigua area because there were some other flower shops as well. We decided to stop the electronics, stop the clothing. Before, the name of the store used to be Jay’s Variety Sales, so we changed the name to Jay’s Flower Shop.
Do you operate any other businesses?
Our main business is [property] rentals. Nikki Properties Inc. is our main business. Jay’s Flower Shop is seasonal. The month of October is our main season, but we are still open every day.
What kind of flowers do you offer?
The flowers we sell here are all silk flowers and plastic flowers. This is the only shop on island that only sells silk flowers.
What is your main market?
Mostly it’s locals. It’s seasonal, so the sales pick up in the month of October. Our focus right now is more on the rental side. Once it hits close to the season, we focus more on the silk flowers.
Are there any other peak times for business?
There’s Memorial Day, but the main season is All Soul’s Day.
How is the new location working out?
We had the old branch in Anigua for 20-plus years, and we closed that due to the smaller area. We decided to open this location because it’s around 3,000 square feet. It’s a bigger store, and we’re utilizing the whole first floor. We came here last year in the month of September. It’s picking up. A lot of my customers know that we moved. From there it’s word of mouth that we did move. We own the building, so we don’t pay rent.
Where do you get your products?
It’s all over — from the United States, from China. Other products are from the Philippines. Our Styrofoam is U.S. Styrofoam, and we have China Styrofoam as well, but it’s all mixed products from different places.
What are some of your most popular items?
The crypt arrangements — we are known for this arrangement. All of our arrangements are different. There’s not a single arrangement that you will find that’s exactly similar. Unless a customer wants a special order, then we can make the exact same arrangement.
What are some challenges you face being an owner of a flower shop?
With retail there are a lot of challenges. We just have to wait for the customers, and that’s how we make our sales. This kind of business is a unique business. We just focus more on our season, which is All Soul’s Day. n