April 7, this year marked forty years since Sam and Josie Renato started their floral business in Shepparton.
Sam had been a chain store manager in Shepparton and was not happy with his transfer to Melbourne, so he returned with his wife to Shepparton and considered what they might do once here.
Sam and Josie initially established a small business trading on indoor plants and garden nursery items but within a couple of years, found that cut flowers began to take over.
The pair developed a thriving business over the years with a lot of promotions. ‘Sam the Flower Man can’ became a still recognisable jingle on the radio and television.
According to Sam, flowers can change a person’s perspective. “There is nothing like fresh flowers to make you feel good,” said Sam.
These days, the business mainly deals mainly in high-end floral arrangements and special occasion flower supplies. Sam is a regular visitor to locations around town making flower deliveries and Renato’s has been the official floral provider at hundreds if not thousands of weddings and funerals over the years.
Staying in business forty years is a notable achievement and Sam and Josie are to be congratulated on staying the course, but as Sam said, it is getting close to the time when they might retire.
