Business
International Floriculture Industry Leader Chooses Peachtree Corners for Headquarters
Garcia Group recently located its main office and showroom for Flora Mart in Technology Park.
Pete Garcia, a recent inductee, and recipient of the highest floral honor in the industry from the Society of American Florists Floriculture Hall of Fame doesn’t mind that he’s not a household name. But anybody in the floral industry — retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, growers, wholesalers, importers, and event florists, as well as floral students, educators and researchers — have probably heard of the man who has been a major player for more than 60 years.
His contributions to the advancement of floriculture and his never-ending advocacy for floral research, scholarships, and grants are why the highest honor of the floral industry was bestowed upon him.
During his acceptance speech, Garcia acknowledged the hard work and dedication of his family and staff. “We hope that we have left a footprint in the industry and that we’re all successful through what we have accomplished together,” he said.
Besides his strong work ethic and business savvy, Garcia hopes to encourage younger people to take advantage of opportunities like he did.
Flowery path to success
With his son, David Garcia, now at the helm, Pete has relinquished control of the Garcia Group and Pete Garcia Co. The firm does business across the U.S. and North America as well as Europe.
Garcia’s passion and determination are just as strong as when he first drove a delivery truck for a wholesale flower company in Jacksonville, Fla. “My older brother went to college to be an electrical engineer and the pressure was on me to do something else. I was going to be an architect, but I hated school,” said Garcia.
When he and his first wife were expecting a baby, he just needed a job. So, in 1956, history was made when he decided against college. He took his creativity and earnestness and applied them to the floral industry.
“Our family was very detailed by nature,” he said.
Garcia’s father came to the U.S. from Spain when he was 16. A skilled cabinetmaker, he was a genius who devised floating staircases and other marvels. Garcia Sr. was so dedicated to his craft that his tools have a place of honor in the Flora Mart building.
Garcia applied that same type of ingenuity to his career, and he eventually became an assistant manager for the florist company Carlstedt.
Call it luck or the right opportunity for the right man, but several years later, Pete Garcia found himself a salesman for the eastern zone of the U.S. selling floral supplies. In his first year, he increased the business by $1.2 million. When the owner died four years later, Garcia took over the business.
A year later, 1970, he incorporated the Pete Garcia Co. He’d realized that there was nobody supplying florists with mouth-blown glassware on a large scale. Garcia worked out agreements with several suppliers to smooth out the supply chain.
Peachtree Corners location fits perfectly
After 46 years in Chamblee, the company now has a 30,000 square-foot showroom in what many consider the gateway to north metro Atlanta. The sophisticated, state-of-the-art operation in Peachtree Corners is unique in that it fills the needs of virtually everyone in the floral industry around the world and provides convenient access for domestic and international clients.
“We chose this spot because we didn’t need to be in a retail environment,” Garcia said. “We only sell to wholesalers and growers and creators of the products themselves.”
Although 2023 had just kicked off, the headquarters was already bustling with clients looking to place orders for next Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Related links:
facebook.com/PeteGarciaCompany
Photos by George Hunter