Greenleaf Wholesale Florist, headquartered in Brighton, CO, announced the appointment of Robert Kitayama as president. He succeeds Scott Kitayama, who has led Greenleaf for the past 13 years but is now stepping down to pursue other interests inside and outside of Greenleaf.

He is also the current president at Kitayama Bros. in Watsonville, CA, and previously spent 14 years at Greenleaf in various management positions. The Kitayama group of companies has been growing and distributing flowers in the United States for over 67 years.

Robert KitayamaAnother announcement from Greenleaf is the recent hiring of Rob Spikol as the chief operating officer. Spikol has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of the floral industry and he has already implemented some changes in store operations.

The Produce News recently asked Robert Kitayama about his new role and the reorganization at Greenleaf.

TPN: How were you chosen to take the helm at Greenleaf?

RK: For many years my brother Scott and I have worked closely together. Scott served over 13 years as the CEO and he felt he wasn’t the person who could change Greenleaf to succeed in the future. I have worked for Greenleaf in the past and know its strengths, weaknesses and culture. I also have observed who is succeeding in wholesale floral from my position at Kitayama Bros. The best wholesale florists are aware of customers’ needs and are taking advantage of technology and transportation advances to service their customers. I wanted the opportunity to modernize and make Greenleaf more competitive.

TPN: What structural changes do you foresee within the organization and what will be your main focus in the coming year?

RK: Previously Greenleaf had a system of regional managers overseeing several stores. We have gone back to a strong single manager in each store, overseen by our new COO Rob Spikol. We are bringing in “young blood” and have new managers — Ashley McCollum in Tupelo, MS, and Tina Allen in Jackson, MS. We also have brought back veteran managers — Dennis Wilson in Dallas and Randy Reina in San Antonio — to improve those stores.

TPN: What is your vision for Greenleaf and will it include a closer relationship with Kitayama Bros.?

RK: Greenleaf has to understand “flower distribution of the future.” We believe it will be online availability, supported by local brick-and-mortar cross-docking or direct shipping. On Oct. 12, Greenleaf launched new Enterprise Resource Planning software provided by Epicor. This software will eventually allow our customers to see flower availability in our coolers and our partners’ coolers. A large part of what we will offer in the future will be Kitayama Bros. flowers through Greenleaf. Every buyer wants to get as close to the source as possible. Greenleaf will be a direct conduit from producers like Kitayama Bros.

TPN: Do you see Greenleaf expanding into any additional markets around the country?

RK: Greenleaf can expand into every market in America. Like many other wholesalers and shippers, the customers are not limited to proximity to a physical store to be able to buy from Greenleaf. As far as physical locations, currently there are many opportunities to acquire wholesale florists. If Greenleaf knows there is an advantage to having a location in a target market, we might look to acquisition.

TPN: Do you see Greenleaf becoming more involved with the mass market?

RK: Greenleaf must look at all aspects of the floral industry and mass market is the biggest segment. We are looking for more ways to service the mass market in the area of local fulfillment, re-delivery or local bouquet manufacturing, mainly to smaller chains.

TPN: How do you find the time for all the different hats you wear?

RK: I can only get my work done through good people. Both Greenleaf and Kitayama Bros. have good people, but to keep up we must hire the next generation of great staff and that is one of our great current challenges.

TPN: What do you think Greenleaf will look like in five years or in 10 years?

RK: In five years I will have transferred the management to a younger, smarter CEO. I believe Greenleaf’s look and feel will be much younger as we try to attract younger employees and customers. Ten years from now, I don’t want to guess. The iPhone is only 8 years old and Twitter is 9 years old -- flower delivery by drone might be “old school” by then.

TPN: Do you have anything that you would like our readers to know?

RK: We want to thank our customers for all their support as we are working to build a better company. Sometimes while under construction, we make messes but bear with us — we believe you will like the results.