The Smithers Oasis Company recently appointed Mickey Leech as President Smithers-Oasis North America Operations. He succeeds Anne Steward who retired. WFFSA Board member Alex Shibata recently had the opportunity to cover a wide range of topics with Mickey about his career, management style & philosophy, and initial goals.
Q: Alex – Hello Mickey, welcome to the floral industry and thank you for taking the time to talk to WFFSA’s members.
A: Mickey – Thank you for the invitation. I am pleased to have the opportunity to be introduced to WFFSA’s members.
Q: Alex – Why did want to work for Smithers Oasis?
A: Mickey – I was initially attracted to Smithers-Oasis because of its reputation for being a values led company. It feels like a perfect fit with my own values, Dedication to Customers, Quality of products & services, Respect for the individual, Collaboration, and of course Integrity & Trust. Based on my first few customer visits, it seems my values also closely align with the industry’s.
Q: Alex – How do your values translate into action with customers and your new role at Smithers?
A: Mickey – Collectively, our values show up in how we behave. When things get challenging or when tough decisions need to be made, I like dealing with the facts, early and honest discussion about other’s needs, and rapid resolution. Collaboration to me means joint business planning with customers, branch-level problem solving, and shared goals—so we grow our relationship as well as the category together.
Q: Alex – Smithers Oasis is a leader in the floral industry. You are now the leader of that company. Can we expect any major changes?
A: Mickey – I thought COVID-19 was going to last only 2 weeks, so I’m clearly not qualified to be making predictions. If there is one thing I’m certain of, it is this: change is accelerating – and with it comes incredible possibility. That’s why I think it’s so important to be clear about purpose and values. As we work together to navigate changes, we need to stay true to our purposes & values and search for mutually beneficial solutions. Earlier in my career, I learned by supplying professional beauty salons and independent Ag dealers through wholesalers that reliability, product availability, education, and straightforward pricing/programs are best for everyone in the supply chain. Under my leadership I’d like us to continue learning about your customers’ changing needs and adapting accordingly.
Q: Alex – What is your vision for Smithers-Oasis North America over the next few years?
A: Mickey – My vision is for Smithers-Oasis is to continue innovating products and business processes, while strengthening our brand experience. Internally we’re reviving our Lean Thinking culture to ensure processes & systems are adding value to wholesalers. You and your customers will notice more collaboration, a higher level of product availability, and innovative approaches for delivering education.
Q: Alex – Being new to the industry you have a fresh set of eyes on how business is conducted. Do you have any initial thoughts about where the industry is going? For example How do you think about digital transformation and ecommerce?
A: Mickey – Digital changes expectations. If it can be digitized, it will be digitized. Florists continuously reshape their digital related expectations in their personal lives and expectations for their business are then reshaped. I sense we need to do a better job with wider product selections, price transparency, product information & ease of ordering. All of our products should be available from you at a standard price. We want to work with you on special-order and ecommerce models that expand your range without creating operational headaches.
Alex – Thank you for taking the time to tell us a little about yourself and your new role at Smithers-Oasis. We look forward to your participation in the industry.
Mickey – I look forward to meeting more of our customers and learning about the industry at large. I’ll be at FDC in March so that will be a good start.
