Flower Research Lands in O Magazine

Along with advice on how to lose five pounds fast and be realistic about love, the November issue of O, the Oprah Magazine, is giving 50 million readers a whopping seven-page dose of flower power.

The article, "The Healing Power of Flowers: they don't just make you happier - they can make you healthier," explores why flowers make people happy. It highlights SAF's Emotional Impact of Flowers Study, saying, "100 percent of women presented with a flower bouquet would react with what scientists call the Duchenne smile, a genuine smile.... There was no such unanimity among the women presented with other gifts."

The study's lead researcher, Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., expanded on the findings, saying, "I've been doing this for a long time. You never get 100 percent in any experiment."

The coverage is particularly good news for the floral industry. "Seeing our research highlighted in any publication is a big step. Getting Oprah magazine to devote so much ink to our study is a gigantic leap for the floral industry," says Dwight Larimer, AAF, chairman of SAF's Consumer Marketing Committee. "The fact that this study was conducted six years ago and is still generating premier news coverage is a testament to the power and value of strategic public relations," he added. 

In fact, Oprah Winfrey's ability to propel a product or idea to must-have status is so well documented that marketers have a name for it, "the Oprah Effect."

The coverage is a direct result of SAF's Fund for Nationwide Public Relations, a voluntary industry-wide promotional effort that has generated more than 685 million consumer impressions to date.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Tenn. Florists and Deceptive Order Gatherer Square Off

Teleflorist, Inc., of Southampton, Pa., a floral order gatherer, has agreed to give every Tennessean who placed an order with the company $40 in restitution, after misrepresenting itself as a local Tennessee business in 39 cities, using more than 50 assumed company names.

The restitution is part of an agreement between Teleflorist (in no way affiliated with the wire service Teleflora) and the Tennessee state government, reached after Tennessee Attorney General Paul G. Summers filed suit against them on behalf of the Division of Consumer Affairs in Sept., 2006. 

The total amount to be paid out to 413 Tennessee consumers is $16,000. Teleflorist also has agreed to pay $13,000 to Tennessee, to stop representing itself as a local business and to disconnect all of their phone listings.

The Tennessee State Florists' Association (TSFA) brought the matter to the attention of the director of consumer affairs, Mary Clement, in May, 2006, and then met with the attorney general in July, 2006. "We did all of our homework, prior to going [to the meeting]" says TSFA executive director Jerry Hankins, AIFD.

Despite this victory, the battle with companies like Teleflorist isn't over, he says. "We're still fighting this," says Hankins. "There are a couple more companies...that we know are doing the same thing."

Find out more about the deceptive phone listing issue, as reported in "Will the Real Local Florist Please Stand Up," published in the September 2005 issue of Floral Management.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Live Christmas Trees or Artificial?

When it comes to Christmas trees, more Americans are choosing plastic over the real deal, according to two separate reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service recently released a report showing live tree sales peaked four years ago at $517 million. Similarly, an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted two years ago shows that 58 percent of Americans bought an artificial tree for the holidays.
 
That doesn't mean consumers are turning their backs on live options, say some florists. At Bachman's, the nation's largest family-owned flower retailer, located in the Twin Cities, units of fresh trees still outsell permanent trees, but permanent trees have a slight edge in total retail sales, Paul Bachman says. 
 
"The trend in recent years has been that unit sales of fresh trees have remained fairly steady," he says, adding that fluctuations are usually due to "weather on key weekends." 
 
Artificial tree sales "have seen very healthy growth for the past few years as pre-lit trees have come down in cost and up in quality," Bachman says. "Many people who have owned a permanent tree but have had to put their own lights on are shifting into the new pre-lit trees. The newest pre-lit trees have LED (light-emitting diode) lights which are extremely reliable, last for 20 years and use less than 20 percent of the electricity that conventional Christmas lights do." (Check out this week's E-Poll, at the left, to chime in on pre-lit Christmas tree sales.)
 
The average cost of a live tree is $33.80, compared to $68.80 for an artificial, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents tree growers. The association's own survey shows an increase to 32.8 million trees sold last year, a jump of more than 10 million trees compared to the number sold in 2002. The group estimates consumers bought 9.3 million artificial trees last year, 85 percent of which were made in China.

If you sell Christmas trees, do you see a trend in the sale of live or artificial trees? Send your comments to mbarton@safnow.org.

--Mary Ann Barton
mbarton@safnow.org

 
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Flower Shop Practicing Floral Therapy

Four years after a rehabilitation center launched Urban Meadows, a flower shop in Chicago, the business is thriving -- and employees are crediting the shop's success to the healing power of flowers. "It's a miracle how well I am doing," says employee Theresa Marie Weber. "Progression of my mental health has heightened -- I attribute it to Urban Meadows."

Weber is one of about six employees who suffer from mental illness. Urban Meadows employs nine employees, in total. Originally a vocational horticultural program started by Thresholds Rehabilitation Services, Urban Meadows is now a full-fledged non-profit flower shop. "It has become a viable business," says Leslie Skopick, the shop's manager.

Usually referred, sometimes by a caseworker, Thresholds members go through a normal hiring process: they submit a resume, fill out an application, and are interviewed. Employees are involved in all aspects of the store's business, from floral design to processing to driving.  And Thresholds member employees seem to love their jobs. "Its great," says Weber. "I learn something new every day."

SAF has conducted research (unrelated to this story) documenting the positive impact of flower on people.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Ohio Florist's Holiday Wish: New Roof

That slow drip in the ceiling of your flower shop could be a sign that it's time to get your roof checked. A florist in Lancaster, Ohio, found that out the hard way last week, when two inches of rain that fell the night of Oct. 16 did more than $70,000 in structural damage. "It's just a royal mess -- I've never dealt with a disaster like this," says Roger Morgan, owner of Flowers Designed by Roger, which has been in business for 28 years, including 25 years at the same site.

When he came to work on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at about 6:30 a.m., he noticed ceiling tiles on the floor and water dripping from the ceiling. He had a casket spray order to get out by 10 and went to grab a bucket, moving some plants out of harm's way. After more tiles fell, he propped up a sign outside the store that read: "Roof Emergency, Use Side Door."

By 8, the drips had turned into streams of water. As he and two employees grabbed more buckets, they heard the ceiling crack followed by a roaring sound. "I said 'Let's run for the back door,'" Morgan said. A wall of water and debris came rushing at them but no one was hurt. Morgan smelled natural gas though and called 911. City emergency officials arrived and immediately turned the gas off.

Thanks to a good insurance policy, Morgan got a check to help cover payroll and other expenses for the month; the roof repair, as well as renovation costs were also covered. "It's a business policy that covers everything imaginable," Morgan said of his coverage.

Even if you're already insured, check to see that it covers everything from real property and personal property to business interruption, according to John Hodapp of Hortica Insurance & Employee Benefits.

One aspect of Morgan's set-up that minimized damage: His office is located in a different part of the building, so his business records were not damaged.

Morgan will operate out of the undamaged part of the store (about 2,500 square feet out of a total 4,000) during renovation. "We're flip-flopping the store, our design room will now be where part of our showroom used to be," Morgan said. He's relying mostly on phone orders since his front entrance is closed, although he's put up a sign "Yes, We're Open," as well as an "Open" sign on his back door. He hopes to be fully open by the end of November, in time for the holiday season.

And that casket spray? "That was my biggest concern," Morgan said. "My designer had just started working on it. I told the fireman we had to find a place...we made a makeshift design table and went right on."

--Mary Ann Barton
mbarton@safnow.org

 
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'Gen Y' Wields Spending Power

Move over, Baby Boomers. According to a USA Today story, Generation Y -- people born from 1982 to 2000 -- are now "on top of the consumer food chain."

"They are more demanding and more savvy than they feel they're given credit for," Kelly Mooney, an online marketing expert, told the newspaper. "In some instances, they think they know more than the person selling them something."

To prove her point, Mooney pointed to findings, recently released at the National Retail Federation Conference, showing that 13- to 21-year-olds influence more than 80 percent of their families' apparel purchases and 52 percent of car choices. Generation Y is more influential than previous generations, she says, because it is bigger (82 million people) and because its members "have spending power and strong opinions at an earlier age."

Generation Y members' pet peeves include slow Web sites (those requiring more than three seconds to load), dismissive sales staff and shipping that takes more than two days, Mooney said.  At the same time, merchandise that's either extremely inexpensive or elite can attract their attention.

Read about one shop that tapped into the teen market in "Know Y?" from Floral Management's February 2004 issue. Find out how to attract Generation X by updating the look of your business with "Do You Have X-Appeal?" from Floral Management's August 2006 issue.

--Mary Westbrook
mary.westbrook@gmail.com

 
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Industry Exec Talks Flowers at Texas A&M

Rather than fight over existing customers, the floral industry must find a way to convince more U.S. consumers to buy flowers, according to Ernesto Velez, chairman of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores). Velez was the keynote speaker at the International Floriculture Distinguished Lecture, held earlier this month at Texas A&M University.

"The oversupply of flowers requires action," he said. "We need to increase the per capita consumption and grow the pie, rather than fight over smaller slices. We need Americans to buy more flowers more often."

Velez's speech touched on myriad aspects of the international floral industry, including emerging growing regions, such as China, and the positive effect the industry's presence has had on Colombia.

"(In Colombia,) the flower industry provides many, many jobs," Velez said. "These are people who, if they did not have these jobs, would either end up with the guerrillas or the drug trade. So in terms of security, its impact is very important."

Colombia is the No. 1 exporter of flowers to the U.S. and the No. 2 worldwide. About 1 million people in Colombia derive their income from floriculture and related industries, according to Velez.

--Mary Westbrook
mary.westbrook@gmail.com

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Companies Hope 'Red' Means Green

To raise money to fight AIDS in Africa -- and to make a profit of their own -- companies like Gap, American Express and Motorola are unveiling new product lines under an umbrella brand name, Red. If the campaign is successful, analysts say it could change the way for-profit businesses contribute to the non-profit world.

Spearheaded by U2 singer Bono and Bobby Shriver, a California politician, the campaign could raise "hundreds of millions of dollars annually," according to a story on Oct. 4 in The New York Times. Participating companies' products, including music players and cell phones, were unveiled this month and will be available for at least five years. A portion of profits from all product sold will got to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Unlike previous cause-related marketing plans, Red "has the potential to create a profitable fund-raising model for the retail industry, which in the past has sold mainly trinkets that helped burnish the company image rather than increase the bottom line," according to the story. In Britain, Red products have been available since February and have generated more than $10 million for the Global Fund, a figure that is twice what the fund received from companies and individuals from 2002 to 2006, Richard Feachem, the group's executive director, said to the Times.

"I could go with my begging bowl every year to a major corporation and say 'give me some money,' and they might give me a one-off contribution, but it wouldn't be large and it wouldn't be sustainable," Feachem said. "Red is intrinsically sustainable because Red is good for the companies."

--Mary Westbrook
mary.westbrook@gmail.com

 
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Discussion on Safnow.org: Soaking Large Foam Forms

On SAF's discussion forum, members are talking about the best way to soak large foam forms, especially those for sympathy work, so that there are no dry spots. Read about the various solutions.

Other issues being discussed:

Advent wreaths
Valentines Day sales projection

Or, start your own discussion.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Product Spotlight: Consumer Poinsettia Brochure

Help dispel the myth of poisonous poinsettias by giving customers SAF's Consumer Poinsettia Brochure. It explains that, contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not poisonous (and there is research to prove it!). The brochure also includes poinsettia history and care tips.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Members Say "No" to Personal Music Players

Fifty percent of readers who responded to last week's e-poll say they do not allow employees to listen to personal music players. Ten percent said they sometimes allow the practice, and nine percent allow it. For the remaining 31 percent, the question has not been an issue in their businesses.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Seniors can bring Christmas Cheer to Poinsettia Sales

Source: Ipsos FloralTrends Consumer Tracking Study, 2005

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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