Snowstorms Hit Industry Members Hard

Snow blocks the garage doors at Amato Wholesale.

Heather Cross wasn't expecting much snow when she went to her job at Amato Wholesale Florist in Denver on Dec. 20, but by 11 a.m., Cross, facing a massive snowstorm, was letting employees leave.

Cross is one of many industry members affected by the Denver snowstorms (a second snowstorm hit about a week later). The first storm wreaked havoc on the city.

"[It] stopped everything," says Arthur Williams of Babylon Florist in Denver. The Denver airport was shut down for nearly 48 hours, meaning, "a lot of freight wasn't able to get in," Cross says.

The second snowstorm, which hit Dec. 25, didn't cause as much chaos for Denver-area businesses. "The last one didn't hit us quite as hard," Cross says. "The airport never shut down, so we were still able to get freight in."

Colorado, however, was not the only state to get hit with a bout of bad weather. The Oklahoma panhandle, and parts of Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico also were hit with winter storms recently. The Associated Press reported that about 22,000 homes and businesses in western Kansas were without power, along with at least 29,000 customers in Nebraska and more than 6,000 in Colorado and Oklahoma. 

Todd Thalken of Kearney Floral Company in Kearney, Neb., says that although he did not lose power and, at press time, was able to get deliveries into town, his drivers still cannot get into rural areas.

"All the side streets are a sheet of ice," he says.  "[The ice is so thick,] we can ice skate on it."

Missed deliveries were only one of many challenges that area industry businesses faced. Heavy snow that had accumulated on the slanted roof of the Amato Wholesale building eventually slid off,  blocking the garage doors and making loading and unloading jobs almost impossible. Likewise, the company's parking lot was filled with ice, making it difficult for trucks to maneuver .

Wholesalers weren't the only ones having trouble.  At Ed Moore Florist and Greenhouse in Denver, Lydia Homburger says orders were "down 50 percent -- it was a bad hit for the industry. The side streets were bad, the vans were getting stuck -- it was tough."

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Houston Florist Tapped for Ford Funeral Flowers

Florist Sherri Gerland, owner of the Floral Marketing International Group (FMI Group) of Houston, leapt into action this week to design arrangements and wreaths for former President Ford's funerals in Palm Desert, Calif., and Grand Rapids, Mich. (Funerals for the nation's 38th president, who died Dec. 26 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., also were  held in Washington, but information on the flowers was not available at press time.)

The FMI Group floral arrangements were the only ones allowed in the church ceremonies in California and Michigan.

"We got the call" last week, Gerland said Tuesday from the Gerald R. Ford Presidental Library and Museum in Grand Rapids, where she and designer Dee Logan, from the FMI Group's Orlando office, were arranging flowers in the museum kitchen. The two created all-white arrangements using Casablanca lilies, hydrangeas, roses, stock, Dendrobium orchids and callas. They also created wreaths for Ford's alma maters, the University of Michigan and Yale Law School.

Traveling during the holidays "was a logistics nightmare," Gerland says. She spent $370 to ship flowers to California on Continental Airlines. "I joked that I was buying them a seat," she says. She used DHL to ship flowers overnight to Michigan.

"This is our first presidential funeral," Gerland says, who was contacted about potential funeral preparations about a year-and-a-half ago by Houston-based Service Corporation International, the largest owner of funeral homes and cemeteries in the world. After she was "pre-selected" for the work, she was told to keep the plans confidential, she says.

--Mary Ann Barton
maryannbarton@msn.com

 
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Which Red Rose for Valentine's Day?

Shakespeare said that a rose is a rose, but people who work with the flower daily know differently. Florists are starting to talk to their wholesalers about Valentine's Day, figuring out how much to buy and which roses to order.

At Pittsburgh Cut Flower Company in Pittsburgh, Al Plummer, cut-flower general manager, says the company already is fielding calls from florists, including some customers who are requesting that their flowers get shipped over a two- or three-day period to accommodate the mid-week holiday. (Valentine's Day 2007 falls on a Wednesday). 
 
"They might want 1,000 for Tuesday, 1,000 for Wednesday," explains Plummer.

Patrick Anex, of Washington Floral Service in Tacoma, Wash., says his company sent customers records of what they ordered last year as an incentive to pre-book, which closed last week. It was successful -- 85 percent of their Valentine's Day product is now pre-booked.

Tsur Reiss, owner of Potomac Floral Wholesale in Silver Spring, Md., says the Wednesday holiday -- which means flowers won't lose out to weekend getaways --  is contributing to a 10 to 15 percent jump in orders so far.

What are retailers ordering? "Mostly 'Charlotte,'" Plummer says. That's followed by 'Freedom,' "and then it really drops off from there. Probably the next is 'Forever Young.'"

'Charlotte' has dropped off a bit at Potomac Floral compared to past years, says Reiss, but 'Freedom', 'Forever Young', 'Sexy Red', and 'Cherry Love' are going strong.

About 60 percent of all the roses Kennicott Brothers in Chicago sells for Valentine's Day are either 'Charlotte' or 'Freedom,' says Rich Dodd, the wholesaler's lead buyer. The main difference is that 'Freedom' is a brighter red and the head size is a little bigger, he says.

Buying advice from wholesalers: Book the "premium, 70-centimeter" roses soon, Dodd advises. "(Ecuadorian farms) are really pushing for orders. They want them, like, 'now'."

Reiss says to book half the roses now -- the premium ones -- and the other half as the holiday gets closer. "There's a tendency for the prices to dip" [for non-premium roses] as the holiday approaches.

In addition to red, Reiss sees some interest in orange roses ("they're hot," he says) as well as tulips, hydrangeas and orchids. At Kennicott's, red roses still dominate: "Bi-colors are cool and pretty, but they don't move," Dodd says. 

--Mary Ann Barton
maryannbarton@msn.com

 
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Industry Leaders Continue Promotion Push

Growers around the country have the chance to provide feedback on a plan to raise funds to market flowers nationally. The Floral Marketing Funding Initiative Coalition is holding a series of meetings this spring for importers and growers, during which the group will present a proposed promotion order, which makes recommendations on how to fund such a program.

The draft of promotion order proposes that growers who produce more than $100,000 farm gate value and importers who import more than $100,000 worth of cut flowers be assessed 2 percent. That money would then be collected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and used to fund a national flower promotion and marketing program. The coalition hopes to raise between $30 million and 50 million, annually.

"We are presenting an opportunity for the industry to get behind an effort to raise enough money to create more flower buyers," says the coalition's president, Charles F. Kremp 3rd, AAF, of Kremp Florist in Philadelphia.

The coalition was started in the spring of 2006 with the goal of exploring opportunities to fund an all-industry marketing initiative. The coalition's leadership includes Kremp, chairman Red Kennicott, AAF, of Kennicott Brothers in Chicago and treasurer Clay Sieck of Sieck Wholesale in Baltimore.

The coalition's steering committee met in October in Washington, D.C., and decided that a federal promotion order would be the best way to mandate funding for floral marketing. The coalition's development committee, which includes Mike Mellano Sr. of Mellano and Company in San Luis Rey, Calif., and Gustavo Moreno of Multiflora in Miami, met in Texas in November to determine the details of the order.

The order must receive a "yes" vote by all domestic producers and importers of record before it is implemented.

"Very likely it would be into 2008 to go through the whole process," Kennicott says.

Read more about the Coalition in the Oct. 18 issue of E-Brief.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Chicago Tribune Covers Home Ecology Study

"Feeling a little blue? Get thee to a flower shop," the Chicago Tribune recently advised, citing the SAF/FPO Home Ecology study and further reinforcing the idea that people feel less stressed when they have fresh flowers in their homes.

The story, called "A little Bouquet might be a quicker picker upper," referenced the study, which was conducted at Harvard University and, with the public relations campaign publicizing its findings, is a result of a collective effort and strategic alliance by SAF and the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO). "New research shows that fresh flowers make people feel less worried and anxious, less inclined to depression and more likely to feel compassion for others," says the article. 

A story in the Dec, 17 Home & Garden section of the Chicago Daily Herald also mentioned the study: "Many people know instinctively that live flowers make a room warmer and more cheerful. Now there's scientific evidence." 
 
Generate publicity by using the "Home Ecology of Flowers Study." Send local media a press release.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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States Raise Minimum Wage

Low-wage workers in seven states rang in the New Year with more than champagne and party hats: they also got a pay raise. Lawmakers in Arizona, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania have raised their states' minimum wage levels, effective Jan. 1.

"Raising the minimum wage is something I have wanted to do for a long time," California's Governor Schwarzenegger said in a statement in September, after he signed an increase to the California minimum wage, from $6.75 to $7.50 and then to $8 in 2008. "We have the right bill and the powerhouse economy we need to get this done."

Along with California, 28 other states have state minimum wages higher than the national minimum wage, $5.15 an hour, according to the Santa Clarita Valley (Calif.) Signal.

States' decisions to increase the minimum wage have their share of opponents, often from the small-business community.

"Most small businesses are trying to figure out how to get by," Susan Reynolds, a senior partner at Newmarket Careers in Santa Clarita, Calif., said to the Signal. "Sure, we'd all love to see low-income families make as much as possible, but that does force reallocation."

The U.S. Congress is likely to re-examine the national minimum wage when it reconvenes this month. If the national minimum wage were to increase, it would go from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 in 2007, $6.55 in 2008 and $7.25 in 2009. "The House is poised to pass an increase in the wage of $2.10 on Friday," says Jeanne Ramsay, SAF's senior director of Government Relations. "The Senate is likely to begin discussions later in January but there is a push on that side for 'sweetners' to blunt the effect of the increase on small businesses."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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1-800-Flowers.com Repurchases 3 Million Shares

1-800-Flowers.com has completed a previously announced repurchase of more than 3 million shares of stock from J.P. Morgan Partners.

The purchase price was $5.21 per share, or a total of $15,688,966. The repurchase was funded with cash generated during the company's current fiscal 2007 second quarter and was in addition to the company's existing stock repurchase authorization, of which about $8 million remains available but unused.

"The company has an existing stock repurchase program. It is one of the ways we use to help build long-term shareholder value," says Joseph Pititto, vice president of investor relations for 1-800-Flowers. "This purchase represented an opportunity for us to remove a potential overhang of stock."

Shares for the company fell 12 cents in Dec. 28 morning trading on the Nasdaq, to $6.18.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Consumers Seek Stocked Shelves, Return Policies

What's the fastest way to run off customers? If a new survey is any indication, retailers do just that when they offer convoluted return policies or empty shelves.

"(Shoppers) tell us that those retailers that provide immediate gratification get wallet share in this extremely competitive retail market," John Rittenhouse, the national service leader for operations risk management for KPMG LLC, which conducted the survey, said to the Associated Press.

The survey polled 1,200 shoppers in December and found that more than 80 percent shopped "at the store that had their desired item in stock," and 75 percent of respondents said return policies "influenced" their shopping decisions. Meanwhile, less than 20 percent of respondents cited price as influential in their decisions on where to shop.

The survey also found that 64 percent of respondents prefer to shop at strip malls or free-standing stores, because those areas are "less crowded, contained more stores and restaurants, better parking and were easier to get in and out of compared to enclosed malls," according to the story.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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To Organize, or Not to Organize

While Americans are un-decking their halls and stowing strands of permanent holly, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) is promoting January as Get Organized Month.

"January is the perfect month to get organized and start your new year off right," NAPO President Barry Izsak said in a press release promoting the event, which has been held for three years. "Getting organized is one of the Top 5 New Year's resolutions people make."

Indeed, getting organized has become a real hobby for some Americans, according to a recent story in The New York Times, which reported that sales of home-organizing products have grown from $5.9 billion last year to a projected $7.6 billion by 2009. That's a trend that rubs Jerrold Pollak, a neuropsychologist at Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, N.H., the wrong way.

"It's chasing an illusion to think that any organization -- be it a family unit or a corporation -- can be completely rid of disorder on any consistent basis," Pollak, who will not be celebrating Get Organized Month, said to the Times "And if it could, should it be? Total organization is a futile attempt to deny and control the unpredictability of life."

New York Times subscribers can read the full story.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Publix Trumps Other Grocery Stores

Thanks in large part to the cleanliness of its stores and its service-oriented staff, Publix Super Market beat out other grocery stores to score the No.1 spot on a recent customer-satisfaction survey.

"These results are a huge help for companies who want to know how they're being perceived by their customers, and who want to find better ways to serve their customers and stay ahead of their competition," Mike Mallett, the chief executive officer of Corporate Research International, which conducted the survey, told Florida Today newspaper.

Based in Lakeland, Fla., Publix employs 137,000 people in 884 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company consistently ranks highly in customer-service surveys, according to the Florida Today story.

Subway and Dick's Sporting Goods also scored high marks in other segments of the survey, results that didn't surprise Rick Webber, manager of Dick's Melbourne, Fla., location.

"We basically have a policy that, if you see someone's face, you need to acknowledge them," Webber said. "That means you drop what you're doing, and you say 'hello.' It's just a basic 'hello.'

Look for tips on top-notch customer service in the February issue of Floral Management magazine. Have a customer service secret you'd like to share? Send it to mwestbrook@safnow.org.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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In San Francisco, Popular Ad Campaign Sours

Got Milk? In San Francisco, some residents are saying, "No thanks."

The San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Commission recently ordered the California Milk Processor Board to remove ads from five local bus shelters that employed "scent technology" -- beneath the stark black ads (which included the popular catchphrase "Got Milk?") carefully placed scent strips recreated the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The idea? Plant the cookie seed -- or, scent -- in people's subconscious and they'll rush home for a tall glass of milk.

But, even before the campaign officially launched, several groups had filed complaints, even organizing letter-writing campaigns against the ads. For some, the opposition stemmed from health concerns for passersby, including people with diabetes, asthma or allergies. Others felt the signs were cruel to hungry homeless residents, Molly Ireland, a Milk Board spokeswoman, said to AdAge.com. Despite the Transit Commission's decision, however, the group has not jettisoned the idea altogether, Ireland says.

"This is such a San Francisco story," Jeff Goodby, co-chairman of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the milk board's ad agency said to AdAge. "It could have gone either way: We celebrate the hippy nostalgia of cookies in the oven, or we excoriate the possible effects on select health minorities. It's 2006. We went the latter way... I guess the city has once again made herself safe for bus shelters that smell like urine and vomit instead."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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More Reader Resolutions

Still searching for inspiration for your New Year's resolutions? Perhaps feedback from fellow industry members will help. Here are a few more resolutions E-Brief editors have recieved from readers:

My resolution is to reduce waste. This means waste with regard to fresh floral materials used in designs, living plants tossed out due to neglect or failure to rotate in sales properly, price to value failure, cost overruns and lost time by employees not staying on task... Wow. Waste is the word for 2007 for me (us)!

--Karen Maitland
Carousel Flowers
Elmhurst, Ill.

Our resolution is: To run a leaner operation -- less inventory, less expenses, less overhead -- as much as possible.

--Frank Quintanilla
Golden Rose Florist
Rosemead, Calif.

My resolution has several parts. One, to raise awareness about our shop and what we offer in flowers and gifts so that customers will think of us first when they need a gift, floral or otherwise. Two, to make shopping in our gift shop and receiving our floral arrangements an "experience" by being innovative and giving every arrangement the "wow" factor. And three, to find that perfect employee with no bad habits, lots of talent and a great personality!

--Lisa Dobbins
The Flower Pot
Radford, Va.

To get organized once and for all. To not have to look for things every time I need them. It's not the everyday things but the things you need once in a great while that need to be in marked ... boxes.

--Mary Jo Buckley
M.J.'s Flowers and Balloons
Missouri Valley, Iowa

The year 2007 will be the year of solidifying our position in the community. We are a new store (starting the week before Mother's day 2006), with many challenges. We will build our store by providing superior service. We will always exceed our customer's expectations. We will follow up on every delivery to check ourselves. We will take every opportunity to network. We will take every opportunity to learn more about our business and sharpen our skills. 2007 will be an awesome year!

--Terry Mason
The Master's Flowers
Broken Arrow, Okla.

I resolve to get my ads done the week before they are due! A week to think about necessary changes and get the merchandise in order would improve productivity!

--Chuck Oberle
Maple City Florist & Garden Center
Geneseo, Ill.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

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Talk on the forums

One retailer member wants to be prepared for Valentine's Day and is wondering how to predict how many orders he will have, how long it will take to design and deliver them and how to break up delivery zones.
Want to weigh in?

Also on the forums:
Design cost labor worksheets

Ribbon printers

Start your own discussion.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Product Spotlight: Valentine's Day Playbook

Have you formatted your design recipes for Valentine's Day yet? According to SAF's "Valentine's Day Playbook: A Retail Florists' Guide to a Winning Valentine's Day," that's a task florists should tackle around January 5th. The Playbook includes tips like these, as well as task lists, buying guides, delivery strategies, recruiting ideas and much more. Order your Playbook (scroll down and click on How-to Marketing Kits).

Member price: 14.95
Non-member price: 24.95

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Holiday Sales Improve This Season

About 51 percent of readers responding to last week's e-poll said their holiday sales were up from last year. Thirty percent said sales were down from last year, and about 19 percent said sales were about the same.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

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What Retail Florists Promoted for Valentine's Day

In-store designed arrangements were the top item promoted for
Valentine's Day last year by almost 70 percent of retail florists. These
were followed by "Fresh flowers other than roses" and "Wire service
arrangements," each promoted by about one of every two florists. 

Source: SAF Zoomerang Online Survey of Retail Florists with e-mail
addresses. Based on 686 responses; response rate 18.7%.

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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