Bad Weather Won't Stop Capital's Florists

"Well, they'd rather have them on the 13th than the 15th," says Sandy Gordon of Magellan's to NBC 4.

A winter storm -- and reports of more to come -- have forced many Washington, D.C.,  metro-area florists to rethink their Valentine's Day strategies.  Florists are determined, nonetheless, to get deliveries to their customers.

"We will do everything in our power to get deliveries out," says Paul Raimondi of Raimondi's Florist in Randallstown, Md.

While D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia florists aren't seeing the heaviest snow in the country, icy roads and some accumulation have created headaches in the area, which is less accustomed to heavy winter snowstorms than northern cities. Complicating the situation was the federal government's decision Tuesday to close its offices at 2 p.m., sending thousands of workers home and creating chaos on the area's highways and public transportation system.

The news that the metro area would likely be hit Tuesday and Wednesday with severe winter weather was anything but welcome to florists gearing up for the busiest days of their year.

"We spent the morning in tears," jokes Kevin Green of The Virginia Florist in Alexandria, Va.

Many florists quickly devised a new delivery plan to get as many deliveries out early.

"We had to advise our customers of the possibility of sending orders out early," says Raimondi, who managed to get about 50 percent of his deliveries out on Monday. Paul Brockway of Conklyn's Florist in Alexandria, Va., said Monday that he was "trying to get everything to go [Tuesday]"

Staff at Magellan's Florist in Rockville, Md., told an NBC affiliate covering the storm that they decided last friday -- when the news of the impending bad weather broke -- to deliver the bulk of their deliveries Feb. 13.

Finding drivers to make these early deliveries, however, has not been easy.

 "[The] biggest dilemma is lots of people took off work to help Wednesday. We have lots of drivers for Wednesday, but not Tuesday," Brockway says.

Luckily, at least some customers don't seem to mind receiving their Valentine's Day gifts early.

"We are not getting much resistance," Brockway says.

Similarly, Karen Fountain, AAF, of Flowers 'n' Ferns in Burke, Va., says one customer was "thrilled" when she suggested sending the delivery out on Monday. To make sure customers are pleased with their early delivery, Raimondi is even including a $5 gift certificate and a note explaining the circumstances.

The weather has also caused many media members, both local and national, to call SAF over the past few days and ask how the storm is affecting florists and their deliveries. This is what we are telling them:

• As reported, florists are doing everything they can to make their Valentine's Day deliveries.

• Most florists have been in the business for years, and they are used to dealing with obstacles. Florists are creative problem-solvers and these types of situations showcase, better than ever, their commitment to excellent customer service.

• Sometimes a late delivery forced by Mother Nature can have some positive ramifications -- the romance can be extended beyond just Valentine's Day.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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CBS News Tracks Flowers from Lab to Shop

Many Americans woke up Sunday morning to a CBS News: Sunday Morning segment on roses -- but not the media's typical pre-Valentine's story about "inflated rose prices." Quite the contrary, video footage and senior correspondent Martha Teichner took viewers through California greenhouses, the San Francisco Flower Market, the Miami airport, the Dutch auction and even a research laboratory -- all in the name of showing what it takes to get a flower from the field to the consumer's home.

In painting that picture, Teichner tells viewers, "Think high-tech flower factory. Acres and acres of the most fashionable, up-to-date varieties of roses in temperature and light-controlled greenhouses. They're cut just as they begin to open. Within seconds they're in water."

SAF's CEO and executive vice president, Peter Moran, although not included in the segment, was interviewed for it and provided information about the size and global nature of the floral industry, as well as the chain of distribution.

Growers and suppliers in the segment included Bill Sakai, of the San Francisco Flower Market, and Dee Dee Meininger of Obies in Watsonville, Calif. 
 
The author of the recently published Flower Confidential, Amy Stewart, tells Teichner, "So there is this kind of race to get the flower out of the greenhouse, into the production room, in a box, on a truck, into a flower shop so you can still get it home and . . . enjoy it for five or seven days."

Also in the segment, SAF's chairman, Terril Nell, Ph.D., AAF, University of Florida, Gainesville, talks about the connection between temperature and vaselife, and video footage shows four sets of roses, all cut on the same day but held at different temperatures --  from 35 degrees (these flowers looked the best) up to 70 degrees.

University of Florida horticulturist David Clark talks about how isolating and replicating the rose oil that's in petunias could lead to roses that smell like roses -- something, he says, that might be available to consumers in five to ten years.

Teichner even filled consumers in on cut flower's arch-enemy: ethylene gas: "If you walk into a grocery store and the bouquets are right next to the fruit and vegetables, beware . . . it'll kill the flowers, which is the last thing you want on Valentine's Day."

See the full transcript.

--Kate Penn
kpenn@safnow.org

 
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Author Endorses Local Florists in New York Times

Somebody send this woman some roses.

The author of a new book about the comings and goings of the floral industry -- from field to shop -- put forth an elegant and compelling argument for buying flowers from local florists in one of the country's most respected and widely read newspapers. And, she did it on Valentine's Day.

"If a city is an ecosystem, the flower shop is perhaps its most vital and endangered habitat," began Amy Stewart in her New York Times editorial, "Local Color." Smith's book "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers" was published in January and has been featured in myriad news publications and outlets including the Times, the Wall Street Journal and "CBS Sunday Morning."

"Florists don't just celebrate nature; they celebrate us as well," Stewart wrote, adding later that "florists understand what it is that we cannot quite bring ourselves to say at these moments; they wrap up a few dozen delicate, ephemeral blossoms and rush them across town to do the job for us."

In the editorial, Stewart also addressed several common -- if mistaken -- consumer purchase barriers when it comes to flowers, including price and longevity. 

"We've bought into the myth that flowers are too expensive, sacrificing the sensual delights and emotional comforts of the flower shop along the way," she writes. "In fact, it is surprising how affordable flowers really are: 120 years ago, the best roses sold in New York for $18 a dozen, and arrangements went for $40 or $50 -- this at a time when hotel rooms rented for $5. Today a bouquet costs about the same as it did then, but $5 won't cover cab fare to a hotel, much less a room for the night."

Stewart ended her piece with an unmistakable take-away message for readers, one that's sure to resonate with local florists across the country.

"You can place your heart into the hands of a florist," she wrote. "Flower shops remind us who we are -- fragile, transitory creatures, not nearly as tough as our suits and our briefcases make us look. They call our attention to the passing of spring, and to the fullness of love. Every city needs that."

Read the full story.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Coming to Congressional Action Days? Reserve your room by Friday Feb 16.

Congressional Action Days is less than a month away. Have you made your hotel reservations yet? You must reserve your room at the Fairmont Washington by this FRIDAY, February 16 in order to receive the SAF conference discount rate (after Feb. 16, regular rates will likely apply). Please call 202-429-2400 and mention SAF Congressional Action Days in order to get the special rate. 
 
Still haven't registered? Click here to get complete conference details and register online.

--Shelley Estersohn
sestersohn@safnow.org

 
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Girls Gone Mild?

As you gear up for prom sales, you might want to stock up on classic flowers and accessories: This year's revelers could be more sophisticated (and clothed) than teens of the recent past. At least, that's the prediction of trendspotter Gerald Celente who recently told the Chicago Tribune that "American consumer fascination with what garments Britney Spears wears (or forgets to wear) or what handbag Paris Hilton totes is ending," with people focusing instead on "old world elegance." 

"Britney is something we watch," Celente, director of Rhinebeck, N.Y.-based Trends Research Institute, admitted to the Tribune. "[But] even her fan clubs are bailing out on her. That's telling us society doesn't want this stuff anymore. They're tired of it."

The "stuff" consumers do want includes higher quality merchandise at fair prices in attractive environments, Celente says, pointing to Starbucks and Panera as two companies that get that mix right. To that end, Celente told the Tribune that, in 2007, "cutting edge retailers will shun shabby and sloppy for old-school."

Tiffany is reverting to its classic lines -- and moving away from lower-income customers. Read that story in the Jan. 24 issue of E-Brief.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Wal-Mart Could Shift Management

Shoppers and competitors may not see an immediate difference at their area stores, but experts are speculating that big changes could be on the horizon for Wal-Mart Stores.

Rumors have been circulating online for several weeks that Wal-Mart is undertaking its most sweeping management shakeup in years -- "and perhaps in its history," as AdvertisingAge.com explains it. In all, recent or pending management moves involve 10 to 15 people, according to an internal memo obtained by Advertising Age, the existence of which Wal-Mart neither confirmed nor denied.

CNN also reported that some industry experts say more changes are likely.

"There's a high degree of likelihood of something like this happening," said Burt Flickinger, managing director with consulting firm Strategic Resources Group.

What the changes mean for the giant retailer is still unclear; however, most analysts seem to agree that some kind of shift was necessary, particularly following the recent retirement announcement of Doug Degn from his post as vice president of food, consumables and hard lines for Wal-Mart Stores.

"He's an irreplaceable loss for Wal-Mart," Flickinger said to CNN. "Degn was one of the people hand-chosen by Sam Walton when he was alive to be a leader. Losing Degn makes it a problem for Wal-Mart."

--Mary Westbrook
Westbrook@safnow.org

 
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Saks Sacks Longtime Logo

Proving once again that no store is too established for a brand makeover, Saks Fifth Avenue

A new logo lends a "hip, fresh look" to Saks, says senior vice president of creative and marketing Terron Schafer.

recently announced that it was updating the logo it uses on advertising, storefronts, employee pins and designer merchandise. The new look was unveiled officially in January 2007 and will appear in advertising, on shopping bags and in a wide array of other merchandise and marketing materials.

"We took the 1973 logo and gave it liposuction," Terron Schaefer, Saks group senior vice president of creative and marketing, said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We gave it a sleeker look, eliminated the feminine curves and compressed the logo into a square."

The new mark was developed by Pentagram Design, an international studio known for its experience in corporate identity design. It  incorporates an homage to Saks Fifth Avenue's classic script logotypes and the geometry of the perfect square, a shape that has become central to the identity of Saks Fifth Avenue, from its catalogues to its employee pins, according to a company press release.

"Look at Hermes and its orange box, and Tiffany & Co. and its blue box," Schaefer said. "Burberry has its plaid, and Louis Vuitton has its LV logo. These luxury retailers have long had iconic colors or patterns. But Saks had neither."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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'Public' Spaces Filled with Ads

Dissatisfied with your advertising returns? Maybe you should try stamping your shop logo on farmers' market eggs, and takeout cartons from local Chinese restaurants or perhaps motion sickness bags on airplanes. Don't laugh (or gag). It's a trend that has some people scratching their heads --and others hopping mad -- but national retailers, increasingly, are putting ads in rather unexpected places, including turnstiles, airport security trays, and doctor's exam tables, according to a recent New York Times story.

"We never know where the consumer is going to be at any point in time, so we have to find a way to be everywhere," Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive at the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York ad agency, said to the newspaper. "Ubiquity is the new exclusivity."

The problem facing advertising agencies and the companies they represent is that consumers are overwhelmed by ads, Thaler and other experts said to the Times. For instance, Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared to up to 5,000 today.

"What all marketers are dealing with is an absolute sensory overload," Gretchen Hofmann, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Universal Orlando Resort told the Times, adding that "the landscape is overly saturated as companies press harder to make their products stand out."

And, for some, ubiquitous ads are working.

"If you do it the right way, you actually win points," John McNeil, executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, said to the Times. His agency designed ads for Microsoft that appeared on tray tables in US Airways planes last spring.

On the other hand, some consumers and civic groups are saying, when it comes to ads, enough is enough.

"They're making our community look like Las Vegas," Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, said to the paper about the digital signs she has noticed in the last few years. "The word 'trashy' has been used."

Still, with many people already open to the idea of ads on cell phones and online, the trend has legs, and, potentially staying power. The verdict from the Times story? "People can expect to see more [ads] not only along highways, but also in stores, gyms, doctors' offices and on the sides of buildings."

Read about one ubiquitous ad campaign in San Francisco that missed its mark in the Jan. 3 issue of E-Brief.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Product Spotlight: Business-to-Business Kit

Looking for a way to boost your commercial sales? SAF has the answer with the Business-to-Business Kit (click on Business-to-Business Materials), a powerful package of step-by-step advice, promotional ideas and creative materials to help you pursue and preserve commercial clients and, in turn, increase your sales. The kit includes: a six-page brochure with proven strategies for establishing and maintaining business clients; sample pitch and follow-up letters to prospective and current clients, a sample telephone pitch script, and much more.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Valentine's Predictions Vary Widely

About 40 percent of readers who responded to last week's e-poll say they predict their sales this Valentine's Day will be up moderately, compared to last year. Thirty percent predict  sales will be down significantly, compared to last year. Twelve percent predict their sales will be about the same; 10 percent predict their sales will be up significantly; and 8 percent predict their sales will be down moderately.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

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Orders on Valentine's Day

If this year is anything like last, retailers can expect one third of their orders for Valentine's Day to come in today. About three-quarters of the orders were delivered on Valentine's Day and of all orders, about 59 percent were delivered to a business rather than a home location.

Source: February 2006 SAF Valentine's Day Survey of retail florists. Based on 686 responses (19% response rate).

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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