Industry Reacts to Virginia Tech Shootings

Florists and wholesalers in the Blacksburg, Va., area were "shaken and overwhelmed" last week, after a gunman killed 32 people, wounded dozens of others and then shot himself, at Virginia Tech.

Memorials on the Virginia Tech campus sprang up overnight. Industry members already are planning to contribute to future and long-term memorial projects.

"It was like a mini 9/11," says Jeff Corbin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Radford City Florist, located 8 miles from the campus. "I was here working when it happened. It took a little while to realize the magnitude of it all."

Like other area florists, Corbin quickly found himself filling orders bound for hospitals, creating bouquets for on-campus memorials and putting out Tech-themed maroon and orange ribbons and lapels.

"There was a solemnness in the air and some anger," Corbin says. "It's just very sad."

The day after the shootings, Kelly Dooley, general manager of wholesaler TFS Roanoke, about 40 minutes from the campus, created an outdoor foam board in the shape of the letters V and T to honor the victims.

"After that, people started putting logos and flags on the street," said Dooley, who covered the foam first with carnations and then, later in the week, with silk roses. "I think the whole community was stunned."

Kelly Dooley of TFS Roanoke created a foam board to honor the Virginia Tech shooting victims.

Dooley, who is a floral designer, even pitched in to help an overwhelmed Blacksburg florist.

"People were coming in left and right, just to buy bouquets to lay [on the memorials on campus]," she says. "And, it was amazing how many universities around the country were sending flowers to show their support. I filled orders from Texas A&M and sororities and fraternities at other schools."

Teleflora has been in touch with florists in the area, including one shop that was "right by" the shootings, says Tom Butler, AAF, Teleflora's chairman.

"They're devastated," Butler says. "It's a close-knit community and the florists we've talked to have been extremely busy with activities related to the shootings. Everyone is pitching in."

"FTD and Rio Roses donated thousands of flowers to FTD florists in Virginia who were responsible for creating the sympathy arrangements for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting," says Michael Soenen, FTD CEO and President.

A week after the shootings, with most students back in class, life in and around Blacksburg is returning to normal, slowly, florists say, but long-term memorials and tributes are being planned. Corbin and Colleen Taber of Gardens America, an importer in Miami, plan to work together in the coming weeks on product donations for end-of-the-year tributes, Taber says.

"One of the things we talk about so much is that flowers can say I love you and I care," Taber says. "I feel so blessed that my own family is safe. I told Jeff, 'Just let me know when and where I can help.'"

At Virginia Tech, the Department of Horticulture already has created a garden memorial fund in honor of Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, department head Jerzy Nowak's wife, who was killed while teaching French in Norris Hall.

"We have not had time to develop brochures or plans for the memorial garden," says Richard E. Veilleux, a professor at Tech. "But we are all in agreement that it is a suitable tribute."

For more information on the garden fund, visit www.hort.vt.edu. Donations can be sent to:

The Jocelyne Couture-Nowak Memorial Garden Fund
Department of Horticulture (0327)
301 Saunders Hall
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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L.A. Flower Market to Publish Own History

Here's one for the history books:

The Los Angeles Flower Market -- American Florist Exchange is set to release the tentatively titled "Sending Flowers to America: Stories of the Los Angeles Flower Market and the People Who Built the Flower Industry" in April 2008. The book will cover the history of the L.A. Flower Market and the role California flower growers played in building the flower industry.

"The American Florists Exchange wants to document its history and its important contribution to the floral industry," says Peggi Ridgway, the project's manager and editor of The Bloomin' News, the market's bi-monthly publication. "Of course, the (American Florist Exchange's) history is the history of thousands of California flower growers, wholesalers and suppliers, and that's a lot of story to tell."

Ridgway credits the idea of the book to Johnny Mellano of Mellano and Company in San Luis Rey, Calif., who, after watching the Southern California Flower Growers market produce its pictorial history book in 2004, approached Ridgway in the fall of 2006 about producing a history book.

"In these last few years, he observed the market's long history slipping away as old-timers passed on and retired," she says. "It is his dream to preserve ... nearly 100 years of Flower Market growth."

The project is being funded by donations and by the American Florists Exchange.  Financial partner contributions, however, "have been slow," says Ridgway. "We expect an increase as the project moves along."

Ridgway estimates the research and writing phase of the project will close around Sept. 1. The Flower Market History Team is still asking industry members to submit stories and photos representing California-grown flowers being received, transported to, delivered and arranged in other states, as well as personal recollections of experiences with people at the Los Angeles Flower Market. For more information, contact Peggi Ridgway at peg@flowermarkethistory.com.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Best Buy: Forget Mother's Day Flowers

Best Buy's negative floral ad.

Best Buy, the consumer electronics giant, is advertising a sale with a direct mail brochure that reads: "Forget the flowers. ... There's never been a better way to Wow Mom."

As the industry watchdog responding to harmful floral publicity, SAF contacted Best Buy's Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO Bradbury H. Anderson last week. In the e-mail, SAF points out the offensive nature of the piece and encourages the company to reconsider its negative approach in future campaigns.

--Jenny Stromann
jstromann@safnow.org

 
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UPS Unveils Intercept Capabilities

If you've ever sent a letter, package or invoice to the wrong address -- or without double-checking its contents -- there's good news for you: Like its major competitor, FedEx, UPS can now intercept a package -- for a fee -- before it reaches its destination.

For $10, shippers can go online or call UPS to delay deliveries, reroute packages or have them returned. (The new service is only for packages being shipped from or to the United States or Puerto Rico.)

FedEx already offers intercept services for its express and ground customers on a case-by-case basis for a $5 to $10 fee, FedEx spokeswoman Darcie Goodwin said to the AP. In most cases, U.S. Postal Service customers can attempt to intercept domestic parcels by completing a mail recall form, according to the USPS Web site.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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NRF Predicts Healthy Mother's Day Sales

Mother's Day 2007 is shaping up to be a good holiday for florists, according to survey results from a major U.S. trade group, which found that consumers plan to spend $2.3 billion on flowers this year, up from $1.98 billion in 2006.

 "As people find more creative ways to treat the women in their lives to something special, retailers of all types and sizes stand to benefit from Mother's Day," says Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.

Through its annual Mother's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, the group found that consumers are expected to spend an average of $139.14 on the holiday, compared to last year's $122.16. And, most Americans -- 85 percent -- plan to celebrate Mother's Day, according to NRF predictions.

For retail florists, Mother's Day sales have grown over the past three years. According to SAF survey results conducted following the holiday, sales were up compared to the previous year for two-thirds (between 63 percent and 68 percent) of retail florist shops during 2004 thorough 2006.  

Other survey highlights from NRF include:

• In addition to the 72 percent of shoppers who plan to buy flowers, consumers will give clothes and accessories (37 percent); jewelry (33 percent) and meals on the town (61 percent).

• Nearly 38 percent of gifts will be purchased at specialty stores, including flower shops. About 25 percent of consumers will head to discount stores; nearly 30 percent will opt to shop at a department store and 3 percent will buy via catalog.

• Online shopping is an increasingly popular option, too -- 20 percent of respondents plan to buy a gift for mom online this year, compared to about 17 percent last year.

Read the complete survey results from NRF.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Ethiopia Increases Flower Production

Ethiopia could become "one of Africa's leading flower exporters, generating over $600 million annually within the next five years," according to the Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association of Ethiopia, as reported by Flower Web news.

"In five years, we expect to be one of Africa's leading flower growers with more than 3,000 hectares under production and generating over $600 million in foreign currency a year," said Tsegaye Abebe, the association's chairman. "The flower sector in Ethiopia is growing at almost 200 percent annually. New growers come into the business everyday, while existing farms are being expanded."

Seventy percent of flowers produced in Ethiopia -- including roses, carnations and hypericum -- are exported to Holland.

Though the country still has its share of internal turmoil -- on Tuesday separatist rebels stormed a Chinese-run oil field in eastern Ethiopia, killing more than 70 people, according to The New York Times -- officials are working to make the country attractive to investors. The government currently is processing land purchase applications by 100 international investors who would like to grow flowers. An investment policy that provides a five-year tax holiday, as well as inexpensive land and labor and banks that are "ready to lend up to 70 percent of the initial investment without collateral," also are helping to build the horticultural segment, according to the story.

Still, other hurdles exist for Ethiopian growers who want to reach the U.S. market, say wholesalers, including former SAF President Red Kennicott, AAF, of Kennicott Brothers in Chicago.

"I've heard that they are adding large production," Kennicott says. "I am sure that we are getting some via Dutch exporters, [but the] African rose size is smaller than what most USA florists want. Logistics to USA [also] are difficult and large orders are required to achieve efficiency. It is not an item for us at this time."

Read more about emerging growing markets in a series in the monthly "Up the Supply Chain" column, beginning with the June issue of Floral Management magazine.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Oklahoma Florist Wins Civic Award

The exterior of The Bamboo Orchid.

New businesses, take note: it's not just the established florists that get local accolades.

Glenda Wise of The Bamboo Orchid recently received the Civic Improvement Award (in the Small Business -- New Construction category), for Poteau, Okla., as well as citations of congratulations from her senator and congressional representative, only a year after opening her doors in January 2006. 

"Her business was judged on ... the overall appearance, inside and out," says Bonnie Prigmore of the Poteau Chamber of Commerce.

Wise says of her open-plan interior: "I believe the al fresco designing lets customers see creativity at work."

Wise, however, suspects her unique design style and excellent customer service contributed to her winning the award, which she received at the annual Chamber of Commerce dinner in February.

"I think that for people who aren't necessarily exposed to a lot of different design styles, we offer them something else -- something they wouldn't normally get," Wise says. "In crunch time we always make something work for the customers."

Wise honed her design skills at Tipton & Hurst in Little Rock, Ark., and owned a flower shop in Orange Beach, Ala., for two years before moving to Poteau.

She also hopes her award will prove to customers that she is in it for the long haul: "I feel like a lot of new things don't stick around," she says. "But this award shows that we are here to stay."

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Female Customers Balk at AA Site

Thinking of starting a Web site just for teens or a direct marketing piece aimed only at women? While targeted marketing can be a sound strategy, if you bungle the message, you could land in the doghouse -- big time -- with customers. That's a lesson American Airlines (AA) recently learned when it launched a Web site "just for female travelers" that backfired after women called the site "infuriating" and "silly fluff."

"There are so many things that are infuriating about this lip-service nonsense that I can't begin to list them all," Julie Pfeffer, a frequent flier, said to The New York Times, as reported by Cool News. "Why does AA feel that female travelers need things explained to them that male travelers don't? Are we that dumb?"

Travelers like Pfeffer posted angry reactions to the site on www.flyertalk.com, a popular Web site. Chief among the complaints was the American site's lavender color scheme, which the company has since changed. The overall tone of the site, however, didn't score points with users either: One Flyertalk poster called it a "condescending marketing ploy."

"I want a clean plane, a comfortable seat, and good service at a fair price ..." another poster explained, according to Cool News. "That's what my husband wants. That's what my colleagues of both genders want."

Not all marketing targeted to women goes over like a lead balloon: Read about a company that has successfully marketed only to women through its Web site in the Feb. 21 issue of E-Brief .

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

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Customer Reviews Gain Importance Online

Online, product reviews by other customers and customer satisfaction ratings are becoming more important to purchase decisions, according to a new survey by BizRate Research, a division of comparison shopping engine Shopzilla.

Nearly 20 percent of shoppers said customer feedback was the "most important factor" when comparison shopping, compared to 7 percent in 2003. At the same time, 49 percent of shoppers called price the "most important factor," a decrease of 9 percent from four years ago, according to the survey.

"Consumers still love to price comparison shop, but are wary of deals that are too good to be true and turn to fellow shoppers to make their decisions,"  Helen Malani, chief shopping expert at Shopzilla, said to Internet Retailer.

A related study from BizRate also found that more than 80 percent of online shoppers believe customer satisfaction ratings are "quite a bit" or extremely" important when shopping online.

Other highlights from the latest BizRate survey include:

• 46 percent of shoppers are not willing to pay more than the desired price to purchase from a preferred merchant.

• Nearly 74 percent of consumers said they find better deals online than offline.

• Consumers were most interested in finding deals or sales on clothes, lingerie and socks (55 percent); books (48 percent); movies (29 percent); cameras (29 percent); computer software (28 percent); and computer hardware (27 percent).

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Employers to Staff: Quit Smoking!

Sixty-six percent of readers responding to last week's e-poll said they proactively encourage employees who smoke to kick the habit. Thirty-four percent said they do not.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Talk on the Forums

One member is looking for a way to tactfully conduct staff reviews, so that her employees' feelings are not hurt. Weigh in.

Also on the Forums:

Wedding/Event software
Postcards

Start your own discussion.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Product Spotlight: FloraTrac

Think you've missed your chance to try FloraTrac for free? SAF is still allowing members to try out this powerful market share reporting tool on a complimentary basis. You can get a month-to-month and year-to-year comparisons of your business against similar operations based on revenue or location, as well as against all program participants. Sign up today.

--Bonnie Wilkening
bwilkening@safnow.org

 
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Wednesday is Peak Day for Professional Secretaries Day/APW!

Almost 90 percent of retail florists agree -- Wednesday is the peak day for
Professional Secretaries Day/APW deliveries. Tuesday was second in terms
of deliveries, according to the results of SAF's online survey last
year.

When do most orders for the holiday come in? Again, Wednesday is No. 1,
followed by Tuesday and  then Monday.

Source: SAF's online Zoomerang Survey of retail florists with e-mail
addresses. Based on 319 responses. (Response rate, 8.5 percent.)

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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