Colombian Growers Receive Ozone Awards

The Environmental Protection Agency honored two Colombian growers last night for their effort to protect the ozone layer.

Jardines de los Andes and Flores de Funza, both headquartered in Bogotá, were both honored with the EPA's 2007 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Awards, presented in Washington D.C. The growers were recognized for "generosity in sharing pest management strategies, and the outstanding level of sustainability achieved in their flower farms," according to the EPA.

"It was very, very nice," says Colleen Taber of Gardens America, Inc. in Miami, exclusive distributors of the Jardines brand, who attended the ceremony. "It was so good to see what so many companies are doing to protect the ozone."

Jardines really started to focus on sustainable practices about 17 years ago, says Taber, but the company "has always been passionate about the environment." Flores also has used environmentally sound practices for several decades. "Way in the past -- we decided to do a business that would not harm the environment," says Flores' sales and marketing manager, Sergio Cadena. "For 30 years, we have sterilized the soil with the use of heat and water [instead of methyl bromide]."

Likewise, Jardines uses integrated pest management and composting, rather than methyl bromide, to keep pests at bay. Jardines'  agronomist Fernando Jaramillo says, "This whole thing began with composting and introducing natural organisms to composting -- it began the evolution of creating a cleaner environment."

Marta Pizano, a consultant with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization who nominated the two companies for the awards, says she is impressed by the companies' willingness to share knowledge with international growers. "I conduct study tours -- I always take growers to both. They have been the companies that have cooperated with us the best."

Today, Flores' seven farms are certified by Florverde, as well as two of Jardines' farms.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Health Reports on Home Ecology

Health reports the power of flowers.

Health magazine is the latest media outlet to share the good news: "Flowers really do brighten your day, according to Harvard researchers."

The magazine's May issue reports on findings from the Home Ecology of Flowers Study, which is a result of a collective effort and strategic alliance between SAF and the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO).

The article also states: "... the positive vibes even made it from home to work, where [the study's participants] felt happier, more enthusiastic and more energized." 

The article generated 4.4 million consumer impressions. To date, the Home Ecology PR effort has generated 167 million consumer impressions.

Promote the findings and publicize your shop by sending a press release to your local media.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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CCFC Introduces Flower Directory

The California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) is making it easier for fresh product buyers to

Need to know more about birds of paradise (or any other flower)? CCFC's Search Availability feature can help.

find out what's in season and what's not in the golden state. CCFC's redesigned Web site features a Seasonal Availability function, where visitors can find out the seasonality of any product by inputting the product name. They'll also get information on care and handling requirements, design uses and general information and facts. Visitors can search by flower or by month.

"We started developing the database a number of years ago," says Kathryn Miele, CCFC's director of marketing. The information was kept on spreadsheets until it was made interactive with the introduction of the new Web site in March.

CCFC also plans to make its color chips, which group flower colors to make ordering and design work easier, available on the Web site by the end of the week.

"[Industry members] have been asking for these things," Miele says. "It's nice to put it on an Internet site so everyone has access to it."

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Nationwide Blackout Hits Colombia

A blackout in Colombia last Thursday left almost the entire country in darkness for anywhere from two to eight hours, but growers there say it has little effect on flower-growing operations.

At 10:15 a.m. on April 27, the power went out in about 98 percent of the country, due to, according to the BBC and other sources, an electrical network problem that originated at a substation near Bogotá.

Jody Whitekus of Golden Flowers in Miami, which has several farms in Colombia, says that about 35 percent of the power was restored within a few hours. "Scary thing, but it was such a short duration, so we don't expect any delays," he said last Thursday.

Barbara Montes, of Miraflor, which has two farms in Colombia, agrees. "It was important on Thursday, but a non-event on Friday," she says.

Smaller blackouts are somewhat of a regular occurrence, Montes says, and the company is used to them, to a certain extent. "When we get intermittent power surges, our sales staff can just go home and continue working remotely," Montes says. The widespread nature of last week's blackout made that impossible, "but we were all talking to each other by the next morning, and everything was back to normal."

Ernesto Vélez, Chairman of the Board of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters, Asocolflores, pointed out that the blackout suffered in Colombia last week had little or no impact on their flower farms, although some internal communication may have slowed down for an hour or so.

--Kate Penn
kpenn@safnow.org

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1-800-Flowers.com: 18.8 Percent Growth in Third Quarter

1-800-Flowers.com, headquartered in Carle Place, N.Y., has reported via company press release a revenue growth of $33.8 million, to $213. 8 million (18.8 percent) for its fiscal third quarter (ended April 1, 2007). That is compared to revenues of $180 million in the prior-year period.

Vice President of Investor Relations Joseph Pittito attributes this growth to “the strength of the marketing program and the strength of the brand.”

The increase was aided by growth in the company’s Consumer Floral (8.9 percent increase), BloomNet Wire Service (38.9 percent increase) and Gourmet Food and Gift Basket (151 percent increase) business categories.

Pittito says that the 18.8 percent growth rate is “very stong,” and attributes about half, or 17 million, of that growth to the Fannie May Confections Brands, acquired in May 2006. 

“Obviously we are very pleased with the third quarter — and even more importantly, for three quarters now we have consistently hit and exceeded the numbers expected of us,” says Pittito.

The company did, however, experience lower year-over-year sales in its Home and Children’s Gifts category, which Pittito attributes to a decision to reduce marketing spending in this category after a slow second quarter.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Local Florist Encourages City to Enter 'America in Bloom"

Connecticut florist Joyce Hart of Hart's Greenhouse and Florist LLC thinks the city of Norwich, Conn. is a beautiful place -- and she doesn't want to keep it a secret.

"I would like everyone else in the country to see how beautiful [Norwich] is," says Hart, who lives and owns a shop in Canterbury, Conn., 14 miles away, and has a branch location in Norwich. "It has a lot of heritage, a lot of history."

Last winter, Hart approached Norwich's mayor, Benjamin P. Lathrop, about entering the city into the America in Bloom competition, which promotes beautification programs by awarding cities prizes in eight categories, including floral displays, environmental awareness and landscaped areas as well as Best Overall entrant. (Hart says entering her own town of Canterbury was a less viable option because "It only has a population of about 4,000 -- there is no budget for parks and recreation.")

Hart, a floral industry veteran of 30 years, was first exposed to the America in Bloom campaign while participating in OFA short courses in 2000, but she was inspired to participate only after opening the Norwich branch in 2005.  "The city is very supportive of new business," says Hart. "We felt very welcomed ... I just thought [entering the contest] would be good for the city and good for our business."

By August 2006, Hart had organized the first meeting of about 20 residents and business owners to talk about how to make the city a contender for America in Bloom, and they have been "having monthly meetings all winter long and planning our strategy," she says.

The group recently organized a clean-up weekend around Earth Day. They're also planning their own beautification contest in June in the hopes of getting lots of residents and business owners involved in sprucing up their properties and the neighborhood, so they're ready for the America in Bloom judges in July. Hart says her business has gotten "press and publicity" from her involvement in the effort.

"I just thought that the city has a good possibility of winning," she says. "There is a big push for a renaissance of the city."

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

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Who Are You Calling Small?

A new report from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy has confirmed what many floral industry members already know: Small businesses are big contributors to the nation's economy.

The study, which analyzed data from 1998 to 2004, found that small businesses (click here for a definition) generate 50 percent of the nation's private, non-farm gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the report: "Small-businesses continue to play a vital role in the economy of the United States... It is worth noting that while the share of GDP attributable to small business has remained relatively stable over the years, a detailed look at the industry level reveals a more dynamic picture. While the small business share of many of the industries studied declined during this time period, strong growth in small business-dominated sectors helped the overall share remain at 50 percent."

Read the full report.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Book Questions Good of the Group

Many business owners pride themselves on their own intuition and judgment, but before you launch a new product or service, you might want to solicit the input of a group -- that is, if it's the right kind of group. In his book, "The Wisdom of Crowds," James Surowiecki took an unscientific look at situations where peer- and group-input can help solve a problem -- and where the extra voices can cause additional headaches. His theory? Effective group decision-making requires:  

• A group that's diverse and decentralized;

• Members who are willing to work and act independently; and

• A way to collect input in a way that doesn't undermine group members' independence -- otherwise people could feel pressure to "be a team player" and not voice their honest opinion.

So, when can group decisions backfire? "Essentially, any time most of the people in a group are biased in the same direction, it's probably not going to make good decisions," Surowiecki says. "And when people start paying too much attention to what others in the group think, that usually spells disaster... The paradox of the wisdom of crowds is that the best group decisions come from lots of independent individual decisions."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Online, Can We All Just Get Along?

Anonymous postings and near instantaneous publication of opinions don't always lend themselves to polite discourse, but a concerned group is now calling for increased civility online.

Earlier this month, Tim O'Reilly, a blogger, promoter and book publisher, and Jimmy Wales, creator of Wikipedia, began working together to create a set of guidelines for online discussion and debate, according to The New York Times. The two are calling on blog and Web site administrators to limit their use of anonymous comments and to delete "threatening or libelous comments," among other tips.

"If it's a carefully constructed set of principles, it could carry a lot of weight even if not everyone agrees," Wales said.

Wales and O'Reilly were inspired to work together after an "online shouting match" broke out between users of a technology blog, with one participant later receiving death threats.

"In the industry itself, I think we're pretty good," says Rich Dudley, co-owner of The Bloomery and co-founder of http://floristblogs.com, a network of florist blogs. "There are people who will rant and rave and say stupid things, but usually they just embarrass themselves... The problem with a voluntary code of ethics is that it would be pointless -- the people who follow it would behave well anyway and the people who abuse sites would ignore it."

An important point for any florist to remember is that "if you're blogging for your business, then your blog is a representation of that business," Dudley says. "You need to watch what you say."

Opponents of O'Reilly's and Wales' efforts say guidelines, even if they are voluntary, could threaten free speech online.

"[The proposed rules] make me feel uncomfortable," said Robert Scoble, a popular technology blogger. "As a writer, it makes me feel like I live in Iran."

"That is one of the mistakes a lot of people make -- believing that uncensored speech is the most free, when in fact, managed civil dialogue is actually the freer speech," O'Reilly countered. "Free speech is enhanced by civility."

What do you think? Take up this topic on the SAF Forum, a members-only only forum SAF launched earlier this year.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Funeral Homes Turn to Receptions for Profits

Faced with shrinking profit margins, funeral homes across the country are offering unexpected resources and services, including all-purpose reception halls, according to a recent story in BusinessWeek magazine.

"Contrary to what most people think, there's not a lot of money in handling the deceased," Glenn Gould of MKJ Marketing said to BusinessWeek. "The business of a funeral home is to have events. If you take out the events, it's just not that profitable."

Nine out of 10 funeral homes in the United States still are private, family-run businesses, but they are facing challenges from societal trends, including a rise in inexpensive cremation services and a decrease in traditional services, and mass merchandisers selling caskets, such as Costco. The answer for some funeral directors has been to broaden their appeal by adding reception halls and multi-functional family areas.

"When all we had were pews, and families wanted something different, our facility wasn't an option," says Mark Musgrove of Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene, Ore., who converted an on-site chapel into a multipurpose family center. "Now we can accommodate secular families, Jewish families, Muslim families...."

On-site reception halls and specialized services also tap into two Baby Boomer-friendly trends -- convenience and personalization.

"While a family might be unwilling to drop a few thousand on a lavish cookie-cutter funeral," writes BusinessWeek's Kerry Miller, "many are willing to spend as much or more on a customized 'celebration' of a loved one's life, complete with extras like a video memorial, a prime-rib dinner, even a champagne fountain."

Miller speculates that, down the road, even weddings could be hosted in the homes' reception areas.

Read the full story.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Reader Feedback: Virginia Tech

Cathy Hillen-Rulloda, AAF, AIFD, PFCI of Avante Gardens-Florals Unique in Anaheim, Calif., responded to last week's article on local florists' reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting, writing: 

"I saw your e-brief article about the local florists dealing with the tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings.  Were you aware that ABC's Nightline did a piece about the Blacksburg florists?  I wrote about it -- and some bottom feeder floral opportunists -- on the Real Florists Blog.

"The Nightline piece was a very positive portrayal of flowers and local florists.  Thought you might like to see it. (It's linked from my blog post.)"

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Help Us Help You -- And Win!

You could win this camera ...

How has SAF helped your business? Tell us about it and you could win a brand new Canon SD630 digital camera from SAF -- plus a box of flowers from Brand Flowers in Carpinteria, Calif. 

... and a beautiful box of flowers from Brand Flowers!

Let us know how a specific SAF product, service, benefit or other resource has helped you -- or just why you believe in and belong to SAF -- and allow us share your thoughts with others so we can help keep SAF and the floral industry strong and growing. 

How to enter: Jot down your thoughts plus permission to use them to promote the benefits of membership in SAF. Then, e-mail them to testimonials@safnow.org or fax them to 703-836-8705, Attn: Shelley Estersohn.

HURRY! Contest ends May 15.

--Shelley Estersohn
sestersohn@safnow.org

 
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Talk on the Forums

One member is wondering how to get gladioli that are very tight to open in two days. Another member suggests putting the flowers in very warm treated water, snapping off the tips to the first bud that is showing color and storing them in a warm place. The member also suggests misting the flowers with warm water and reminds forum members to use a flower preservative, such as Chrysal #3, and not a holding formula. Weigh in.

Also on the forums:

Referrals

South American freeze

Start your own discussion.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Product Spotlight: The Wedding Flower Calculator

Gain the gratitude of busy brides-to-be by making their wedding planning easier -- with the brand new Wedding Flower Calculator. Created by SAF member, Erlene LeBorgne, owner of Rosemont Floral in Portland, Maine and founder of FloralMarketingPro.com, this easy-to-use tool will give customers an idea of what their wedding flowers will cost. Just download the Calculator from the SAF Web site, enter your shop's information and flower prices, then put it on your Web site or e-mail it to prospective customers. Brides then can enter what they need, and the worksheet calculates approximately how much they can expect to spend.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Florists Going Green ... or Not?

Sixty-two percent of readers responding to last week's e-poll said they have not incorporated environmentally sound practices, such as encouraging customers to bring back vases, recycling and/or composting, into their businesses.  Thirty-eight percent said they have.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 
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Many Shops Closed on Mother's Day 2006

Fifty percent of retail florists were not open last year on Mother's Day, according to a 2006 post-holiday survey. Of the remaining 50 percent, about half (27 percent) were open for part of the day and the remainder were open all day. But, it was back to business as usual on Monday for 95 percent of the shops. The other five percent were split between closing for the day and closing part of the day.

Source: SAF Online Survey of retail florists with e-mail addresses. Based on 507 responses (response rate -- 13.6 percent). Conducted May 17-30, 2006.

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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