HEADLINES

Retailers Report Hike in Valentine's Day Sales

More than 60 percent of retail florists said their Valentine's Day sales increased compared to last year — and just under half (47 percent) said sales were slightly or much better than their expectations. That's according to SAF's post-Valentine's Day online sales survey. Slightly more than 20 percent said sales decreased, while 17 percent reported sales about the same as a year ago.

Some additional findings from the survey:

How Florists' Valentine's Day Sales Comapred To Their Expectations

Average increases, decreases. For shops reporting an increase, sales were up an average of 15 percent; for those reporting a decline, the average was 17 percent.  Last year, fewer florists (45 percent) reported increases and more (35 percent) reported decreases. More than 40 percent of shops stopped taking orders or turned away business on Valentine's Day.

Transaction amount, gender purchases. The average transaction amount was $64.18, about $1 less than last year's average. Three-quarters of the orders came from men.

Positive factors. The four most cited factors that influenced the increases were:
* Weather
* Day of the week
* Increased shop reputation
* Walk-in sales

Negative factors. Decreases were most attributed to:
* Regional economy
* Competition from mass marketers
* Competition from online floral vendors
* Fuel and energy costs
* Fewer wire-in orders
* Competition from order gatherers

Rose sales. Close to 70 percent of orders were for roses (69.1 percent), which is about 10 percentage points more than last year. More florists reported their proportion of rose orders was higher than it was last year.  Of those rose orders, 69 percent were for red roses and 17 percent  were for non-red mono-colored roses. Both figures were the same as in 2007. Just under 10 percent were for a mixture of colored roses.

Mixed flowers. Almost one out of three businesses reported an increase in sales of mixed flower arrangements over 2007. Those orders made up about 29 percent of sales, on average. Arrangements of non-rose single flower types were 9 percent of orders.

Rose prices. Prices for roses averaged $76.34 for a dozen arranged long-stemmed roses and $61.89 for unarranged.

Day of the week. Just over half of all orders came in the day before or day of Valentine's Day.  Three-quarters were delivered on Thursday, Valentine's Day. Sixty-three percent of florists did not offer discounts or incentives to customers who ordered early, and florists were evenly split on whether they limited or streamlined what products customers could order on Valentine's Day.

Featured specials. The most promoted items for the holiday were, in order:
* Store-designed arrangements
* Plush and Teddy Bears
* Balloons
* Wire service arrangements

Non-floral items. The most popular non-floral gifts were chocolate or candy, balloons and plush.

Additional coverage of Valentine's Day sales can be found in the April issue of Floral Management and on www.safnow.org.

--Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org

 
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SAF Members Give Feedback on Congressional Action Days Hill Visits

SAF members met in 166 legislative offices on Capitol Hill last week during the 28th annual Congressional Action Days.  Their goal: to raise awareness and generate support for three industry concerns: immigration reform, increased floral and nursery research funding and permanent estate tax reform.  Feedback — both good and bad — from those meetings helps focus the work of SAF's legislative staff throughout the year.  Here are a few highlights.

Michelle Castellano of Mellano & Company in San Luis Rey, Calif., met with more than a dozen representatives, but the meeting with the staffer from  Rep. Dennis Cardoza's (D-18-Calif.) office was her favorite of the day. "We were supposed to meet with the congressman but he was called to a vote, so we met with Anne Cannon [his senior legislative assistant]," Castellano said.  She was impressed by how nice Cannon was to her delegation. "Obviously Congressman Cardoza is supportive of our issues. Though he supports an elimination of the death tax; they are realistic and would like to see an alternative plan proposed."

Castellano's meeting with Troy Phillips, an agriculture legislative assistant for Rep. Sam Farr's (D-17-Calif.) office, also went exceedingly well. "Ever since he visited us on a congressional tour at Mellano & Co. several years ago, he always remembers me and is always polite," she said. "Inviting a member of Congress to tour your facility is a great way to build a working relationship," said Jeanne Ramsay, senior director of government relations for SAF.

Rep. Susan Davis (D-53-CA) (left) meets with Michelle Castellano of Mellano & Company (middle) and Barbara Schnur of S.F. Brannan Street Wholesale Florist (far right).

A visit with Rep. Susan Davis (D-53-Calif.) included an engaging dialogue about controversial immigration reform. The congresswoman told Castellano that she receives much more mail from opponents than supporters — reinforcing that businesspeople need to speak up and make their voices heard on such an emotional issue.

Linda Zoerb, AAF, of La Crosse Floral Co., Inc. in Lacrosse, Wis., met with policy advisor Erik Olson from Rep. Ron Kind's (D-3-Wis.) office and thanked him for the continued support of AgJOBS. Zoerb thought the office, as a whole was "very, very receptive."

Again, Zoerb stood out because of her involvement at the local level. "The whole staff wanted to meet me because of hearing about my press conference with Ron two weeks ago in Lacrosse, Wis.," added Zoerb.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-4-Kan.) was visited by constituent and SAF member Ben Miller of Stutzman Greenhouse, Inc. in Hutchinson, Kan. who says that the congressman was "surprised at the size of our industry." That sentiment was expressed by several other Congressional Action Days attendees — particularly when they mentioned the size of the industry in relation to its relatively small share of federal research dollars.  "Congressional Action Days is the perfect opportunity to educate Congress about the importance of the U.S. floral industry," explained SAF's Ramsay.

An SAF delegation paid a visit to the office of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Manny Gonzales from Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, S.C., met with agriculture legislative aide Jacqueline Wood and discussed the fundamentals of immigration reform. Wood acknowledged the crisis and told Gonzales that the senator is for the SAVE Act but "knows there must be a viable worker program." SAF opposes the SAVE Act because it is an "enforcement-only" bill which does not address the issue of how to continue to have an adequate agricultural workforce in this country.

Marty Loppnow of Waukesha Floral & Greenhouses (right) and his wife, Jane at the Issues Briefing during SAF Congressional Hill Days.

Marty Loppnow of Waukesha Floral & Greenhouses in Waukesha, Wisc., is a veteran Congressional Action Days attendee. He reports that Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-5-Wis.) was very vocal about his opposition to any immigration reform legislation that allows undocumented workers to earn their citizenship.  But Loppnow said he held his ground.  "SAF applauds Marty for standing firm and providing another point of view for the congressman," said SAF's Ramsay.

New Jersey members W. Kurt Schroeder, AAF, AIFD, PFCI of Delaware Valley Floral Group in Sewell and Randy Schenauer of The Elite Flower in Galloway, visited Rep. Albio Sires's (D-13-N.J.) office. The duo met with Hannah Brown, the immigration legislative aide as well as Gene Martorony, chief of staff.

"We got a reaction from Mr. Martorony when he found out floriculture and nursery crops are number one in New Jersey," Schroeder and Schenauer said.

SAF appreciates the time and commitment of members who took the time to come to Washington and share their concerns.  In the months ahead, we will use feedback from their meetings to continue to advance issues critical to the health of the U.S. floral industry.

 --The Editors
mschimminger@safnow.org

 
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Congressional Action Days Soundbites

Over the course of two jam-packed days at SAF's Congressional Action Days, held Feb. 25-26, SAF members, speakers and politicians said many intelligent, helpful, profound and even surprising things. Here are just some of the notable things "overheard" during the two-day event:

Members Speak to the Issues on Capitol Hill

E-Brief editors tagged along with a delegation of Californians on their visits to Capitol Hill. Here are some soundbites from the day:

"Instead of being reactive, we're asking you to be proactive." - Bruce Brady, representing The Sun Valley Group, Inc., from Arcata, Calif., said to legislative assistant, Lacey Kiriakou from Rep. George P. Radanovich's (R-19-Calif.) office, about USDA funding. 

"It is a huge issue for us because as small businesses, the next generation cannot afford to inherit the business." - Michelle Castellano, representing Mellano & Company from San Luis Rey, Calif., said as she addressed the perils of the estate tax during a meeting with senior legislative assistant, Jenny Sarabia, from the office of Rep. Joe Baca (D-43-Calif.).

On the Importance of Congressional Action Days

Attending Congressional Action Days is beneficial for SAF members, and "it lets those guys [in Congress] know that we're out here working for our business, and it reminds them that it's small businesses that keep this country moving. They seem to be amicable to hearing that." - according to David Boulton, AAF, of Flowers By George, Inc. in Arlington, Wash.

On why grassroots lobbying is important

"We represent about 15 percent of total U.S. crop agriculture, but we don't get our share of research." - Lin Schmale, senior director of government relations on why it's so important SAF members ask for additional floriculture and nursery research on the Hill.

"You are the most powerful lobbyist that can come and lobby for your cause." - professional trainer Brad Fitch said during "Lobbying Tips, Training and Practice: Tactics for an Election Year."

On the presidential frontrunners

Chris Wallace, host of FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace talked at the Kick Off Breakfast about the presidential race, the current political climate in Washington, D.C., and the media's role in covering it all. Some highlights:

Sen. John McCain is "also different than any other Republican nominee we've ever seen ... Imagine a Republican nominee who's for regulation of greenhouse gases, who opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic, who supports stem cell research and has fought for years to limit the influence of money in politics."

"After all of his years going up against the Washington establishment, McCain will be able to say he was fighting for change before change was cool."
 
"... if both [Sen. Barack] Obama and [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton] stay in the race, it will come down to superdelegates. The Obama camp ... said the superdelegates must ratify the will of the voters and go for whichever candidate is leading in delegates and popular votes, which they believe will be Obama. The Clinton camp ... is saying the superdelegates should vote for her even if she's trailing in delegates and popular votes because she would be the strongest Democratic nominee ... If Clinton stays in the race all the way to the end, this has the possibility of tearing apart the Democratic Party."

Obama "has struck a chord with the American electorate unlike anything since Bobby Kennedy back in 1968. Some of those political insiders [question] how he would change the way business is done in Washington. But the voters get it when Obama says he's tired of the games being played in Washington, voters are too."

On SAF and its Issues

"In N.Y., there've been estimates that we could lose 1,000 of our farms due to the immigration issue." - Rep. Jim Walsh (R-25-N.Y.), told attendees at the Grassroots Breakfast referring to problems caused by immediately kicking undocumented agricultural workers out of the country. He also said, "I very much appreciate the relationship I've had with the floral and nursery industry over the years."

"I can't tell you how much we thank you for your interest and leadership. It's not an easy issue, it's very emotional, but your industry has been at the forefront." - Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said in recognizing SAF's leadership on immigration reform, specifically citing SAF's role in lobbying for swift enactment of AgJOBS.

On the Media

"Over the years, the media has gotten a bit too self-righteous. We're busy criticizing presidents and popes but feel that we're above criticism ... I feel proud and privileged to be a reporter. It's been a ticket for me to be an eyewitness to history ... Someone is always going to be mad at us and sometimes we will make mistakes, but the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they put freedom of the press in the Constitution. Our job is to live up to that responsibility." - Wallace said during the Kick Off Breakfast.

On the Power of Flowers

"I want to tell you that you guys with your flowers have gotten me out of a lot of trouble in my marriage. It really is the gift that keeps on giving." - said Wallace during the Kick Off Breakfast.

--The Editors
kpenn@safnow.org

 
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Design Talents on Display at Congressional Reception

DESIGN-TAINMENT Lisa Greene, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Nunan Florist in Georgetown, Ma., made use of myriad flowers, greens and accessories donated to create stunning floral designs before the hundreds of attendees of SAF's Congressional Reception.

New ethics regulations on Capitol Hill, including greater enforcement of gift rules meant that attendees of SAF's annual Congressional Reception, held Feb. 26, didn't leave with armloads of flowers as many have in the past. But the estimated 700 attendees nonetheless left the reception with flowers in hand as well as a new take on the design talent in the industry.

Congressional Action Days floral design chairman Jeff Corbin, AAF, PFCI, AIFD, from Radford City Florist, Inc. in Radford, Va., and his volunteer design team came up with a simple, yet elegant hand-tied bouquet that did not exceed the $10 retail limit imposed in the congressional gift rules. The bouquets were comprised of tulips, roses and other cut flowers, wrapped in tissue and with a ribbon and kept hydrated using Arrive Alive.

Attendees also got a taste of the beauty of the floral industry during the reception, as eight AIFD designers, flanking either side of the massive Cannon Caucus room, created arrangements on the spot (click here to see the designers in action). While the arrangements, whose value easily went above the $10 limit on gifts, could not be given away to congressional attendees, SAF coordinated an effort to give most of them to the local Meals on Wheels organization.

For a complete list of product donors as well as volunteers for Congressional Action Days, click here.

--Kate Penn
kpenn@safnow.org

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NEWSMAKERS

Connecticut Florists Learn How to be More Web Savvy

The Connecticut Florists Association (CFA) invited SAF's own Renato Sogueco, chief information officer, to talk about how florists can increase traffic on their Web sites.

"Revenue from Web sites is probably the number one revenue source for retail florists," Sogueco said.

Sogueco outlined key search elements used by most consumers, noting that about 90 percent of people surfing the Web will just rely on the first 10 items that come up after a search on such engines like Goggle or Yahoo. "The trick is to get your business to be listed in that top 10," Sogueco told CFA attendees. He went over basic, but proven techniques including relevant keyword suggestions, keyword placement on the actual Web page (headers, body text, etc.) and linking to outside sites.

Sogueco also offered some innovative methods for staying relevant on the Internet, such as participating in social media through such sites as Myspace and Facebook. Establishing a daily blog where you can write about everything from design philosophy to taking the time to answer common customer questions was another suggestion. Sogueco also reminded CFA members of the growing power of video sites such as YouTube, where you can upload photos and videos of event work or even designers at work.

"The florists from the northeast U.S. filled Renato's presentation, 'The Web-Savvy Florist,'" says Robert Heffernan, executive director of the Connecticut Florists Association.  "They peppered him with tons of questions and wouldn't leave the room. He gave them dozens of tips that most had never heard of before."

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

 
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Florist Touts Benefits of Sympathy Flowers to Funeral Directors

Part of SAF's outreach to funeral trade publications in 2007 led to a three-page color spread in the January issue of International Cemetery,Cremation & Funeral Association Magazine (ICCFA). After receiving SAF's information packet on the role of sympathy flowers in the bereavement process, ICCFA editors asked SAF for an exclusive article about the personalization of sympathy flowers.

SAF partnered with Jeff Corbin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Radford City Florist, in Radford, Va. to write the exclusive article. Corbin, former chairman of SAF's Professional Floral Communicators - International (PFCI) and design chairman of SAF's Congressional Action Days 2008, specializes in educating florists about sympathy sales.

The article, "Serving Families Better with Flowers," showcases personalized designs and emphasizes how local florists and flowers can help funeral directors better serve their customers.

There's been an increase in popularity of cremations and memorial services, creating a new segment of floral arrangements of personalized tributes and home sympathy designs, Corbin says.

"There is little need to send a giant easel spray to a church when the deceased is cremated and/or interment is out of town, yet it happens frequently," Corbin says. "In this scenario, an urn of garden flowers would be much more appropriate and could be enjoyed by a loved one after the service, delivered to a nursing home in memory of the deceased or left at church to be enjoyed during worship services."

Corbin also explains how flowers can also create a useful diversion for those who are uncomfortable with death by creating a conversation piece.

"When flowers are personalized and capture the true spirit of the life being celebrated, one comment leads to another, and people share their stories and thoughts," he writes. "The healing process begins while the nervousness at being confronted with reality of death lessens. This may seem oversimplified, but in reality, if people can walk away from a funeral feeling relaxed, they are more likely to be attracted to that particular business."

Corbin also tells readers that increased communication between the two industries is key to eliminating challenges in the sympathy trade and explains how detrimental the term "in lieu of flowers" can be for both sides.

SAF provides members with complementary tools and advice, including: A sample letter to local funeral directors, a list of alternative phrases to the "in lieu of flowers" phrase and a checklist that can help your shop evaluate its sympathy business.

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

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NY Woman Begins Flower Power Foundation

After staring at the floral arrangements at New York’s Waldorf Astoria every day during her lunch breaks to give herself an emotional boost, an aspiring actress/clerical worker came up with a plan to bring that same happiness from flowers to others in need.

Nancy Lawlor picked up the hotel’s house phone and called around to find out what the hotel does with the “old” (but not dead) flowers when they bring in new arrangements. That call led to her to “repurposing” the flowers and giving them to patients in local medical facilities.

That was five years ago, and now that one little idea to spread happiness has turned into Lawlor’s foundation, “Flower Power,” and more than $2.5 million-worth of flower donations, NBC’s Nightly news recently reported.

After large weddings and other events, event organizers can donate 10 percent of the floral budget to the foundation, along with the flowers, and Lawlor’s volunteers come pick them up, and redistribute them to veteran’s hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities.

Lawlor says she would love to be able to accept everything; however, the floral budget for an event has to be a minimum of $5,000 (a $500 donation) for her volunteers to come repurpose the flowers.

“If it’s a $10,000 floral budget, not your linens, your party equipment, just your flowers, I know what that looks like,” Lawlor says. “I’ll know how many people I’ll need. Ultimately our goal is to have crews for the evenings that are paid. Right now they’re not.”

Those that donate get a tax break. “It really works out well for everyone,” she adds.

Currently most of Flower Power’s operations have been out of New York and Los Angeles, because it’s based on a volunteer effort, mainly Lawlor’s groups of friends. However, she’s looking to expand the foundation nationally.

SAF recently donated the floral designs created during the SAF Congressional Reception (link to Design story) to Meals on Wheels. Three years ago, AIFD launched a program to donate all the flowers after its Symposium to local hospitals.

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

 
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LIFE AT WORK

Body Piercings: A Hot Topic Among Co-workers

Employers aren’t the only ones that are likely to have an opinion on their employees’ body piercings — co-workers have a strong opinion they’d like to share on the subject, — they really don’t like working with individuals that have “highly visible” body art.

According to findings from a study conducted at Texas State University, most employees don’t want to look at their co-workers statements of self-expression, such as pierced lips, eyebrows, tongues and more.

Body jewelry, in the forms of piercings, is not a well-liked form of artistic expression among all of your employees, business professors at the university argue. According to a survey of 150 respondents (including those with or without body art themselves): “Most people would rather not work with someone who has visible art in situations requiring face-to-face contact with customers, even if qualified for the job.”

The findings go on to show that even those individuals that do have body art feel the same way as those without: “Even those with body art were critical of others whose bodies were adorned with fashion statements.”

Do you have a policy about tattoos and piercings on the job? Weigh in on this subject in this week’s E-Poll.

--Cassandra P. Foster
cfoster@safnow.org

 
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TRENDS AND TIPS

Competition for Florists in Sympathy Market

Heads-up florists: There’s a new competitor out there angling for sympathy business, and it specializes in providing permanent florals and live plants for gravesites.

In addition to creating the floral displays, the company, Gravescape, Inc., takes a photo of its tributes and e-mails it to those family members and friends that are “limited by distance, physical ability or other constraints,” and are unable to personally visit their loved ones’ gravesites.

Gravescape offers four gravesite care services: placement, live planting, photography and home delivery. “On holidays and anniversaries, for special occasions or just the changing seasons, we deliver flowers and wreaths to gravesites. We create small beds for live plants. We clean up markers and monuments with tender loving care. And we photograph gravesites in cemeteries throughout the United States,” the company’s Web site states.

TRENDS AND TIPS

Word-of-Mouth Gets New Attention

With Internet social networking sites and discussion groups on the rise, more business owners are harnessing the (inexpensive) power of word-of-mouth advertising, according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal.

The story focused on small-business owners from myriad industries who are turning to word-of-mouth efforts instead of more traditional — and often more expensive — resources. Among the highlights: J&D’s Down Home Enterprises LLC in Issaquah, Wash., which launched its bacon-flavored seasoning, Bacon Salt, “almost exclusively through social-networking” sites such as MySpace, Facebook and LiveJournal.com.

“People just started taking it up like a holy cause,” Dave Lefkow, co-founder of the company, told the Journal.

The Journal isn’t the only media outlet noticing the uptick in word of mouth: An independent study highlighted in AdAge.com also found word-of-mouth advocacy is on the rise, and worth an estimated $1 billion to marketers. Overall, many small-business owners are looking for creative, cost-effective solutions, according to the National Small Business Association, which found more than half (54 percent) of the small-business owners it surveyed last spring plan to use “new advertising and marketing methods” in the next year.

Still, word-of-mouth isn’t without risk, especially when customers are using Web sites such as www.yelp.com to spread the good — and bad — word on businesses online. (Read more about Yelp in the July 11 issue of E-brief.)

“If you have things that are weak that you’ve done, it can have a large impact,” Scott Jacoby, owner of Scojac Music Productions LLC in New York City, said to the Journal. “I’m very careful to make sure that everything that goes out there is the best work that I can do.”

Are you using word-of-mouth strategies more today than you have in the past? We want to hear about it. E-mail your story to cfoster@safnow.org.

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

 
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Real Reviews from Real Brides

Brides have a new place to dish about bridal industry vendors — and said vendors can “listen in” — on a new review section on WeddingSolutions.com. The section allows members to “publicly praise the providers they used for their wedding if they did a great job, or warn other brides if they did not.”

Members are invited to write a 400- to 500-word review, add photos, and rate the business between one and five stars on quality, professionalism, price and service. Only members can write and check the reviews, but joining is free, and there are wedding professionals’ memberships.

The intention of the new service is to allow brides to find out “if the service provider they are hiring will perform according to their expectations,” Alex Lluch, president of WeddingSolutions.com, says in a press release.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

On the Horizon

•  "Keys to Communication" by SAF's PFCI featuring Sharon McGukin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI: July 7, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m. in Chicago, in conjunction with the AIFD National Symposium.
• SAF Palm Beach 2008: Sept. 17-20, 2008, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

REGULAR FEATURES

Product Spotlight: Ultimate Floral Industry Supply Guide

Looking for ribbons, refrigeration units or how about baby novelties? You can find it all using SAF's Ultimate Floral Industry Supply Guide. The guide is a one-stop, searchable source for a broad selection of fresh product, hard goods, business supplies and gift items.

And, if you're a supplier looking to be found, SAF members get preferred placement and the SAF logo next to your name. Members are also eligible for a 25 percent discount on enhanced listings with web links and additional information.

It truly is the "Ultimate" supply guide for the floral industry.

 
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Disscusion Forum

The discussion forum has been pretty active this past week with members asking for and receiving guidance. A member needed to update her phones and asked for recommendations.

"Remember I'm a florist — I have no money," she declared.

Another member who had recently journeyed to Office Depot and OfficeMax testified that "They have four line systems that can add cordless phones." Want to plug into the system details?

A member has a great idea to host simple floral classes right in her shop! She wants to offer customers the opportunity to get together, learn, enjoy a light snack and take home a floral gift at the end of the class. This member needs your recommendations and advice to help make this good idea even better. Click here to talk about your experiences

Or start your own discussion.

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

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Talking Politics

Politics really are a hot topic with almost 71 percent of respondents to last week's e-poll admitting conversing with co-workers about the subject. Only a little less than 28 percent said politics was not discussed among co-workers. More than 1 percent professed a general lack of interest in the political world by selecting "I'm not into politics."

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

 
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Day of the Week

Retail florists were asked on the post-Valentine's Day online survey how a Thursday holiday ranks compared to when Valentine's Day falls on another day. The highest percent (37 percent) said it ranked "2nd Best."  A Thursday holiday garnered "The Best" rating by 22 percent of florists, "3rd Best" by 17 percent, and "Middle" by 20 percent.

Day of the week

Source: SAF Post-Valentine's Day online survey of retail florists. Based on 469 responses (response rate 14%).

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