Break out the bow and increase the sale
As we gear up for the holiday season, pre-packaged gifts become ubiquitous in every retail store. Admit it, we have all been swayed to purchase that pair of pajamas tied up with a beautiful bow, or the set of chocolates or coffee in the attractive gift package. This same “make-it-a-gift” selling technique works for Valentine’s Day and floral too. Consumers love bows and are quite frankly in awe of people (that’s you floral designers) that can hand-tie a bow. Use your bow-tying ability to create a bigger sale.
Making the most of your Valentine’s Day holiday
I know, you don’t want to hear about Valentine’s Day yet; you haven’t even finished your Thanksgiving leftovers yet. But you know as well as I do that now is the time to get on the bandwagon and start preparing for the big Love Day headed our way.
It’s the same thing every year, right? Stress, stress, and more stress. OK, now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at some facts:
Is Valentine’s Day extremely busy? — Yes.
Do we all have to work like crazy and then lose sleep worrying about what didn’t get done, or should have been done? — Pretty much.
Seasonal flowers that extend beyond traditional Christmas holiday
I love the month of December because it is full of so many different looks in our floral industry. There are seemingly endless options with the availability of Paper Whites and Amaryllis, unique blooming hydrangea plants, Zygo plants, Ornithogalum, gardenias and Calla lilies to add to the sales of the traditional Poinsettias, cyclamen, Christmas cactus and holiday mums. The key to increasing sales at this time of year is to keep all of the many holidays in mind.
Amaryllis trending as new holiday item
The Amaryllis plant’s ability to grow incredibly quickly (sometimes gaining an inch or more a day) has inspired many people to “race” Amaryllis, according to a Jackson & Perkins press release. Whole offices participate in Amaryllis races, awarding ribbons to the plants that grew the fastest or produced the most beautiful blooms; and the latest trend is to compete with friends and family over Instagram using #AmaryllisChallenge.
Santa and Mrs. Claus, Smokey Bear, and special security detail accompany ‘People’s Tree’ across the country
MINNEAPOLIS — The 105-foot custom-built 18-wheeler, decorated with handwritten messages and signatures and carrying an 88-foot white spruce with a base diameter of 30 inches, arrived at the Boy Scout’s Northern Star Council’s Base Camp, here, its 16th of 32 whistle-stops en route to Washington, DC, from the Chippewa National Forest in north-central Minnesota. Accompanied by a second semi-trailer filled with 70 smaller companion trees and 10,000 handmade ornaments, and followed by several U.S. Forest Service escort vehicles containing Santa and Mrs.
AFE wins third award for promotional video
The “Murder, Sex and Greed” animated awareness video produced by the American Floral Endowment has won its third communications award, a Thoth Award, from the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, according to a news release. The video was developed to educate the floriculture industry about the positive effects the floral nedowment has on critical industry concerns.
Florida grower’s orchids comfort grieving parents
Flowers are traditionally given during times of grief, but Silver Vase Inc. takes these gifts of bereavement to a whole new level. Based in Homestead, FL, the grower donates orchids to the Miami chapter of The Compassionate Friends, an organization dedicated to comforting families grieving the loss of a child.
Rosa Flora Ltd. rebuilds, re-blooms and rediscovers itself after fire
Nine months after that sickening 1 a.m. phone call when Joshua Bulk, co-owner of Rosa Flora Ltd. in Dunnville, ON, discovered a devastating fire that destroyed two out of five greenhouses, 15 custom-made trucks, sales facilities, coolers, loading docks and logistics, the company continues to rebuild and is still going strong. The blaze hit the business hard, affecting about 40 percent of its production and causing over $20 million in damages, but everyone went to work the next day and started planning the company’s recovery.
MANTS Jan. 14-16 in Baltimore
Now in its 45th year, the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, known as “the masterpiece of trade shows,” will take place Jan. 14-16 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD, according to a news release. The state nursery and landscape associations of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia sponsor MANTS and each association will hold its annual meeting during the three-day event.
WF&FSA conference continues to set attendance records
For the fifth consecutive year, the Wholesale Florist & Florist Suppliers Association set an attendance record at its conference at the Trump Doral in Miami, Oct. 22-24. Dozens of exhibitor booths were visited by the more than 760 in attendance.
The tabletop area was humming all three days with brisk activity, reinforcing the event as the premier networking event in the industry for floral wholesalers and their suppliers.