September 14, 1918 



HORTICULTURE 



369 



THE WHOLESALE HOUSE OF THE FUTURE 



Modern Business Methods. 



Modern business is always aggres- 

 sive. To spend intelligently in ac- 

 cordance with the needs of the busi- 

 ness is conservation — always alert to 

 every opportunity to a healthy expan- 

 sion. Let us introduce commercial 

 ideas and practices as are to be found 

 in such lines of activity. Some whole- 

 salers have shown this spirit df ag- 

 gressiveness where others fail to keep 

 abreast of the times, standing still, or 

 losing ground. The New Idea of "The 

 Wholesale House of the Future" is to 

 give valuable service to realize greater 

 returns. The Old Idea is to wait for 

 business. Increased sales by the 

 wholesaler should not necessarily 

 mean more customers — it should mean 

 that the increase in sales is due to 

 more efficient and valuable service to 

 the customers we already have. 

 Cost of Doing Business. 



The cost of wholesaling has ad- 

 vanced steadily toward the 15 per 

 cent commission allowance. To hold 

 down the cost of doing a wholesale 

 business is to do more business. No 

 reduction of the cost of expense can 

 be expected, and it is for that reason 

 that some effective and practical plans 

 must be devised to "get the money" 

 for the grower — that's getting it for 

 us, and for the retailer, who must see 

 the grower prosperous in order to have 

 the producer raise the stock for him 

 to do business with. We have been 

 asleep. Always making money here- 

 tofore, and now when doubtful con- 

 ditions are placed be'ore us — well, 

 anyhow — let's not blame it entirely 

 on the war. 



Starting in Business 



Wholesale houses in the past could 

 start with a little capital to do a lOO 

 per cent business on a 15 per cent 

 basis — rise from a wage earner, as 

 salesclerk or bookkeeper, to having 

 his own wholesale commission busi- 

 ness. The wholesale market is con- 

 ducted any way any individual house 

 may see fit to carry on its business. 

 To begin to analyse the operations of 

 all the houses would take more time 

 than one cares to listen to — but out of 

 such a complex situation some one 

 house must arise as will typify "The 

 Wholesale House of the Future." 

 Waste of Duplication. 



In carrying on a wholesale busi- 

 ness we continually encroach on each 

 other without any resultant benefit to 

 any one individual, wholesaler, or to 

 the market as a whole; each over- 

 lapping the other, neither recognizing 

 any ethics 'in business. The war has 

 rapidly forced the trade into look- 

 ing into new things — new ways to 

 economize, and yet compelling it to 

 see that it maintains itself. 

 "Sales Returns." 



To classify these wholesale factors 

 that make up the market — the grower 

 selling direct has less "to think 

 about'' than the commission whole- 

 saler. The grower selling direct "does 

 not have to be shown." — He knows. 



Foreign Consignments 



A wholesale commission house 

 should have its limitations. It should 

 not accept consignments of "Indoor 

 and Outdoor" stock except from grow- 

 ers whose specialty is to commercial- 

 ly produce for the wholesale market. 

 Department Stores. 



To discourage the practice of sell- 

 ing to department stores in times of 

 over abundance (glut) unless such de- 

 partment stores operate a retail cut 

 flower department all the year 

 through. 



Retail Orders. 



That the wholesale grower and the 

 wholesale cut flower commission busi- 

 ness omit selling direct to the con- 

 sumer — otherwise known as the "Red 

 Violet Business." 



Growers' Organization. 



Growers consigning to any one 

 house to organize and hold regular 

 meetings to take up such matters as 

 of interest to consignee and consignor, 

 thereby promoting the welfare of 

 both. Acting under one administra- 

 tive force it is bound to give greatest 

 returns to the grower on the capital 

 invested, and the greatest amount 

 of satisfaction to the management of 

 such wholesale institution. That some 

 means be devised of an organization 

 in the wholesale market with grow- 

 ers as represented by the commission 

 wholesaler and with that of the 

 wholesale grower to prevent as much 

 as possible the dumping of foreign 

 stock into the market during a glut 

 period. 



Licensing and Bonding. 



Licensing of the commission busi- 

 ness and bonding them for the proper 

 conduct of their business — particular- 

 ly for the benefit of the consignor and 

 the prestige such supervision will 

 carry to the distant buyer and also 

 stop the questionable methods of so- 

 liciting consignors. 



Credits. 



Increased overhead cuts closer into 

 the 15% allowance to the wholesaler. 

 Long credits will have to be discon- 

 tinued. Each credit extended by a 

 wholesaler uses that much more of 

 the capital. We eventually must cur- 

 tail our credits to the same limits that 

 we have to pay those with whom we 

 deal. No retailer has a justifiable rea- 

 son to expect to use a wholesaler's 

 capital to carry on his business. 

 Expense of Selling, 



It takes from 8% to 12% for a 

 wholesaler to do business right. If 

 collections are not within a fixed basis 

 of income additional money of the 

 wholesaler must be supplied. The ex- 

 pense of selling has increased without 

 increase of commission income. Prob- 

 lems we solve today to meet condi- 

 tions are but stepping stones in es- 

 tablishing 'The Wholesale House of 

 the Future." Present obstacles are 

 not temporary. They will be with us 

 for a long time to come. Labor short- 

 age, higher wages, higher production 



costs in the commodities we handle, 

 require greater returns on the invest- 

 ment. The wholesaler must first see 

 to it that the grower is able to con- 

 tinue on at a profit so that the com- 

 mission house has something to sell, 

 therefore, means must be found to 

 keep the growers on a business pay- 

 ing basis. The large producers have 

 shown that they can well afford to 

 develop their own market, while the 

 smaller growers, collectively, do best 

 by the commission method. 

 20% Commission. 



Chicago is a natural "dumping 

 ground'' for cut flowers coming in 

 from all parts of the country. While 

 we are obliged to accept them when 

 express charges are paid or guaran- 

 teed, it is our privilege to charge 20% 

 from transient shippers. 



Greenhouses Costs 



Greenhouses costs is beyond the 

 present scope of this paper. Costs 

 can be measured very readily on the 

 "per square foot measure" basis of 

 the soil benches or from the individ- 

 ual plant, or determined by a given 

 glass area. A grower with a record 

 of cost should compel his wholesale 

 house to render a detailed "Report of 

 Sales;" just what the products are 

 selling for. Such records will be 

 available from the "Wholesale House 

 of the Future." 



Advertising. 



Retail dealers are attracted to this 

 market only as we have the goods to 

 advertise. The wholesale grower and 

 the commission wholesaler has done 

 very little to create a demand for 

 flowers with the consuming public. If 

 you want higher prices, support the 

 publicity campaign of the "S. A. F." 

 Create a demand to put flowers to 

 greater uses and the public will pay 

 the price. 



Control of Shippers. 



So long as the commission whole- 

 saler exercises no control over his 

 consignors to bring about better con- 

 ditions of marketing, so long will we 

 stay as we are. The commission 

 house, to build and to hold its cus- 

 tomers, must have control over the 

 grower. It is expensive to get the 

 customers and then fail to hold them. 

 The retailer pays the price when given 

 the quality and the service due him 

 and only so will the grower expand as 

 he has assurance of receiving prices 

 to cover the cost of production. The 

 grower who coordinates his green- 

 houses with the commission whole- 

 saler broadens the responsibilities of 

 such wholesaler— each co-operating 

 with the other, yet each retaining his 

 individuality. Several growers, be- 

 cause of their close relation, have suc- 

 ceeded well in consigning their stock 

 in open market. It stops suspicion 

 and discontent of the grower in the 

 sales of his products. 



The "Square Deal." 



A wholesale cut flower commission 

 business should show no favoritism 

 to any grower in the sales of his stock 



