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MAKING IT PAY xr 



IS THE ONLY WAY 



The purpose of this symposium is to increase the sales of flowers; to.in- 

 creasQ^ them by presenting the positions of buyer and seller each to the 

 other; to increase them by showing that each party to the transactions 

 must make a profit, and by showing how the profits can be made. 



mm 



HEBE is perhaps no sec- 

 tion of the country, in 

 these whole United States, 

 that buys as many flowers 

 K ^ from long distance as does 

 |V-» the state of Texas." The 

 y'""N^ speaker was addressing the 

 W^ $^ recent convention of the 

 'I Texas Florists' Associa- 

 tion, and he added, "Also 

 I feel safe in stating that no one has 

 tlie trouble in settling for these flowers 

 that we florists of Texas do." 



That was the theme of nearly every 

 speaker on the program and it prompts 

 the idea that a statement by a buyer 

 and one by a seller will undoubtedly 

 make the subject better understood and 

 result in increased business, 

 for the Texas buyers wish 

 to. buy even as the distant 

 seller? wish to sell — both at 

 the necessary profit. 



"All of us," said the 

 Texan, "receive literature 



of some kind soliciting our 

 cut flower business, and 

 most of us buy. We wire 

 for a few hundred carna- 

 tions, a few roses, some val- 

 ley, or peas, perhaps, or 

 whatever stock we may 

 need for some social func- 

 tion a few days later. 



Trouble Begins. 



"Now bear in mind be- 

 fore I go further, there is 

 no market closer than twen- 

 ty-four hours in which to 

 get this stock, and we have 

 promised to have the flow- 

 ers for this certain social 

 function. Getting back to 

 the illustration: The stock 

 is due to arrive the evening 

 before or the morning of 

 the occasion. It arrives on 

 time (we feel relieved), we 

 open the box, we get the 

 shivers and the first thing 

 we say to ourselves is: 

 'What will I tell Mrs. 

 Blankt' — we have found 

 the stock u»fit for use, or 

 niost of it. We call Mrs. 

 p'ank on the phone or jump 

 ii: a car and go see her to 

 f vplain matters and patch 

 it up by using something 

 ^e have on hand — cutting 

 t'e price in half. Now, 

 t' ere is Loss No. 1 for the 

 r> tailer. Our customer ap- 

 P rently is satisfied, after 

 it is aJl over, but only a 



fourth of them in such cases really are 

 satisfied. Next time the majority of 

 them will seek elsewhere. Loss No. 2. 



"Extra" Stock. 



"The day the box came we wired or 

 wrote to the shipper that the stock 

 arrived in useless condition — 'Please' 

 give our account credit for , same, ' In 

 a few days comes a letter: 'We are 

 sorry stock reached you in poor condi- 

 tion; it was good, fresh stock when 

 shipped and, as we have already set- 

 tled with the growers, we will be un- 

 able to give you credit; however, would 

 be pleased to put in some extra stock 

 in your next shipment to make up for 

 your loss.' 



THE WHOLESALERS' POSITION 



[As Stated by One of Them.] 



Wholesale florists, while thoroughly appreciative of the 

 distant customers' necessities and difficulties, are bound by 

 certain facts and conditions: 



First, cut flowers axe wholesaled on a margin of 15 per 

 cent to cover all contingencies; the wholesaler's costs usu- 

 ally are 10 to 11 per cent, frequently considerably more; 

 Ms net profit is seldom greater than 4 to 5 per cent, fre- 

 quently considerably less. 



Second, any customer whose claims average more than 4 

 or 5 per cent of his purchases becomes an tinprofitable cus- 

 tomer. The wholesaler is better off without him, especially 

 because — 



There seldom is important waste of flowers in a success- 

 ful wholesale house; iSiere always is a home cash customer, 

 and — 



It is more profitable to sell, even at a slight concession, 

 to a buyer who pays cash than it is to ship at full market 

 rates to one who demands an allowance — claims, if any, 

 almost always exceed the wholesaler's net profit on the 

 order. 



The remedy lies in the retailer at great distance recog- 

 nizing that he must make his purchases profitable to the 

 wholesaler, ordering a grade of stock that will stand the 

 journey, paying a price that will warrant the most careful 

 selection, charging enough at retail so he can stand the al- 

 most inevitable occasional loss that comes from handling 

 a highly perishable article, stating his needs comprehen- 

 sively, stating complaints without vituperation, paying 

 promptly. 



There are many such accounts. If any wholesaler, happy 

 in the possession of one of them, should fail to make the 

 most diligent effort to hold it, there are plenty others who 

 would do so. 



"Now, how many of us ever got out 

 on a proposition like that? Few, I dare 

 say, ever did or ever will. How would 

 it sound for me to go to the customer 

 for whom I ordered the stock and in- 

 sist upon her paying full price for the 

 inferior goods simply because I might 

 have to pay the man who sold them to 

 mef It would not do at all, but it is 

 just as consistent that I insist on her 

 paying me as it is for the other fellow 

 to insist on my paying him. 



"Well, we have to pay for the ship- 

 ment, or at least a good part of it. 

 There is Loss No. 3. Then there is 

 the express ticket — Loss No. 4. Here 

 comes the telegraph bill — Loss No. 5 — 

 to say nothing of loss of sleep, temper 

 and hope of the hereafter. 

 Yet, most of the wholesale 

 houses from which we buy, 

 if we take the matter up 

 with them, insist that it is 

 ridiculous for the retailer 

 to hold them responsible 

 for shipments that open up 

 unfit for use. I, for one, 

 fail to see on what ground 

 they make this contention. 



Fresh Flowers? 



' ' We all know it is a long 

 haul to us from most of the 

 markets, but where is there 

 a. grower who wouldn't be 

 writing to every expert in 

 the country trying to locate 

 the trouble if his stock was 

 in such condition that it 

 would not keep forty-eight 

 to seventy-two hours after 

 being cut? Yet the ship- 

 pers say the stock was abso- 

 lutely fresh when shipped! 

 In many cases, no doubt, 

 these things occur through 

 the carelessness of help, but 

 should we be expected to 

 stand for that? 



"Making shipments good 

 by sending extra stock to 

 the value of that which ar- 

 rived in poor condition 

 sounds reasonable on the 

 face of it, but it is almost 

 impossible to get out on 

 such stock, for one who has 

 regular shipments coming 

 in has, or ought to have, 

 it figured pretty closely as 

 to what he requires. Con- 

 sequently, a lot of extra 

 stock dumped on him with 

 nothing special on hand is 

 a problem. 'Put on a sale?' 

 Yes! Loss No. 6. 



