Januaki 1. 1920. 



The Florists^ Review 



69 



Automobile Shows bring Business to Florists in the Form of Elaborate Decorations. 



sious of mucli importance to the motor 

 trades and they begin long beforehand 

 with their preparations. Whether the 

 florist wishes to see tlie local manage- 

 ment with a view to securing such deco- 

 rations as will be needed, or whether he 

 is more interested in developing his 

 store trade by the advertising to be had 

 by his own window display, the earlier 

 lie begins to think the matter over the 

 better results he is likely to obtain. 



TELEGRAMS BRING BUSINESS. 



Sell Flowers for Christmas. 



The use of telegrams to solicit retail 

 business is rare, although in some lines 

 of trade they have been employed by 

 wholesalers and jobbers. In the latter 

 case the object is usually to inform 

 good customers of special opportunities 

 or something of a similar nature. A 

 .straight solicitation of retail orders was 

 sent out for Christmas, however, by the 

 Blu Maize Blossom Shop, of Ann Ar- 

 bor, Mich., to local flower-buyers. 



To about 100 individuals a telegram 

 was sent which read: "Brighten your 

 licnie. Bring cheer to otiiorb. There is 

 nothing more acceptable or appropriate 

 than bright Christmas plants and flow- 

 ers. Use them as gifts, which express 

 your feelings as notliing else can. You 

 will find what you want at the store 

 that's different, where quality and serv- 

 ice predominate. Blu Maize Blossom 

 Shop, Nickels Arcade." 



Eona-Fide Telegrams. 



Those telegrams were sent out in the 

 iiMial way as local night-letters, being 

 delivered by the telegraph company's 

 uniformed messengers. For them the 

 company charged the usual rate of 25 

 tents each, plus a few cents war tax. 

 f'xccpt for the number, there was no 

 difTerence between them and the usual 

 telegrams sent every da.y. 



' ' Of course, one or two people thought 

 they were fake telegrams," said Alex. 

 I-urie, in telling of the scheme. "One 

 person accused us of sending out our 

 own messenger dressed as a telegraph 

 boy, but when he found the message 

 came through the Western Union cfiico, 

 he pulled in his horns." 



Results Paid. 



Though it was a costlv means of circu- 



larizing and limited in its reach, the 

 scheme pulled orders quite well, the 

 firm reports. "One order alone paid 

 the $28 the stunt cost us, and a good 

 deal of business was secured besides 

 that. The idea was one of the best order 

 bringers we have used," said Mr. Lurie. 

 Having been in business but a few 

 months, the members of the firm consid- 

 ered the Christmas business extremely 

 good. 



THE WEALTHY WAGE-EARNER. 



The old "middle class" is no longer 

 the main support of the florist, or if it 

 is, the reason is that the rapidly en- 

 riched wage-earning class has not 

 formed the same hal)it of buying flow- 

 ers that the other folk lia\e. The wage- 

 earuers have the money. The florists' 

 aim is now to ]>ersua'le tliem they need 

 flowers as much as furs and silks and 



jewelry. How surely they have the 

 wherewithal is evident from the follow- 



"The average weekly earnings of fac- 

 tory workers in New York state pessed 

 the $25 mark in November, the state 

 industrial commission reported Decem- 

 ber 23. 



"The average wage reached last 

 month is 100 per cent higher than the 

 average for June, 1914. The November 

 weekly average was $25.37, which is 9() 

 cents, or four per cent, above the Oc- 

 tober average, and 54 cents, or two per 

 cent, above the previous high mark of 

 September. 



"For all blanches of niauufacturing 

 in the state the total jiayroli expendi- 

 tures were fifteen per cent higher last 

 month than in November, 191 S, although 

 the number of workers was two per cent 

 lower. Compared with June, 1914, the 



Florist's Window that Brought Decoration Orders from Tire Firms. 



