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32 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbboabt 12, 1920 



plants are as much a part of the flo- 

 rist 's business as cut flowers. 



Betalllng In Markets. 



On the other hand, on the strength 

 of the rumor, you intended opening the 

 market to the public. Of course if that 

 is ever done and done often enough, it 

 will put the retailer out of business. 

 Would that be a benefit to the growers 

 and salesmen! In my opinion, it would 

 certainly be detrimental to everyone, 

 although, as a matter of fact, the mar- 

 kets are open to the public right now 

 and on a large scale. Anybody can go 

 in through any of the doors and buy 

 anything there at much less than the 

 retail price. The public can get the 

 flowers as cheaply as we can. For every 

 bank opening, every ship launching, 

 every prominent funeral, a great many 

 flowers ar« made up in the market. De- 

 partment store collections also go to the 

 markets. 



Two weeks ago one of our retailers 

 lost a $150 job because he could not 

 compete with the price given by a sales- 

 man in the market. Last week I was 

 asked for a price on 100 red carnations 

 for a banquet. As the market price for 

 all reds was $15 per hundred, I quoted 



$20. My customer said, "Gomey, I am 

 sorry, but I have a price of $16 from a 

 person in the market. ' ' I sold a custom- 

 er a dozen poinsettias at Christmas for 

 $9. After I had put them aside for 

 him, he aaid, "I am sorry, but I have 

 just bought my flowers in the market 

 for $4 a dozen. ' ' I could not blame him 

 for buying more cheaply, could If 



Action Needed. 



These are only a few isolated cases. 

 I could get you the facts on hundreds 

 if you wanted them. Do you call that 

 fair to the retailer? Here we are, pre- 

 pared, under heavy expenses, for re- 

 tailing, and depend solely on retailing 

 for our livelihood. The markets are 

 situated in the heart of the city and the 

 salesmen who sell have no expenses so 

 far as retailing is concerned. In what 

 other line of business can the public 

 buy anything at wholesale? I know of 

 none. Betailing in the market is of no 

 benefit to the grower. It is only side 

 money to the salesman and does not be- 

 long to him, but does belong te us. It is 

 a serious matter and must be stopped. 

 Every retailer is dissatisfied with these 

 conditions, and they are all talking of 

 the necessity of a retail organization. 



If a grower sees fit to do retailing, 

 the retailer can find no objection, as 

 he, the grower, has an establishment 

 with fixed expenses, and if he thinks 

 there is money in retailing, he is wel- 

 come to it. Some growers know there 

 is more money in wholesaling only; some 

 feel otherwise. That is their business. 

 Is it fair to have a salesman buy up 

 fiowers in the market before it opens 

 and then resell them to us at an extra 

 profit only to himself? Is it fair to have 

 a manager of a market buy up flowers 

 for orders that he has to fill? Should 

 not a manager be for the sole purpose 

 of taking care of the market, instead of 

 having a side retail business of his own? 

 Betailing in the markets has been 

 stopped in almost all other cities, 

 and I should like to know if it 

 should not be stopped here. I believe 

 this organization can do it. We do not 

 need a retail organization, as it is much 

 better that we come out in theopen and 

 air our troubles. No doubt the sales- 

 men may have some suggestions and 

 complaints to make, and we shall be 

 glad to hear from them. I believe that 

 the Boston Florists' Association is com- 

 posed of fair-minded members who be- 

 lieve in the motto, "Live and let live." 



pBLMiyMmaogaas 



WHAT ARE FLOWERS WORTH? 



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MORE ABOUT PRESENT PRICES. 



Considering Causes. 



An anonymous writer quoted in The 

 Review of January 29 feels that the 

 wholesalers from whom he buys have 

 increased the price on cut flowers in a 

 desire to be arbitrary and dominating. 

 The remarks published editorially with 

 the quotation furnished the needed re- 

 ply, but there are still other answers 

 that might have been given. 



Upon reflection everyone will agree 

 that in view of the steadily increasing 

 costs of fuel, labor, plants, bulbs and 

 equipment, commercial growers must 

 have increased returns per flower. 



Not only because of the heavy supply 

 of mums last year have roses lost their 

 usual average, but during the period of 

 cloudy skies from December 1 to Jan- 

 uary 20, roses were decidedly less pro- 

 lific than usual. 



Criticism of prices can result from 

 one of two lines of reasoning: That the 

 critic's competitors pay less and there- 

 fore sell for less, or that the scale of 

 prices is not consistent with the in- 

 crease in price scales of other com- 

 modities. 



The first trouble generally results 

 where the competitor grows his own 

 stock. It must be plain that if growers 

 who sell through wholesale houses and 

 who grow their stock on a large scale in 

 the most economical way are getting 

 only enough from their crop to afford 

 them a fair profit, the retailer who is 

 growing his own stock with a huge 

 overhead is selling below cost. It is in- 

 evitable that his season's returns will 

 prove this to be true. We all know, 

 however, that such a retail florist is 

 consoling his profit account by figuring 

 his growing and retailing business as 

 one and is satisfied with a small profit 



on his investment of time, labor and 

 greenhouse and retailing equipment. If 

 the retailer who buys on the wholesale 

 market wants to work on as narrow a 

 margin of interest on his investment as 

 his competitor, he will not need to com- 

 plain about prices, for the scale will be 

 about the same in both cases. 



Flowers Are EssemtiaL 



The second difficulty is also unfound- 

 ed. Cut flowers have not increased in 

 proportion with other commodities and 

 particularly not with other so-called 

 nonessential things. Pleasure cars, 

 candy, theater tickets and musical in- 

 struments have increased in cost tre- 

 mendously, yet they are in greater de- 

 mand than ever before and statisti- 

 cians can foresee no immediate fall in 

 the demand for them. 



Then why not flowers? Flowers are 

 considerably more essential to the hap- 

 piness of people than these things and 

 the mission of flowers is far-reaching. 

 Every florist must sometime in his ex- 

 perience realize that his business is not 

 a nonessential vocation. Until he under- 

 stands this he will continue to be afraid 

 to ask the prices for his flowers that he 

 must get to insure himself a good liv- 

 ing. 



We are dealing with a product that 

 lends happiness to many a heart in 

 every hour and therefore we are en- 

 titled to a good living from this busi- 

 ness. 



If we allow the current of discontent 

 that seems so prevalent at this time to 

 enter our otherwise progressive busi- 

 ness, we may find ourselves adrift 

 among the thousands who are stranded 

 on the desert of self-justification, with 

 no food but the fruits of Bolshevism 

 and no drink but the flow of selfish ar- 

 guments. Wm. A. Hansen. 



PRICES ARE NOT KEGH. 



Complaints Always Made. 



No invitations have been sent out for 

 "has been" retailers to "horn in" on 

 the discussion going on between the 

 retailers and the wholesalers, but I have 

 been reading with considerable interest 

 the communications in The Review un- 

 der the heading, "Problem in Prices," 

 and I feel that I would like to say my 

 say, if I have one coming, being now a 

 grower of gladioli solely. 



We all look forward to the time when 

 there will be no chronic complainers, 

 but we have them with us now, have 

 had tiiem with us for a long, long time, 

 and the chances are that we shall have 

 them with us for some time to come. 

 They just can't help it. They do it, 

 many of them, as unconsciously as a 

 smoker lights his pipe. They don't 

 mean anything by it; it's just a habit 

 with them. So let 's forgive them. They 

 did it when we charged them 75 cents 

 or $1 per dozen for carnations; they 

 are still doing it and still buying. 



Comparative Cost. 



Flowers are no higher now than they 

 were several years ago, if one looks at 

 the problem from the correct angle. 



Should the grocer, the butcher, the 

 baker, the barber, the tailor and the 

 others who have doubled the prices on 

 what they sell the florist complain if 

 the florist doubles the price on the 

 flowers he sells them? 



It requires no more effort to earn $8 

 with which to buy a dozen carnations 

 today, than it did to earn $1 with which 

 to buy them a few years ago; so flow- 

 ers are no higher now than they were 

 then. The same effort buys the same 

 flowers. 



Now, regarding the price the whole- 



