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^Florists^ 



RBVTEW^ 



19 



REVERSING THE 



^ SILVER LINING 



The cloud of gluts and 7iear-gluts that casts a shadow over the flower 

 markets at this season has another side not so gloomy for florists. But much 

 united effort, already initiated in some cities, will he needed to turn the silver 

 lining into view of the trade. 



ailllillS 



F T E E an unprecedented 

 period of flower scarcity 

 and consequent high 

 prices, the sunshine of late 

 February and early March 

 has brought into the mar- 

 kets all over the country 

 such quantities of stock 

 that prices have eased de- 

 cidedly. The passing of 

 the flu, the arrival of Lent and the ad- 

 vent of sunshine all coincided to lessen 

 demand as the supply increased. The 

 result is an abundance of flowers that, 

 after the extreme scarcity of the last 

 two months, has the appearance of a 

 glut. It is not yet a glut, however, but 

 possibly a near-glut. At any rate, 

 prices are approaching a point unsatis- 

 factory to growers and, what might 

 seem strange at first thought, unsatis- 

 factory to retailers at the same time. 



The reason for the dis- 

 satisfaction of the former 

 is plain. That of the lat- 

 ter springs from a keen 

 view of the future and of 

 the general welfare of the 

 trade. Stable prices for 

 a commodity are always 

 more desirable both for 

 the stability of the trade 

 and also for the psycho- 

 logical value they have on 

 the public mind. Where 

 there is too wide a range 

 of prices, the profitable 

 average is difficult, if al- 

 ways possible, to calcu* 

 late. But there is an- 

 other, stronger reason, for 

 farsighted " retailers' dis- 

 satisfaction. 



Next Year. 



Every retailer knows he 

 missed making money in 

 the last two months be- 

 cause of the lack of flow- 

 ers and the excessive 

 prices he was compelled 

 to charge for them. Even 

 without the flu, many be- 

 lieve, there would have 

 been a scarcity of stock. 

 Next January will be like 

 the last, or, at least, a 

 close resemblance. If 

 prices descend so low now 

 that growers do not make 

 money, they will not be 

 so desirous of adding 

 glass in order to produce 

 larger crops next winter. 

 So the retailer who wants 

 a bigger supply of flowers 

 next season would like to 



hold up prices for the grower instead 

 of forcing them as low as possible un- 

 der present conditions. Not solely for 

 his own sake, to make dealings with the 

 public easier, but also for the growers' 

 sake — whose advantage, after all, is the 

 retailers' too in the long run — does the 

 man with the store wish to keep prices 

 away from the depths to which they 

 sometimes drop at times of abundant 

 supply. If he can accomplish it, he is 

 working for his own good, this year and 

 next year, as well as working in behalf 

 of the grower now so that the latter will 

 return the advantage later. 



Win Back the Old Buyer. 



There is a second reason for the re- 

 tailer's desire for more stable prices, 

 excluding the excesses of stringencies 

 and gluts alike, and that is to get back 

 the old regular flower buyer, the man 



They are plentiful now 



and are blooming in greater profu- 

 sion. Milder weather, sunshine and 

 longer how's of daylight have brought 

 an abundance of flowers today where 

 a few weeks ago only a few were 

 in bloom. 



For there is no finer way of giving cheer lo 

 those who arc ill— radiant brightness lo the 

 home-^nd true expression of one's feelings on 

 a birthday or other anniversary occasion— they 

 are silent messengers of love. 



TODAY AND TOMORROW 



Yonr Florist and Severil Hundrrd Othrr FlorUts in and 

 Aboul Chicago Will Display Flowrm in Abun- 

 dance and al Very Reasonable Prices. 



THE ALLIED FLORISTS- ASSOCIATION 

 OK 



Chicago Florists Start Co-operative Campaign by Fightiog Glut. 



of the salaried class and his wife, who 

 were raised with flowers in the home 

 and always want them there — except 

 when they are so expensive as to be 

 out of the question. If there is a way 

 to get back these lost patrons and keep 

 them in addition to the new ones gained, 

 the retailer will have an increased and 

 therefore more lucrative clientele. 



The way to achieving this has been 

 shown by leading merchandisers of 

 flowers in years past on an individual, 

 and therefore small scale. Now it is 

 feasible as a means of solving a trade's 

 problems because of the united power 

 which a cooperative advertising cam- 

 paign gives to the florists of a com- 

 munity. The more numerous such local 

 campaigns become the more force they 

 will carry in the aggregate, so that they 

 may presumably become a powerful 

 factor in stabilizing prices. And by the 

 assistance of florists in 

 their individual advertis- 

 ing, much could be accom- 

 plished. 



It is safe to say that if 

 the trade as a whole ex- 

 erted the advertising ef- 

 fort on behalf of moving 

 a glut that is employed in 

 boosting sales for a holi- 

 day, the quantity of flow- 

 ers that would be moved 

 would be so great that 

 prices would be prevented 

 from going below the 

 point that indicates mis- 

 fortune to retailer and 

 grower alike in the end. 



In Chicago. 



To accomplish this thing 

 was the first step under- 

 taken by the Chicago co- 

 operative organization, the 

 Allied Florists ' Associa- 

 tion, last week. Though 

 collections from members 

 were not started until the 

 following Monday, March 

 1, the directors of the or- 

 ganization, realizing the 

 crisis to be met by imme- 

 diate action, pledged sums 

 individually to run adver- 

 tisements in the daily 

 newspapers Friday and 

 Saturday, February 27 

 and 28. The first of these 

 appears on this page. It 

 occupied a quarter page 

 in the Tribune, the largest 

 morning paper. The sec- 

 ond, shown on the next 

 page, occupied slightly 

 smaller space next day. 



