68 



The Florists^ Review 



Mabch 4, 1020 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



A BELIEVER IN ADVEBTISING. 



How decided can be the results of en- 

 ergetic advertising in a small-sized 

 town as well as in a large city is dem- 

 onstrated by the results the florists ob- 

 tain in those places who follow such a 

 course. One does not have to be located 

 on a thoroughfare where thousands pass 

 daily to derive real returns from pub- 

 licity efforts. St. Valentine's day just 

 past showed one such example of re- 

 sults in a small town in the case of the 

 Electric City Conservatory, at Great 

 Falls, Mont. Just how thorough a be- 

 liever in advertising is Charles A. Bur- 

 rell, the proprietor, can be seen from the 

 illustration on this page. Just one or 

 two S. A. F. posters was not enough. 

 Three were framed and put up outside 

 the store where they could easily be 

 read. Below the big electric rose a 

 large-lettered sign flagged the attention 

 of every passer, telling of the approach 

 of St. "Valentine's day. And over the 

 entrance to the store was another large 

 sign, bearing suggestions for floral val- 

 entines. Altogether one could not fail 

 to feel the florist's urging to "Say It 

 with Flowers" on this holiday. 



The people of Great Falls responded 

 to an unusually encouraging degree. 

 This is what Mr. Burrell says: 



"As a result of our special adver- 

 tising effort for this occasion, we had 

 by far the biggest St. Valentine's day 

 in our history. In fact, it was so good 

 that it offers no comparison with other 



years. Bulbous stock and spring flowers 

 were plentiful; we had plenty to go 

 around. And the people of Great Falls 

 and vicinity did 'Say It with Flow- 

 ers.' We offered heart-shaped boxes 

 and they, as well as baskets, dolls and 

 corsages, found extremely ready sale. 



"We were quite proud of the adver- 

 tising matter that the Society of Amer- 

 ican Florists sent out and we believe it 

 ought to follow the same idea for all 

 special days, such as St. Patrick's day, 

 Easter, Mothers' day. Memorial day, 

 etc." 



F. T. D. HELPS CANADIANS. 



To save its Canadian members the 

 premium which they must pay on orders 

 wired to florists in the United States 

 on account of the present disparity in 

 the exchanges of the two countries, the 

 Florists' Telegraph Delivery Associa- 

 tion will open a bank account in Canada, 

 paying bills and receiving payments on 

 that side of the border with Canadian 

 members and carrying on the other end 

 of the transactions through its account 

 in the United States. In notifying F. 

 T. D. members of this new undertaking 

 of his ofBce, Secretary Albert Pochelon 

 explains it as follows: 



To facilitate, encourage and develop a closer 

 relationship and a larger volume of international 

 F. T. D. business, tbls office hag decided to 

 broaden out and establish an international clear- 

 ing bouse wliereby to save our members the 

 unnecessarj exchange rate that is forced upon 

 our Canadian brothers. 



The F. T. D. office has decided to establish 

 a bank account on the Canadian side as well 



as an account on this side, to mall checks 

 owed by American F. T. D. members to Canadian 

 members from the Canadian bank, and Canadian 

 bills due American members will receive Ameri- 

 can checks from the F. T. D. office. 



Therefore, if you have any bills due Canadian 

 members send them to this office witli your 

 check to cover; this will be deposited In the 

 American bank and a check to cover your bill 

 issued from the Canadian bank. Likewise with 

 the Canadian bills, their checks will be de- 

 posited in the Canadian bank and a clieck issued 

 from the F. T. D. office instead. 



WINDOW LIGHTING EQUIPMENT. 



No One Can Pass This Store Without Hearing What the Florist Has to Say. 



Aids Effect of Display. 



Much of the dramatic struggle of 

 selling is staged in the silent, yet prop- 

 erly eloquent, show windows, j^b the 

 various factors in store advertising are 

 being given closer analysis, the value 

 of the window display tends to receive 

 a definite cash appraisal. And without 

 light the scene set within the window 

 is obviously unable to make the slight- 

 est appeal. 



The color of the light must be care- 

 fully adapted to the stock to be shown, 

 some form of color screen often being 

 used to counteract the yellowness of 

 ordinary electric light and to accentu- 

 ate the dominant color of the display. 

 The color of the background, too, must 

 afford a contrast which will give proper 

 prominence to the stock. These and 

 other points were treated in the article 

 entitled "Lighting the Show Window," 

 in The Review of February 26; the 

 prime problem is to fit general principles 

 to particular needs in a way to produce 

 the effect of distinct individuality, that 

 effect which gives force to the motive 

 of any advertising. 



Choosing the Lighting Equipment. 



Each window presents its own indi- 

 vidual lighting problem, which, differ- 

 ing in some respects at least from all 

 others, requires special treatment. Two 

 windows may, for instance, be identical 

 as to dimensions and details of construc- 

 tion, yet differ distinctly as to their 

 lighting requirements, due to dissimi- 

 larity in the brilliancy of the lighted 

 areas adjoining such windows, as well as 

 to variations in the color and character 

 of the display in each. For that reason 

 the actual sales-producing value of win- 

 dows will be most surely advanced by 

 basing the selection of lighting fixtures 

 and equipment exclusively upon a study 

 of the requirements of the windows to 

 be lighted, rather than to start out by 

 stipulating that this or that lighting 

 scheme be followed, simply because its 

 use in other windows has taken your 

 fancy, or because it has been more or 

 less recommended in print. True, there 

 is a style in lighting just as there is a 

 style in wearing apparel, but the alpha 

 and omega of all such standards are that 

 one does that which is most individually 

 becoming. 



The first step, then, in deciding how 

 to make the show window of greatest 

 value in promoting sales is to appraise 

 the measure in which the brilliancy of 



