BUILDING BIGGEST 



CHAIN OF STORES 



With the rapid expansion of the florists' trade, the chain store idea 

 has taken root in its retail ranks. Small systems have been established in 

 various parts of the country. The biggest so far have appeared in New 

 York's metropolitan districts. One of these is described here. 



m^y% 



I 



HE era of cooperative buy- 

 ing and selling, of which 

 the chain store system is an 

 important factor, has ar- 

 |L ^ rived to try to meet public 

 |Vfc«lP opinion in the lowering of 

 L'"^ the high cost of living. 

 w^9^ The principles of chain 

 ^^^^^JJ store selling — buying in 

 large quantities, selling 

 cheaper because of the saving in the 

 buying, having systematized office forces 

 and an economical operation throughout 

 — are obvious to all. 



The benefits of such a system are 

 many. They are applied, in the first 

 place, to the proprietor through the 

 economical buying, operating and selling 

 and, in the second place, to the public 

 through the opportunity to secure 



flowers at cheaper - 



prices. 



Economical ibuy- 

 ing, one of the 

 outstanding features 

 of the system, is 

 brought about by 

 having one purchas- 

 ing department in 

 which all stock, ac- 

 cessories and needs 

 of all the stores are 

 purchased in large 

 quantities. Econom- 

 ical operation, the 

 method in which the 

 stores, or the links 

 of the chain, are op- 

 erated as a single 

 unit, having the 

 same methods and 

 giving the same 

 service, is a prime 

 factor throughout. 



Sales Appeal. 



If the chain store 

 can sell flowers, 

 even at times when 

 stock is scarce, at 

 so-called popular 

 prices, there is no 

 question of its 

 Portance. Its 

 peal which is made 



to the middle classes 

 primarily, must con- 

 tain the idea of 

 lower prices and if 

 the saving that is 

 ™ade in the buying 

 and operation is not 

 passed on to the cus- 

 tomers, it will fail in 

 'ts purpose. By this 



lowering of the price when flowers are 

 plentiful and holding them low at other 

 times, when it is possible, more people 

 can be brought to the realization of a 

 desire for the florists' product and, in 

 that way, the number of steady buyers 

 is increased. 



Cash Basis. 



An important feature of the chain 

 store is that all sales are made on a 

 cash basis. One could say that the 

 business is operated on the idea that 

 "a bird in the hand is worth two in 

 the bush," or, as applied to the flower 

 business, $1 in the cash register is 

 worth $2 on the books. But, in this 

 selling for cash, the idea of service 

 must not be neglected while giving the 

 customer more for the money. Without 



im- 

 ap- 



Joseph Trepel. 



service, the saving in dollars and cents 

 by quantity buying would not be suf- 

 ficient to win success for the system. 



Usually a store of the chain system 

 type is located where the transient 

 trade is strong. The wisdom of this is 

 obvious, as the trade, for the most part, 

 relies upon those passing to see some- 

 thing attractive in the window to 

 awaken the desire for flowers. A store 

 of this type could not be located off on 

 a side street and be a success. 



There have been started in the last 

 few years chain stores of many kinds. 

 There are more famous chains in other 

 retail trades, but there are several suc- 

 cessful ones in this one. One of the 

 largest systems in the florists' trade is 

 that of Joseph Trepel, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 To Brooklyners the name Joseph Trepel 

 is well known, 

 for Mr. Trepel 's sys- 

 tem covers Brooklyn 

 like a blanket. 



The history of the 

 business career of 

 Joseph Trepel is in- 

 teresting. When he 

 was 14 years old he 

 started as an errand 

 boy for a Brooklyn 

 florist at a salary of 

 $3.50 per week. He 

 worked there until 

 the usual slow sea- 

 son arrived and he 

 was released. He 

 was unable to secure 

 another position im- 

 mediately and de- 

 cided to act on the 

 knowledge he had 

 gleaned from his 

 short stay in his for- 

 mer position. 



Independent. 



He went to the 

 wholesale market 

 and bought $5 worth 

 of cut flowers and 

 made them up into 

 bunches. He went 

 on the street and 

 sold them to passers- 

 by and realized a 

 profit of $13 the first 

 day. From then on 

 he did not look for 

 another position, but 

 continued this kind 

 of business for sev- 

 eral months, until he 

 had saved enough 

 money to rent a 



