^1 



;.THE 



jbRlSTS; 





BUILDING BIGGEST 



CHAIN OF STORES 



With the rapid c.rpansion 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 countrn. The birjejest so far have appeared in \en' 

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



HK ora of coojicrativc buy 



injj and selling, of which 



the chain store system is iui 



important factor, lias :u- 



* ^ ^ rived to try to meet publii- 



IVfcl^ opinion in the lowerinjj of 



L'^v the high cost of living. 



#ft0^ The principles of chain 



;^^=^:^J store selling — buying in 



large quantities, selling 



cheaper because of the s;iving in the 



haying, liaving systematized ollicc forces 



and an economical operation thro\ighoiit 



—are obvious to all. 



The benefits of such a system arc 

 many. They are applied, in the first 

 place, to tiie 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. 



Economit-al l)uy- 

 ing, one of the 

 outstanding features 

 of the system, is 

 brought about by 

 having one purchas- 

 ing department in 

 which all stock, ac- 

 f-essories and needs 

 of all the stores are 

 [)urchased in large 

 'Piantities. Econom 

 ic.'il operation, the 

 'iiethod in which the 

 stores, or the links 

 of the chain, are op- 

 '^'r;ited as a single 

 'init, having the 

 •^ame methods and 

 giving the same 

 -^rvice, is a prime 

 ' "^tor throughout. 



Sales Appeal. 



Jt" the chaiu store 

 ' =1 1 sell flowers. 

 ">•'" at times when 

 -fork is scarce, at 

 -0 called popular 

 P^ifos, there is no 

 q'lestion of its im- 

 portance. Its ap- 

 !'<■«, which is made 



■".the middle classes 

 I '■imarily. must con- 



!''"" file idea of 

 ;"^er prices and if 



''<^ saving that is 

 '"•'^'J'^ in the buying 

 '"'^ operation is not 



'•'■^•^od on to the cus- 



'"'".s. it will fail in 



'M"'rposp. Bvthis 



lowering of the price wlicii flowers arf 

 [dentiful and holding them low at other 

 times, when it is possible, more jieoplc 

 can be brought to the realization of a 

 desire for the flf>rists ' product and, in 

 that vvay, the number of stciidy buyers 

 is increased. 



Cash Basis. 



An important featuic 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 casli register i^ 

 worth $:.' on the books. Hut. in this 

 selling for cash, the idea of service 

 must not be neglected while giving the 

 customer more for the monev. Without 



Joseph Trepel. 



service, the sa\ing in dollars and cents 

 by quantity buying would not be suf- 

 ficient to win success for the system. 



I^sually 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 uf)on 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 stieet and be a success. 



Thei'(> have been started in the last 

 few years chain stores of many kimis. 

 Tli(»re 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 

 tliat of Joseph Trepel, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 To Rrooklyners 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 

 .Foseph Trepel is in- 

 teresting. When he 

 was 14 years old he 

 started as an errand 

 boy for a Brooklyn 

 florist at a salary of 

 •*.'!. oO 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 

 cleaned from his 

 ^hort stay in his for- 

 trier positicm. 



Independent. 



H< went to the 

 wholesale market 

 and bought $5 worth 

 of cut flowers and 

 made them up into 

 l-unches. He went 

 on the street and 

 sold them to passers- 

 iiv and realized a 

 profit of $13 the first 

 day. From then on 

 lie 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 



