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CHAIN STORES ^ 



CHOP COSTS 



Principles of chain store selling have been, applied in the flower business 

 by several members of the trade with notable success. One of thebest known 

 of them is Al Barber, who is extending a string of shops through Ohio. He 

 relates his guiding ideas in this enterprise to Review readers. 



HAIN stores offer, in addi- 

 tion to the opportunity of 

 putting into more wide- 

 spread practice the meth- 

 r ods that one has found suc- 

 v_J 1^ cessful in selling flowers, 

 1 ^S. the advantage of buying in 

 ^\^f ^ quantities large enough to 

 secure the lowest possible 

 price and of passing this 



§ction along to the customer. The 

 dation of their success, therefore, 

 in what is a rule for success in any 

 less, giving the customer the best 

 possible quality and service for his 

 money at all times. 



This Ijas been a hobby of mine. The 

 business of the Park Flower Shops in 

 four Ohio cities is the result of endeavor- 

 ing always to give the customer exactly 

 what he or she wants at what are gen- 

 erally known as popular prices. Upon 

 this foundation the 

 success of the chain 

 store system rests. 

 Without that basis 

 the saving in dollars 

 and cents by quan- 

 tity buying would 

 not be sufficient to 

 win success for the 

 florist. 



Lately I have 

 opened a wholesale 

 department in 

 Cleveland, known as 

 Barber's Flowers, to 

 purchase supplies 

 for my retail stores 

 in the different 

 cities. The com- 

 bined purchases 

 effect a considerable 

 saving, but this is a 

 benefit that is 

 passed on to the 

 customer. It is part 

 of that service 

 which we aim to 

 give in order to 

 hold and to increase 

 the number of our 

 patrons. 



Meetings Help. 



To that end I 

 have found exceed- 

 ingly valuable meet- 

 ings of department 

 heads and employees 

 to discuss stock and 

 market conditions, 

 to learn the full de- 

 tails regarding the 

 stock that is arriv- 

 ing and, last but not 

 least, to talk over 



By ALBERT B. BARBER 



selling problems in order to increase the 

 efficiency of all the sales force. 



At the monthly meetings at which the 

 more important subjects are discussed, 

 only department heads are present. 

 Matters are taken up in turn with re- 

 gard to each store. 



Lining Up Customers. 



At the last meeting we discussed in 

 detail the customer's viewpoint on enter- 

 ing the store, just what one's first im- 

 pression is, what percentage of flower 

 buyers know what they want on enter- 

 ing and how they should be approached. 

 The attitude and bearing of salesmen 

 toward customers plays a large part in 

 the business and the idea of service 

 should always be foremost in the sales- 



'♦The Voolworth of the Florists' Trade. 



man 's mind, with flowMS and plants our 

 excuse for being iri^l^siness. 



The meetings of the employees are 

 valuable in bringing together members 

 of the force in a spirit of cooperation. 

 They assist wonderfully, also, in lining up 

 regular custodiers. At such times are 

 discussed ways of effecting sales, so 

 Ihat all may benefit from the experience 

 of each person. In this way we develop 

 a surprising amount of energy and vim. 

 Through our salesmen, and through 

 advertising, the trade can educate the 

 public to use flowers more extensively 

 for enjoyment, to purchase them not 

 only for special occasions, such as wed- 

 dings and funerals and holiday remem- 

 brances, but also for the personal pleas- 

 ure to be obtained from them. The 

 public should be induced to buy them 

 more often, not merely for the sake of 

 beautifying the home but to give that 

 atmosphere of com- 

 fort and good cheer 

 that flowers lend. 

 Our customers must 

 be taught that for 

 this purpose flowers 

 are well worth the 

 expenditure and 

 should be purchased 

 much more than in 

 the past. In fact, 

 they should be 

 bought in much the 

 same manner and 

 with the same fre- 

 quency as one buys 

 a box of candy or 

 articles of similar 

 pleasure-giving pur- 

 pose. This sort of 

 purchase is that cul- 

 tivated in our chain 

 of stores and is one 

 that should be in- 

 creased. 



Dally Reports. 



To the wholesale 

 store come each day 

 reports from the re- 

 tail shops in Cleve- 

 land, Akron, Youngs- 

 town and Warren. 

 These give in detail 

 records of all trans- 

 actions, with a 

 signed slip from the 

 banker in each city. 



These reports 

 guide also in the 

 matter of supplies. 

 Economical buying 

 is an important fea- 

 ture of a system of 

 chain stores; indeed, 



