22 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVBMBEll 11. 1920 



tivc inat('ri;il is siiitiihlc to I'orin tlic 

 drawiii}^ I'caturc di' tlic display. One 

 would ]H>i-liajis jircfiT aiiollicr to tlic 

 liarvt'sl ]ihasi' of tlie (lay, to dist iiif^uisli 

 tlu' Tliaiiksf^iviii^ day \\iiid(i\v from a 

 iiuTo autumn display. Tho I'liritaii 

 reminisec'iiccs ]irovide tlic hrst mate- 

 rial for window display.s. U|)on a read- 

 injT of .sonic of Lon}:;follo\v 's imoiiis of 

 tho.se days, one could conjure nji a dozen 

 or more different scones eas\- to sta<;e 

 in tlio Horist 's window as a suggestion 

 for Thanksgiving dav and to associate 



it witli flowers in the minds of passors- 

 li>'. On this score tlie jiossibilities are 

 unlimited. 



These are a few suggestions. They 

 should stimulate (ithers in each florist's 

 mind, in kcejiing with his own locality 

 and his own f.icilities. 15ut wherever 

 he is, the o])iiortunity is big. Through- 

 out America the last Thur.sday in 

 November should bring a greater de- 

 mand for flowers tliis year than ever 

 before, a demand far greater if florists 

 of tlie country undertake to "talk 

 turkey" — and flowers — to the public. 



aud other supplies are stored in the 

 room and the basement below. 



PICKING UP MONEY. 



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THE RETAIL FLORIST 



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FLOWERS FOR FUNERALS. 



\ arions otimates place the jirnpdr- 

 tion ol' llowcrs tdr luueials al one third 

 to one half of the tut.'il sales of llorists 

 iu this country. \Vhatever the exact 

 amount, there is t'ul.ay no other firanch 

 of sales wliirli eunies iie;ir rivaling th.at 

 one the year arouml. Not witlK)ut gooil 

 reason do some retailers call it tlu'ir 

 ' ' tire;id-and butti'r ' ' l)Usiness. 



Wh;it it amounts to in an iud i\'id)i;il 

 store may be se(>u by the illustiation on 

 tliis ])age, which shows the wcji'k m.ade 

 up for one funer.-il, th;it of tin' secretary 

 of the order of railw.ay ttdegraphers, 

 by the C. Young & Sons Co.. St. I,ouis, 

 recently. lugliteen ]ii(>ces are shown, 

 an e(iu.al number each of baskets, sjirays 

 and wreaths. 



In this group it is interesting to note 

 the ]iro])or1ion of each ty))e of order. It 

 indic.'ites, if one may generalize' there- 

 from, what is luMug generally noted iu. 

 the best tl(ii'i>ts' stores; namely, a 

 change from the onetime dem.'iml for 

 all sorts (it' odd di'signs to a call fur 

 funeral offerings de|)ending, not loi 

 slia])e, but on artistic arrangement foi' 

 their etTect. Baskets are coming more 

 and more into vogue for funerals. Sim- 

 ple sprays are largely a.sked for, and 

 tastefully niad(> wreaths rejireseut the 

 usual extent of the desire for a design. 

 Occasion.ally a florist has .a call for an 

 odd aud intricate iiiece, lint nowadays 

 that is 111!' exception. Recognition of 

 real be.-iuty lias led to the denuand fnr 

 the looser forms of arrangement. 



MAKING SPACE COUNT. 



Many (biwer stores cn\-er a Larger 

 floor .area than tli;it of Penn the Florist, 

 in Host on, but few do so large a busi- 

 ness. One is inclined to wonder, ujion 

 entering it, if this is the i>lace where 

 this firm's tremendous business is done. 

 For the year's tot.nl is one that would 

 stagger many florists. The reason that 

 so nuudi can be done, and is done, in 

 this space is learned njuin ins].ection. 

 Arrangement and system tell the tale. 



How simjde are the travels of an or- 

 der is instructive. Order tickets are iu 

 duplicate. Both go to the cashii'r's 

 window. One goes upstairs to the 

 bookkeeping office as tlie cashier's rec- 

 ord. Tlie otlier goes to the sliijijiing 

 desk, whicli is but a few feet from the 

 cashier's cage. If the order is to go out 

 immedi.ately, the clerk who recei%es the 

 order gets the necessary stock and lays 

 if, with the order, on an ad.joining table 

 to be made u]i. When this is done, the 



tlowers are boxeil aud addressed and 

 iaiil on the next table. The order ticket 

 is still attached. ^Vhell the delivery 

 boy takes the box, the ti(diet is detacdietl 

 and ]iut ;iside. During the day these 

 tickets are taken to the bookkee;)ing de- 

 li.artmeut: they indicate that the order 

 lias lieeii filled and sent. In the book- 

 keeping department, the two eojiies of 

 each order are matcheil ;ind pinned to- 

 gether, thus forming a comidete record 

 of the day's transactions. Since they 

 .are being ccdlected and paired during 

 the day, a complete record of each day's 

 business is available early the following 

 morning, if not the s.ame night. 



Beginning November 1, Penn the Flo- 

 rist installed a Njition.al cash register 

 of the tyjie that classifies each (,rder or 

 jiarts of an order, so that at the end of 

 the month the firm will know how much 

 business .was funeral work, how much 

 corsage oi-ilers, etc. 



Of c(uirse, holiday business cannot all 

 be handled in this store. On special oc- 

 casions a neighboring store is employed 

 for recei\iiig stock and making deliv- 

 eries. As high as 4,00(1 deliveries in .a 

 day h;i\e been made from this (>xtra 

 store at Ivister time. During the re- 

 ni.aiiider of the year baskets, ]iottery 



Quarters and Dimes for Retailers. 



Nobody suggests that flower stores 

 imitate drug stores, which nowadays 

 chase the elusive nickels so assiduously 

 that the jimeracks on display almost, if 

 they do not totally, obscure the original 

 apothecarial purpose of such places. It 

 is foolish to put in so many side lines 

 that the main line is submerged. But 

 there is little danger of that with flower 

 stores; most of them still neglect their 

 legitimate opportunities. 



Take, for instance, plant foods and 

 insecticides. How many florists carry 

 them? They would not be out of place 

 in any store which sells plants; inileed, 

 nearly every florist who sells ydants has 

 numerous requests for "something to 

 make them grow." Not to have buch 

 things at hand, even in sight, is a 

 neglect dejilorable in more ways than 

 one. In the first jilace, every florist 

 should try to supjily as many as possible 

 of the needs of his customers, lie sup- 

 filies the ]iot cover; then why not the 

 i)it of plant food? In the second place, 

 in addition to satisfying the customer's 

 desire, each such sale adds a quarter or 

 a dime to the florist's profits and does 

 it without adding in any way to his 

 overhead expenses. 



AVithin recent times some of the large 

 retailers have come to ajipreciate that 

 a really desirable sum is to be added to 

 the annual profits in this perfectly legit- 

 imate way. Trying if out, numbers of 

 them have found it j>aid to have several 

 kinds on display and to advertise them 

 by means of tlie show cards, booklets 

 anil envelojie stuffers suiiplied l)y the 

 manufacturers. "Now we ne\er fail to 

 mention ])l;uit food when selling ]>otte(l 

 plants," s.'iys a jirominent St. Louis 

 retailer. There are many good plant 

 foods, each having its jiarticular advan- 

 tages. The housewife wants "some- 

 thing for her jjlants." Gratify her 

 wish. 



Eighteen Pieces for One Funeral Ready to Leave St. Louis Store. 



