26 



The Rorists' Review 



Mabch 10, 1921. 



Lilac in Its Easter Dress. 



succf'sst'iil )i(ili(l;iys tlio trade has just 

 put boliiiid it. It is there, if the retailer 

 will go and get it. It can be got; it has 

 been got; ami it will bo got, by the 

 siiiiie men who have made banner sales 

 already in l!)L'l. 



1921 Will Reward Fighters. 



Price influences demand. I'rices this 

 year are lower than they were last year. 

 The effect will certainly not be detrimen- 

 tal to good business. It is another reason 

 to hope for bigger And better business. 

 The margin of profit to the retailer and 

 grower may be a trifle less than last 

 year's, but this will be more than made 

 up if the sales exceed last year's in the 

 same proportion that they did at Christ 

 mas and Xew Year's. 



Supply this year is something which 

 I'annot be determined until the actual 

 week of the holiday, but in most mar- 

 kets all indications arc for a large sup- 

 ]dy of ))lants. These are the big sellers 

 at Kaster. fkit flowers, so far, have 

 shown nfp signs of poor Easter crops. 



Th(> one universiil grievance of "tight 

 money'' seems to ha\e less influence on 

 llorists than upon other businesses. In 

 spite of this situation, splendid holiday 

 sales have been achieved so far in \9'2], 

 and why should the coming one be any 

 exception to a rule so established? >fore- 

 over, spring always brings ,a ])eriod of 

 (prosperity and already a number of 

 factories are going into ojieration again 

 and the situation is said to be clearing. 



There do not seem to be any well 

 founded grounds for pessimism. The 

 only difTcrence between ]921 and 1P20 

 is one of method. Last year the re- 

 tailers were order-takers. This year 

 they must be salesmen in order to gain 

 their goal. What cfuild be more appro- 

 j>riate as ;i motto for florists than the 

 slogan adopted this year l)y commercial 

 institutions country-wide. "IPil Will 

 Reward l-'itrhters " .' 



GET READY FOR EASTER. 



.V'*-' r- 



Brief Hints of Big Helps. 



I'se system. 



fc>e}>aj'«fe order dej)artnient from sales 

 departiiient. 



Let • experii'uced employee's oversee 

 untrained help. 



Arrange articles needed in getting out 

 orcU'rs cou\eniently at hand. 



Sort orders to economize 'deiiveiv 

 trips. 



Keep tab on stock on hand. 



Watch the green goods. 



Separate varieties and colors of 

 blooming plants. 



Send in your orders for stock and sup- 

 plies early. 



Mark ])rices on all stock. • • 



Allow only experienced employees to 

 handle cut flowers. 



Hire enough help, but good lud]). 



Restrict waste. 



Wraj) ])lants carefully if weather re- 

 <iuires. 



A'erifv addresses on all ))a(dtages for 

 d(diverv. 



T^se more advertising space than you 

 did last year, to counteract current <-on 

 liitions. 



Wra]) lilies the day before and mark 

 number of flowers on outside. 



Tie on labels so that handling is not 

 necessary in order to read them. 



Plan advertising e.-irly. 



Dress the window in its Easter array 

 next week. 



Get as many orders as yon can in ad 

 vance. 



Divide resjwnsibilit.v so you will not 

 have to be evervwhere. 



Do all you can to get buyers into your 

 store. 



Push hard! 



Get readv now I 



EASTER ADVERTISING. 



Printers' Ink a Necessity. 



The feeling in the retail trade is gen- 

 eral, that this Easter is going to be u 

 good one — for those who make it so. 

 The ilifTerence from last year's active 

 demand is well known and appreciated 

 in every part of the United States. The 

 only question is how to make it a good 

 Easter. 



Of course, it is not different from any 

 other problem for disposing of stock. 

 There ar<> two ways whicli instantly 

 recommend themselves to the practical 

 mind of the florist. One is advertising 

 by nn-ans of jirinters' ink and the other 

 is by window display. Advertising is a 

 big word; bigger than it looks. More- 

 over, it hits been gone into and ex- 

 I)lored to tlie last roots; books have 

 been written about it bv the hundred, 

 and, altogether, the various wa.vs of 

 advertising are well known in the trade. 



But old as is advertising, the law of 

 suppl.v and demand is older. If the 

 trade is g(dng to have large stocks on 

 hand for Easter, florists must get bus.v 

 and create a demand. The demand is 

 there, but it lias to be dragged in, in 

 stead of being let in. Easter is one 

 holiday when newspaper advertising, to 

 mention one form, brings results. 

 Plants are a}»propriate for Easter day. 

 Everyone realizes this fact. Rut unless 

 the jiublic is regularly reminded what 

 is to be had, it is sure to forget to buv. 



Drop In Prices. 



The idea to impress on the public is 

 that plants are cheaper than last year, 



bv a considerable percentage. That one 

 id(^*i alone, if impressed on the buying 

 l)ublic in a convincing manner, would 

 l>robably interest enough demand to 

 make Easter of 1921 equal in total sales 

 the record of last year. 



But it is one thing to realize that a 

 little advertising will go -a long way 

 and it is quite another thing to get the 

 point that the public has forgotten all 

 about last Easter long ago and has to 

 be told about it all over again. If you 

 can tell about it in a different way you 

 stand to make more impression than by 

 using the old methods, because people 

 are always looking out for something 

 new. 



This year, of all years, is going to be 

 the one time when advertising is more, 

 than a benefit. It is a necessity. Com- 

 petitive advertising in all trades is ex- 

 ])ected as a matter of course, but this 

 year will see competition keener than 

 ever. 



The need is apparent; the means are 

 at hand. Florists everywhere are mak- 

 ing pLans for big Easter business. With 

 such a sjiirit jirevailing, there is no 

 doubt as to the outcome. Advertising 

 ideas that have proved successful in the 

 past will be the ones to use this Easter. 

 Onlv one thing need be emphasized here 

 — the necessitv for strong advertising 

 effort. 



USE THE WINDOW. 



Flowers Advertise Themselves. 



If you could get something for noth- 

 ing, would you take itf It sounds self- 

 evident, but, nevertheless, many re- 

 tailers are failing tv do so today. Ad- 

 vertising in newspapers, by circulars or 

 by posters costs monev, much money. 

 If .vou could get advertising for noth- 

 ing, provided it was effective, wouldn't 

 that be an a<lvantage? 



No words ever written on paper or 

 ever conceived b.v man could convey to 

 the prospective customer the value, use- 

 fulness and beauty of flowers and plants 



Pleasingly Trained Dorothy Perkins. 



