Fbbbuaby 11. 1915. 



The Florists' Review 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



MORE THAN A MONEY MATTEE. 



How a retail business may become, 

 even in a department store, something 

 more than merely commercial transac- 

 tion is shown by the present successful 

 riower section in the Milwaukee de- 

 partment store of Gimbel Bros. For 

 this there are practical reasons. The 

 first is the young and energetic mana- 

 ;;er, A. H. MacDonald, who for tho 

 last eleven years has been gaining expe- 

 lience with various middle-west retaii- 



I'fS. 



His department, covering seventy-five 

 feet of floor space, is at the main en- 

 trance of the store. In the large dis- 

 1.1 ay icebox, one section is given over 

 u> the exhibition of made-up baskets 

 ,111(1 corsage and Dutch bouquets; the 

 n'st is filled with the best flowers, par- 

 ticularly novelties. 



There is also a refrigerator display 

 window in the lobby of the main en- 

 trance, reckoned as one of the most 

 valuable in the store, occupied exclu- 

 sively by flowers. This is changed 

 daily, giving prominence to something 

 different each day. Those who know 

 Gimbel Bros, and Milwaukee, will reaci- 

 ily realize that thousands of people ob- 

 serve these displays each day. Those 

 who do not buy there, I am told, go to 

 their own florist and ask for something 

 similar. 



At first the buyers always asked the 

 price per dozen and the usual many 

 uncalled-for questions. As confidence 

 was lacking, the customers would wait 

 until their orders were filled. But in 

 two months things were different. Mr. 

 MacDonald had worked up a telephone 

 trade and had an appreciative patron- 

 age, and now the department is in the 

 same class as other leading retailers. 



Another reason for this result, be- 

 sides that of having gained the pa- 

 tron's confidence, is the prompt deliver}- 

 service. AH near-by deliveries are made 

 as first calls by the regular wagons; 



all others are made by bpys. Before 

 spring there will be an automobile for 

 the exclusive use of this department. 

 Although the department has been 

 in operation only four months, it has a 

 good demand for the following roses: 

 George Elgar, Hoosier Beauty, Ophelia, 

 Kussell, Hadley and Fireflame. Mr. 

 MacDonald is pleased with the fact 

 that he has never felt a need to resort 

 to the dollar box, as his policy is "Art, 

 quality and reasonable prices." 



Sasnuel Seligman. 



liOUISVIKLE AUTOMOBILE SHOW. 



The entire decorating contract of the 

 Louisville automobile show, something 

 of which may be seen in the accom- 

 panying illustration, was handled by E. 

 G. Reimers & Son Co., of that city. 

 Taking the bare armory, with a floor 

 space of 200 x 300 feet and not a col- 

 umn, this firm supplied everything from 

 the 7-foot imitation iron fence whicii 

 divided the exhibits to the festoons 

 strung with colored lights and bearing 

 at intervals 100-watt tungstens. 



King Cotton was the feature of the; 

 show, so far as the decorations were 

 concerned. The whole balcony was 

 lined with spruce trees and large cotton 

 plants, from which hung wild smilax 

 dotted with cotton bolls. The tall posts 

 holding the festoons were wrapped with 

 cotton from a height of six feet upward 

 and bore a large cotton plant on top. 

 The festoon wires were covered with 

 smilax and cotton bolls and carried 900 

 lights in all. 



The exhibits were separated by imita- 

 tion iron picket fence, ranging from 

 four to seven feet in height. This 

 was covered with southern smilax. At 

 the end of each dividing fence was a 

 large rustic stand filled with palms and 

 foliage plants. The general effect, that 

 of a southern garden and cotton field, 

 excited much comment. 



FLOWER DAYS BY LAW. 



A bill is before the Tennessee State 

 Legislature, recommending the celebra- 

 tion of the second Sunday of May as 

 Mothers' day, the first Sunday in June 

 as Fdthers' day, and the first Wednes- 

 day in November as Chrysanthemum 

 day, all to be celebrated with appropri- 

 ate exercises in the public schools and 

 by the wearing of the designated car- 

 nations on Mothers ' day, roses on 

 Fathers' day and the placing of chrys- 

 anthemums on graves on Chrysanthe- 

 mum day. Mr. Lewis, a Nashville news- 

 paper reporter, is giving the matter 

 general publicity in the press of the 

 state. The bill, if passed, will not 

 make these legal holidays, but merely 

 recommend their observance. F. B. 



AT A MACON MARRIAGE. 



The low price of cotton evidently 

 does not interfere with the prosperity 

 of the Idle Hour Nurseries, at Macon, 

 Ga. The illustrations on the following 

 ' pages show parts of a $2,000 order, 

 recently executed by the concern, for 

 the Dempsey-Wright marriage. To 

 Dan C. Morgan is due the credit for 

 the decorations. All of the stock used 

 came from the greenhouses of his con- 

 ciern. An idea of the quantity used 

 may be gained from the fact that 500 

 orchids were distributed in the various 

 arrangements. 



The bride's bouquet was of orchids 

 and valley, the maid of honor's of 

 white roses and violets, and the brides- 

 maids' were of pink roses and valley. 

 Of the decorations of the house, the 

 following, clipped from a local news- 

 paper, gives a brief but clear account: 



"The drawing room, where the cere- 

 mony was performed, was, if possible, 

 even more strikingly beautiful than 

 the other rooms. The decorations here 

 were entirely in green and white. 

 The mantel was banked with orchids 



Decoration at the Louisville Automobile Show, Pint RegimcDt Armoty, by E. G. Reimers & Son Co. 



