

SkptkuBkb 12, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



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THE RETAIL 



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THE MASONIC EMBLEM. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph of a design made by James 

 J. Curran, at the Salem Conservatories, 

 Salem, Va. The Masonic emblem is well 

 brought out, especially by the fact that 

 the green predominates, the asters stand- 

 ing out and showing the character of the 

 conception better than would have been 

 the case had the wire frame been covered 

 solidly with flowers. 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT. 



[A paper by F. C. W. Brown, manager of 

 TLe Kosery, Toronto, Ont., read before the 

 Canadian Horticultural ABBOciation. in conren- 

 tion at London, Ont., August 29, ]9(>7.] 



By "up-to-date" we must mean suc- 

 cessful, and the success of a business is 

 largely due to the individual 



The qualifications are so numerous that 

 for one man to possess them all, or even 

 a majority of them, would indeed be re- 

 markable. Decidedly the most important 

 qualification is executive ability, fol- 

 lowed very closely by magnetism and an 

 almost superhuman foresight; then in 

 succession, to suit our opinion, tempera- 

 ment, control, artistic taste, appearance 

 and fluency of speech. The first diflB- 

 culty that confronts the managing head 

 of a retail establishment is the need of 

 confidence. If he be the owner, he must 

 have the confidence of his assistants; if 

 lie be an employee, there is the double 

 'iiflSculty of gaining the confidence of 

 liis employer and of his fellow employees, 

 and I deside to impress the fact of 

 the absolute necessity for confidence 

 .-unong those who are associated together 

 for the success of their business. Where 

 harmony is lacking, there will be little 

 success, for if there be discord in a 

 business where every sense of our ar- 

 tistic nature must be always on the alert, 

 the finer touches, the little spontaneous 

 actions, which go so far to make suc- 

 cess in the flower business, are sure to 

 l»e absent, and Miooer or later our ever 

 ready comptetitors will annex our trade. 



Cofifidenrr oi Patrons. 



Another great point is to gain the re- 

 spectful confidence of your customers. 

 The only way to do this is to be honest 

 in your dealings. Let them see that you 

 are ever ready and anxious to serve them 

 honestly and well; teach them — do not 

 :u<sert — that you are more capable than 

 they of choosing varieties and grades of 

 (lowers, and do not imagine, because 

 your customers are wealthy, that they 

 are anxious to squander their wealth in 

 your eetabUshmeat. Bather you should 

 sell them a dollar's worth less than they 

 are willing to spend, than force a dollar 

 more and thus create in another flower 

 buyer the impression that florists are 

 robbers. When you do find a customer 

 who seems to think that he is being 

 taken advantage of, teD him, carefully 

 and well, a few of the diflBculties of pro- 

 curing such flowers for him at such a 

 fseason. This is where fluency of speech 

 is neceswiry. but he careful not to nver 



work it. There are some with whom it 

 would be better to laugh it off. Study 

 your customer, and also remember that a 

 fine bunch, with one, is twenty dollars' 

 worth, and with another, fifty or seventy- 

 five cents' worth. 



Sttidy Your Customer. 



Don't suggest orchids to a cai'nation 

 pocketbook, if you can help it. 



Always make it a pleasure, and never 

 appear condescending in executing any 



ited ebmee- of varieties, and let you do 

 the rest. The opportunity for increas- 

 ing the valne of your customers without 

 antagonizing them, is far greater by 

 this method thaii by any other I know. 

 Also you are enabled to move the stock 

 that is plentiful and good, instead, as is 

 often neeeesary where bound by a stated 

 kind, of giving scrubby stock of an off- 

 crop variety. There is one disadvantage 

 in the preceding statement, and that is, 

 that there is sometimes a temptation to 

 take advantage of your opportunity, and 

 palm oflF poor and long-kept flowers. 

 Don't do it, if you valne your trade. 



The Purchasing Department. 



I now come to the section of retail 

 management where real diflSculties are 

 faoed, where the greatest uncertainty pre- 

 vails, where, if there be any lying awake 

 at night, we can always look for the 

 cause — tiie purchasing department. 



1 feel that in beginning this section, 

 I am, perhaps, laying myself open to se- 



The Masonic Design. 



commission for those who patronize you. 

 Know what is required; don't overdo it. 



Once more, study your customer. 



If you are clever, if you have tact in 

 gaining the confidence and respect of 

 your trade, you can soon create the kind 

 of trade that is both profitable to you 

 and advantageous to them. Teach your 

 trade that they may give you a speci- 

 fied limit of money, with perhaps a lim- 



vere criticism, but it would be unfair of 

 me to pass without mentioning this most 

 vital part in retail management. 



We have here the greatest opportunity 

 to show our fairness and honesty, but 

 the open question is where fairness be- 

 gins and ends. Let us consider a case in 

 point.^ Let ns say a grower has started 

 to bring in some fine carnations. We 

 use only fine carnation.^, and thev arc 



