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The Weekly Florists' Review. 



SKPtEifBBB 12, 1007. 



Peony M. Jules Elie. 



scarce; therefore vve take all he has. A 

 few weeks pass and the grade falls, or 

 other growers improve, and are bring- 

 ing in stock which is superior to that 

 of our first man. We only have use for 

 the best. We take it, and we cease to 

 purchase from grower No. 1. In my esti- 

 mation we are justified. Unfortunately, 

 owing to a dearth of commission houses 

 in Canada, it is sometimes a hardship on 

 the grower to force him to look for a 

 new market when flowers are plentiful. 

 It is an unfortunate situation, but a de- 

 cided case of survival of the fittest. 



The Grower and the Retailer. 



Then, again, we are in the habit of 

 taking a majority, perhaps all, of the 

 stock of a grower. The day dawns when 

 we find ourselves with a surplus. The 

 tendency is to expect the retailer to take 

 all offered. Such being impossible, we 

 are compelled to turn our supplyman 

 away, with the result in many cases of 

 his being offended. There, again, is a 

 problem for the retail management to 

 overcome. The solution must be left 

 to the individual, but remember, Mr. 

 Grower, if you force your stock when it 

 cannot be used you might kill the goose 

 that lays the golden egg. 



In advertising a retail business — and 

 we are strong in the belief that it pays 

 to advertise — there are splendid oppor- 

 tunities to show good management as 

 to the kind that pays best. I will leave 

 the overzealous lady with program space 

 in a good cause to explain to you. 



Unstable and Unjust Prices. 



One of the chief obstacles of the re- 

 tail manager, and a subject that needs 

 rapid and up-to-date adjustment, is the 

 unstable and unjust prices that prevail 

 in some varieties at the beginning of 

 their season. Though there are others, 

 I will mention particularly the chrysan- 

 themum. Why we should be compelled 

 to pay prices that range from 25 to 50 

 cents at the beginning of the season for 

 stock that later would go begging at 10 

 cents, is more than I can understand. 

 It is unjust and unreasonable. It is un- 



reasonable of the grower to exact it, 

 and unjust both to himself and to the 

 retailer, driving away, at the very com- 

 mencement of the season, many would-be 

 customers, who, after hearing the price, 

 gasp for breath and break for the open 

 air, in many cases never to return. There- 

 by is killed a prospective buyer who 

 would in the later season have helped 

 consume that surplus stock that is so 

 ruinous to the grower, in that it tumbles 

 the price from the legitimate to the 

 ridiculous. 



Short-sighted Policy. 



The claim may be advanced, "Well, 

 we can get that price and sell all we 

 have, ' ' but that is poor justification and 

 shows great lack of foresight. Let me 

 give you, Mr. Grower, the experience of 

 fifteen years' retail business under 



varied conditions, and that is, that not 

 one-half of that early stock is sold by 

 the retailer, but it is rather consumed 

 in design work, and if it was not for the 

 necessity of being so-called ' ' up-to- 

 date, ' ' compelling us to carry that early 

 stock, it would pay both branches of the 

 trade, under present conditions, to keep 

 it from sight, and use the stock in de- 

 signs, until such times as sane prices 

 should prevail. That season is fast ap- 

 proaching, and to me it has always caused 

 the heaviest pangs of regret to see so 

 many would-be purchasers turned away 

 from our business, perhaps to return only 

 when forced to do so by weddings or 

 funerals. 



Artistic Designing. 



Another, and always important, point 

 in retail management is the designing. 

 In this connection it is entirely with the 

 individual. Good taste is essential, and 

 where there is any uncertainty in color 

 combination, don't do it, but rather keep 

 to the tried and accepted. In passing, 

 it might be well to remark that many 

 of the colors that were supposed to clash 

 are quite acceptable. Take, for instance, 

 pink and yellow: Enchantress and single 

 daffodils are very beautiful under arti- 

 ficial light. Also pink and blue: Kil- 

 larney (that wonderful rose) and pale 

 blue ribbons form one of the most soft 

 and artistic effects imaginable. I specify 

 the above to show that hard and fast 

 rules cannot be set in combination of 

 colors in our business. The artistic taste 

 of the retailer is tested here. Be very 

 careful where you experiment, though. 



A study of colors and values would be 

 beneficial to all of us, as flowers differ 

 greatly in shades according to the ac- 

 tinic value of the light to which they 

 are subjected. 



The foregoing are only a few of the 

 many questions that face the manage- 

 ment of a retail flower store. 



Up-to-dateness, and success, are large- 

 ly a matter of individual ability, backed 

 by personal magnetism. 



In closing let me say to you, Mr. Man- 

 ager, be honorable. Study the requi- 

 sites of your particular people; keep ac- 

 tive; profit by the experience of others; 

 always try to improve; work for the mu- 



Pcony Marie Lcmoine* 



