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Decrmber 5, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 





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ARTISTIC ARRANGEMENTS. 



The Bridesmaid's Basket. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph of a bridesmaid's basket 

 designed by Charles Henry Fox, at thQ 

 Sign of the Eose, Philadelphia. It is 

 a crushed hat filled with Killarney roses, 

 Mr. Fox being a great admirer of the 

 delicate shading of the Killarney rose 

 when used for this purpose. No green 

 has been used, the foliage being suffi- 

 cient. 



THE RETAILERS' POSITION. 



[A paper read before the Florists' Club of 

 Philadelphia, December 3, 1907, by Charles H. 

 Grakelow. ] 



The retailer of today is a much har- 

 assed man, as, with endeavoring to real- 

 ize the constantly increasing opportuni- 

 ties of the business, trying to adjust the 

 prospective customer to the ever-varying 

 prices of grower and commission-house, 

 and a desire to hold and add to his most 

 valuable asset, customers, his is an un- 

 enviable lot. Wholesaler of cut flowers, 

 temper your prices with the knowledge 

 of past sales and the possibilities of 

 the future, and at the first sign of scar- 

 city do not make advances so rapidly 

 that the retailer stands mutely by, 

 thinking it a Shakespearean drama and 

 expecting to hear that world-famous 

 quotation: "Lay on, lay on, Macduff, 

 and damned be the first to cry enough." 



The Retailers' Troubles. 



A slight knowledge of the conditions 

 of the market and the orders entered 

 on the book, which are paid for and 

 waiting to be delivered, educate the re- 

 tailer to the advance, but a duplication 

 of last week's effect for the same 

 amount or a slight increase, if any, is 

 all the prospective customer can see. 



The Thursday before Easter last year 

 a little girl asked your humble servant 

 for 15 cents' worth of cut flowers, and, 

 "Mamma does not wish too many of one 

 kind." Another instance: Carnations 

 are 35 cents a dozen. "Give me three 

 and put them in a box; plenty of wax 

 paper so they will not bruise, as I am 

 taking them across the mountains." 



"Will some wholesaler kindly advise 

 the best method of handling the retail 

 trade? 



Gentlemen, I know this is the extreme 

 and is simply quoted to give you a 

 slight idea of the troubles a retailer en- 

 counters without advancing prices. Help 

 ns to educate the people to a more gen- 

 erous use of flowers; do not discourage. 

 Our business is in its infancy and ab- 

 normal profits today will not meet all 

 the obligations of the future. 



Carfare and Credits. 

 Agitation of carfare charges is one 

 worthy of consideration. In large pur- 

 ■liases, carfare is ignored. Now, then 

 wiien the occasional short-notice, un- 

 important order (except for the knowl- 



edge of the value of the customer in the 

 past and the prospects of future busi- 

 ness) comes along, should not the 

 wholesaler pleasantly share our misfor- 

 tune as well as our prosperity? 



While, no doubt, unreasonable de- 

 mands are made upon the wholesaler, a 

 fixed rule in this case is not practica- 

 ble. The wise man measures his cloth 

 to fit the customer. 



The amount saved by the wholesalers 

 by a united stand for only thirty days' 



at any price, and with a hamlsome 

 profit. 



Laxity in credit invites men of no 

 stability to embark in any business, 

 inakinj{ unequal competition for the men 

 who pay and a sad experience for the 

 wholesalers when the inevitable failure 

 takes place. 



Give the small fellow the same atten- 

 tion as the big fellow, as our baby of to- 

 day is our man of tlie future. 



Local- and Shipping Demand. I 



Keep in close touch with your con- 

 signors. Impress on them the necessity 

 of shipping when requested, the stock 

 desired, so the poor retailer does not 

 have to substitute and thereby lose a 

 good customer. 



When stock is scarce and out-of-town 

 orders strong, before filling orders on 

 file, ask yourself: "Where were the 

 shipping orders when the summer glut 

 was on?" Then fill according to your 



Crushed Hat with Killarney Roses, for Bridesmaids. 



credit would more than meet the carfare 

 charges and assist the" legitimate florist 

 by effectually removing the "take-the- 

 order-at-any-price " retailer. The small 

 occasional payments on a constantly in- 

 creasing account enable him to take an 

 order at almost any price and still fig- 

 ure on a 100 per cent profit. That 

 which he does not pay for can be .sold 



judgment, realizing that the high dollar 

 policy is not always the most profitable 

 in the end. 



Whether the faker is the godsend to 

 the business that the wholesaler would 

 have us believe, is a question in my 

 mind. That he instills in the heart erf 

 the public a love and a desire for flowers 

 is true, but would not more good be de- 



