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ApbiIi 14, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



m 



CHARGE ACCOUNTS. 



Where most retail florists are com- 

 plaining of the necessity for long credits, 

 the difficulty of making collections and 

 of too few cash sales, the Fleischman 

 Floral Co., Chicago, is advertising its 

 desire to open charge accounts. Mr. 

 Eubel, president of the company, and 

 George Wienhoeber, who is the store 

 manager, have demonstrated, not only 

 their competence in the technical or ar- 

 tistic part of the flower business, but 

 also have proven their ability as business 

 getters. To put it conservatively, there 

 is no other of the regular retail stores 

 in Chicago that uses more stock, so their 

 efforts to apply to the flower trade the 

 same methods that are employed in stores 

 in other lines are worth more than mo- 

 mentary attention. One of the reasons 

 frequently advanced for lack of progress 

 in the retail flower business is that flo- 

 rists are by nature artists, and artists, 

 you know, are not supposed to possess 

 more than rudimentary commercial in- 

 stinct. So anyone who will show the 

 way to apply up-to-date business meth- 

 ods to retail flower selling should be, if 

 he is not, welcomed by the craft as a 

 second Moses. 



"All the better class department 

 stores carry charge accounts," said Mr. 

 Rubel, in speaking of his plans, "and 

 they are the means of holding for them 

 a great deal of trade that might other- 

 wise be scattered among a number of 

 stores. This is particularly true of those 

 customers who have charge accounts in 

 only one store, and it is not likely that 

 many flower buyers will have such ac- 

 counts with more than one, or at most 

 two florists. Charge accounts lead to 

 niore free buying; every merchant knows 

 that. Make a buyer produce the cash 

 every time a purchase is made and you 

 will, with the average customer, make 

 neither so many nor so large sales. And 

 m the flower business, where so large a 

 part of the purchases are for gift pur- 

 poses, charge accounts and a stock of 

 your customers' engraved cards are a 

 special help to the telephone trade. 



"We are following the department 

 store principle rather closely on these 

 charge accounts, for the years the de- 

 partment stores have handled them has 

 familiarized the public with the system 

 and made it comparatively easy to oper- 

 ate. The department store draws a 

 sharp, clear line between credit accounts 

 and accommodation accounts. Some of 

 the stores that have the largest numbers 

 of the latter do not accept credit ac- 

 counts at all. The credit account is the 

 kind the installment-plan furniture house 

 carries. The department store's accom- 

 modation account is quite different- it 

 implies the ability and willingness to pay 

 at any time-the time is once a month— 

 and the store simply opens the account 

 for the accommodation of the customer 

 to save the customer the bother of cash 

 payment with every purchase. The lead- 

 ing stores are exceedingly careful to 



make plain the fact that monthly pay- 

 ment is expected and make free exchange 

 of credit information. Unless otherwise 

 requested, they send the family bill to 

 the office of the head of the house (where 

 it is followed by a politekform letter if it 

 doesn't get prompt attention), and they 

 have so accustomed a large body of re- 

 sponsible people to the idea of monthly 

 payment that it seems it will be the 

 florist's own fault if he gets several 

 months' business tied up on his books." 

 Everyone who has thought at all on 

 the subject will agree with Mr. Eubel 

 that cash payment and free spending do 

 not go together. 



THE YUESS STORE. 



At Newburgh, N. Y., the Yuess Gar- 

 dens Co. does pretty nearly everything 



Store of Yuess Gardens Co. 



that pertains to the horticultural line. In 

 on.- j^° to the greenhouse plant out on 

 ihird street, there is the store at 91 

 Water street, where a wholesale and re- 

 tail business in seeds is done, and where 

 all classes of plants, nurseiry stock and 

 garden requisites are handled, as well as 

 cut flowers. But at holiday times every- 

 thing makes way for the seasonable spe- 

 cialty, whatever it is. . At Easter two 



floors were devoted to the display of 

 blooming plants and the photographs 

 taken that are reproduced in this issue. 

 One of these shows the exterior of the 

 building, the whole of which is occupied 

 with the sales end of the business; an- 

 other is an interior view, while the third 

 is a specially good picture of the Easter 

 window. 



The Easter business increased more 

 than twenty-five per cent as compared 

 with the best previous record, for which 

 satisfactory result no small credit is given 

 to the effectiveness of the newspaper ad- 

 vertising that was done in the early days 

 of the week preceding Easter. A special 

 feature of this advertising was an invita- 

 tion to the public to visit the two floors 

 flower show and, once getting the crowds 

 in the place, not many left without pur- 

 chasing. 



CHARGE FOR RENTED PLANTa 



Please tell me what are the customary 

 charges for renting plants, such as palms, 

 ferns, etc., in pots for decorative pur- 

 poses. We have been renting these for 

 the openings of millinery and dry goods 

 stores and for a few weddings. We have 

 been charging twenty per cent and have 

 had some complaints. Our sales yard is 

 located one and one-half miles from the 

 business district. We do our own deliver- 

 ing. K. N. 



In this city there are at least fifteen 

 florists who are in a position to supply 

 palms for store, wedding or funeral deco- 

 rations. Some have only a few dozen 

 plants, while others have enough palms 

 for renting purposes to fill two moving 

 vans. I hardly believe that any two of 

 these florists charge just the same price 

 for renting their palms. 



It is wrong to base the rental price of 

 ferns or palms on the size of the pot, as 

 it does not necessarily follow, becau^ 

 two plants are in the same size of pot, 

 that they are worth the same price. 



Plants should be rented according to 

 their actual value. If this were done by 

 everyone, then our prices would, no 

 doubt, be more in unison. To most peo- 

 ple who rent plants a palm is a palm, 

 no matter if half of the leaves are yellow 

 or partly dead. If one florist says, "I 

 will loan you a dozen palms at $4," and 

 another asks $5, the four-dollar man will 

 get the order in most cases, especially 

 from people who have not rented many 

 palms, even though six of the five-dollar 

 lot are equal to the whole dozen of the 

 others. 



Some florists have considerable money 

 invested in pot covers, pedestals, etc., and 

 every plant rented is placed in a neat, 

 clean, weU-fitting basket or cover; this, 

 also, must be considered. 



In his query, K. N. says that he de- 

 livers the plants. He can hardly expect 

 to do otherwise. In fact, he will find it 

 cheaper in the end to deliver and handle 

 his own plants than to trust them to peo- 

 ple who know little or nothing of how 

 palms should be handled. 



Getting down to the main issue of the 

 question — there are none of us in busi- 

 ness for pleasure alone, and if we supply 

 good, healthy palms for decorative pur- 

 poses, we have to be paid for them or we 

 cannot exist. Therefore, the people who 

 want to pay cheap prices get cheap look- 

 ing plants and poor service. 



Now, as to what is a fair price, I 

 should say that such palms as kentias, 

 being in most common use, should rent 

 for about ten per cent of their retail 



