14 



The Florists' Review 



May 15, 1913. 



r Memorial Day Wreaths 



Bartennann'a skillad designers have made 

 CTinnwl preparation for a quantity of beau- 

 tUUL but moderately priced wreaths. 



■ ■■lliw grow thouMsdi of select pcoDies. Flowers 

 ■■C b* Wft^e— we will have thouModi of them mo<) 

 if yrioHl. Why not have them well arran^d. boxed. 

 dalitund to you in good ihape. It ewU Im llian ac- 

 ufcrior (oodi «t the ■•nie price. 



"^ ^S^iSl^mumai 



Phsoes 



Where QuaUty is Featured. 



Phone West 78 or Central 179. We de- 

 liver everywhere, and charge if de- 

 siretL" Such an appeal will do more 

 than bring immediate orders^it will 

 extend in many ways the .use of flowers. 

 On the following pages will be found 

 a number of suggestions as to how Me- 

 morial day business can be worked up. 

 ■ Use thexu freely. It is not the idea that 

 anyone will follow these suggestions in 

 detail — take what fits your business and 

 let the rest go — if they serve to make 

 the reader think of his own individual 

 celling problem they will have accoin- 

 plished their purpose. 



MEMORIAL DAY WREATHS. 



An enormous quantity of loose cut 

 flowers and cheap bouquets still is sold 

 for Memorial day, but the business of 

 the day really began its growth with 

 the advent of the cemetery wreath. In 

 the beginning these wreaths were too 

 expensive for a large general sale, but 

 in recent years there has been a steady 

 decline in the cost of these specialties 

 of May 30, and with declining cost has 

 eome increasing sales. It is nothing un- 

 common now for a florist with a good 

 funeral work trade to dispose of 1,000 

 or more wreaths each Memorial day. 



When the retailers began advertising 

 cemetery wreaths for May 30 the price 

 oaually was $2.50 or more — it was not 

 thought possible to do a money-making 

 business at a lower price than $2.50. 

 Now $2 is about the popular figure, and 

 a great many stores feature Memorial 

 day wreaths "at $1.50. The policy to be 

 adopted in any particular case of course 

 d^ends upon the class of trade that is 

 catered to. An extra 50 cents permits 

 giving a great deal better quality, or a 

 great deal better service. The aver- 

 age flower buyer still expects good 

 service, no matter how low the price 

 paid. 



With the increased use of Memorial 

 day wreaths there has come a most 

 welcome increase in the variety avail- 

 able. In the beginning the Memorial 

 day wreaths were mostly made of 

 ^[alax. Then the prepared magnolia 

 leaves came into such general use that 



the sale of galax was noticeably cur- 

 tailed. Then came prepared oak foli- 

 age, ruscus in special Memorial day 

 colors, and a great variety of other less 

 widely used materials. The more kinds 

 of wreaths there are to sell, the easier 

 it is to suit individual preferences. 

 Variety is the one thing the average 

 flower store stands most seriously in 

 need of. 



In some parts of the country the bulk 

 of the Memorial day sales are of 

 wreaths of artificial material. Until 

 quite recently it was considered in cer- 

 tain circles as rather unprofessional for 

 a florist to sell cloth, wax or metal 

 flowers, but nowadays it is recognized 

 that when customers would rather 

 have tin designs than those of perish- 

 able material the florist should meet 

 the demand, though not missing an op- 

 portunity to educate his people to bet- 

 ter things. In a good many instances 

 the cemetery wreaths are trimmed with 

 artificial flowers. If that is what one's 

 trade demands, that is what one should 



MEMORIAL DAT- WREATHS 



1.50 



MafCBoHa Wrentlis 



as low as -z* • 



Cat Flowera, C«niatIonfiM> 



Tt'ohi^m, 9'<ltv^t iPens, Etc. 



Flowers Shipped Anyrvhere 



9. jUI. ^Ibtectt 



Ft-ORIJST 



'811 Prospect-aw O'Brien Bids. 

 JBoth Phones 



Where Price it Feattire^. 



provide, but it is to be hoped that no 

 florist will push such articles; instead, 

 he should supply them only when called 

 for and when given any latitude should 

 trim his wreaths with the natural arti- 

 cle. It will be found not diflBcult to 

 lead the public away from metal and 

 wax designs, or cloth flowers, for what 

 sentiment is there in the use of fac- 

 tory-made flowers? The sentiment of 

 Memorial day is lost where natural 

 flowers are not used. 



WHAT ADVERTISING DOES. 



The Retailers' Best Aid. 



Of course you have noted that the 

 retail florists who appear to be mak- 

 ing the most progress are the ones who 

 use the most printers' ink! 



Fact, isn't it? 



Well, here's just one little hint, 

 gathered from the experience of the 

 advertising florists, that's convertible 

 into real money next week: As surely 

 as it pays to advertise all the time, it 

 pays best to boost your business at the 

 seasons of special demand. 



It reminds one of the old saw 



about making hay while the sun shines, 

 the modern version of which is "Push 

 along while the going's good." 

 Now comes Memorial day. 

 The demand is there. . • 

 So is the stock. "■ . • 



To get them together in the store, 

 use the newspaper. Tell the people 

 there is something better than a 

 bunch of snowballs when May 30 comes 

 around. 



Feature Cemetery Wreaths. 



The retailers who have had the best 

 success in advertising have featured 

 wreaths for Memorial day. In the 

 times in which, unfortunately, a good 

 many florists still live, the 50-cent bou- 

 quet was the best seller for Memorial 

 day. Now it is the wreath. People 

 do not want loose cut flowers to put 

 on a grave. Neither do they want a 

 bouquet, for that calls, also, for a vase. 

 The wreath just fills the bill. Adver- 

 tise it. Here is a quotation from a 

 letter from a New England retailer: 



"About a week before Memorial day 

 we started a series of ads calling at- 

 tention to wreaths for cemetery use. 

 The advertisements were distinct and 

 the results were equally clear-cut and 

 readily traceable. It is worth while 

 recording that out of 840 wreaths made 

 up in anticipation of the demand, only 

 five remained unsold at closing time 

 on Memorial day." 



How to Advertise. 



For the store that is located in the 

 center of the city, where the greater 

 part of the people can get to it, there 

 is no way of advertising so good as to 

 use the best daily paper. For the man 

 located on the outskirts of a big city, 

 the paper ordinarily has a great deal of 

 waste circulation, but perhaps he can 

 use it with splendid results for Me- 

 morial day and for cemetery trade in 

 general. It often happens that, where 



«i»nm <i4iiiu | i iiiii i i | ii | ii i iiii m( i n i ] ip) n |i u iiiiiiiiiii iiHUuuiMiM iiii l li»iiii " i 

 •ElackiMoiics Decor jlkJttDav Offc* 



SPECIAL 



For Decoratoori Bav. 



These beautiful Memorial Wreaths, artis- 

 tically arranged, are offered special by Black- 

 Iftone at the exceptionally iow price of S2. Can 

 l^e shipped to any point. 





N'orlhwesf Corner 

 l4th.&.HStR. N.W. 



Phont Mtin 370^. 



Quality and Price. 



