WF&FSA netWORK, 8-9-05 IssueWe hope you've been enjoying your complimentary subscription to netWORK, the member newsletter of the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association. This issue contains news of programs and opportunities such as consumer tracking reports and online financial training that are available to MEMBERS ONLY. Now is the perfect time to join. You can now apply online. Just click here. The process is quick and easy, and the benefits are better than ever. We look forward to welcoming you to WF&FSA! Now, here's the latest industry news . . . 8-9-05 Issue COLD CHAIN WHITE PAPER CREATES BUZZ The new white paper on cold chain management, "Improving the Cold Chain for Cut Flowers and Potted Plants" by Dr. George Staby and Dr. Michael Reid, has already generated very positive publicity for wholesalers and suppliers who protect the cold chain. The lead article in the Connecticut Florists Association newsletter last week, for example, told readers, "And, in case you thought overnight shippers like Federal Express or UPS are better, the study shoots that down, noting they have almost no refrigeration and the ice packs inside boxes have little effect. Staby says the best way to maintain the cold chain is still transport by refrigerated truck." This endorsement is just the type of momentum that WF&FSA's Marketing and Logistics Committees plan to feed and maintain. You can help WF&FSA promote proper cold chain management with a donation to the wholesaler marketing campaign. If you donate $1,000 or more, we'll add your logo to the WF&FSA website with a link to your own site. To make a donation,AWSLinkToForm[17,5] WHOLESALERS EXPECT PRE-COOLED FLOWERS Proper cold chain management is high on the list of topics for WF&FSA's Logistics Committee, which will meet for the first time this week. Here are highlights of preliminary research gathered from WF&FSA members in preparation for the meeting. Of responding wholesalers, 72% expect their suppliers to pre-cool cut flowers while 17% actually require pre-cooling. A large majority, 91%, expect flower temperatures to be at or below 45 degrees F when loaded on trucks. The next issue of netWORK will include a report from the committee. CAFTA TO HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON FLORAL TRADE The President's signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) last week is expected to have little effect on the floral industry, according to one industry observer. The Agreement, which covers U.S. imports from and exports to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, allows duty-free status for a variety of imports, including cut flowers and greens. All of these countries supply some cut flowers and/or greens to the U.S. "Flowers from Costa Rica already have duty-free status now," said Paul Massaro, marketing director for Plantas Y Flores Ornamentals, a Costa Rican grower. "The difference with CAFTA will be that Costa Rica will no longer have to renegotiate its duty-free status every five years. I imagine that will also be the same for the other countries." Click here for more information on CAFTA. Negotiations for the U.S.-Andean Free Trade Agreement have fallen behind schedule, with the Bush administration focusing more recently on the approval of CAFTA, according to sun-sentinel.com. Three nations, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, have duty-free access for flowers but it expires next year. The new agreement would eliminate tariffs permanently and add Bolivia to the pact. TEN STATES DOMINATE FLORAL SALES, STUDY SHOWS U.S. retail florists accounted for $7.2 billion in sales and provided 200,451 jobs in 2002, according to a new economic study conducted by three professors from the University of Tennessee and the University of Florida. The study, "Economic Impacts of the Green Industry in the United States also showed that over half of all retail florist sales come from retail locations in 10 states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and New Jersey. To read the report, visit http://www.utextension.utk.edu/hbin/greenimpact.html. PHOTO CONFIRMATION' SERVICE STARTS IN SAN FRANCISCO Janesroses.com has introduced Photo Confirmation, a new prepaid service available for flower deliveries in San Francisco. For $4.95, the delivery "team" will take a photo of the recipient as he or she receives the floral gift. One not-so-minor hitch: Janesroses.com states that "All photos are available to the general public. We do not guarantee confidentiality of the taken photos." AFE TO END FUNDING FOR CONSUMER TRACKING The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has told WF&FSA that it will no longer fund the Ipsos-Insight/AFE Consumer Tracking Study, which is the basis of WF&FSA's Quarterly Consumer Tracking Report data. For its part, Ipsos said it "continues to monitor the consumer floral industry as we have since 1992." Ipsos expects to have WF&FSA's report for 2nd quarter 2005 available early next month. NEW DISTRIBUTION TOOLS AVAILABLE AT NAW As a WF&FSA member, you have access to a great distribution library at www.nawpubs.org, the publication arm of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). The library currently features 30 books and CDs on a variety of distribution topics. The latest release is "Connect with Your Suppliers" by James A. Narus, professor of business marketing at the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University, Charlotte, NC. To see all publications and the great discounts afforded WF&FSA members, visit www.nawpubs.org. STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT TEAM WITH E-TRAINING WF&FSA's "Improving Your Bottom Line" CD offers an interactive financial training program that allows your management team to gain profitability insights anytime, anywhere - for the price of sending one person to a one-day seminar. The CD is available to members only for $350. Produced by Profit Planning Group, the CD applies to wholesalers and suppliers. For more information, click here. AWSLinkToForm[19,1] A free demo CD is also available. To request a copy, contact Ken Hess at khess@wffsa.org or call 410-573-0400. TAKE THE FAMILY TO DISNEY WORLD NEXT FEBRUARY The WF&FSA Annual Convention and Floral EXPO 2006 will be held during Presidents' Week next year, Feb. 22-26, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL. WF&FSA promises to provide the critical answers, a wealth of sources and the key networking opportunities you need to make your business grow. For information, contact Tina Brown, tbrown@wffsa.org. COULD YOUR RETAILER BE FLORIST OF THE YEAR? WF&FSA and Florists' Review magazine have launched the fourth annual Retail Florist of the Year Contest with a new entry form to make it even easier to enter and win. The new entry form and one-page wholesaler evaluation form are available at www.wffsa.org. NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR MIKE GARCIA SCHOLARSHIP Nominations are now being accepted for the 2005 Mike Garcia Scholarship to WF&FSA's Management Institute, October 27-29, in Houston. The scholarship, which is open to any employee of a WF&FSA member company, will pay tuition and hotel expenses for one person a value of over $650. For information, click here. WINN-DIXIE SELLS LEASES, STORES WILL REMAIN Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. has sold the leases to 102 of the 326 stores it plans to close or sell, the Orlando Sentinel reported. According to a company spokesman, nearly all of the locations will remain grocery stores. Winn-Dixie filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 21. FTD PROMOTES NEW ONLINE PROGRAM The FTD Flower Exchange, which began in February, provides florists with access to 2,500 different varieties of flowers offered by hundreds of sellers with flexible shipping options and farm-direct pricing, according to the FTD newsletter. USA Flower Exchange is private branding the program, which is available online 24/7 and free to all FTD members. FTD Group, Inc. announced today that fiscal year 2005 revenues grew 10.3% to $437.8 million, with a 14% increase in Internet and telephone sales driving results. Overall revenues for the fourth quarter, which ended June 30, grew 1.8% to $122.6 million. 1-800-FLOWERS FOLLOWS GOOD, BETTER, BEST' STRATEGY "We're growing from a long-distance flower service to a total gifting service," explained Chris McCann, president of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM at the recent CIBC World Markets 5th Annual Consumer Growth Conference in Boston. Customers, McCann said, "told us that there are 14 to 16 ship-to occasions a year and flowers only satisfy one to three of them." The company also sees growth in traditional floral and has developed a "good, better, best strategy" for pricing and fulfillment options. While future plans include focus on its fresh from the grower, or "good," segment, the company also expects to divert market share from Teleflora and FTD to its BloomNet, or "better," service. Interestingly, McCann said the "best" category of service will be provided by branded retail florist shops like Veldkamp's Flowers & Gifts Inc. in Lakewood, CO, which became a 1-800-FLOWERS.COM franchise in April. To listen to the 35-minute presentation, go to www.shareholder.com/flws/medialist.cfm. This link will be active for 6 more days. MARTHA'S FLOWERS DRIVE SEGMENT REVENUES Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. announced second quarter revenues of $2.2 million, compared to $6.4 million in the same period last year, for its Internet/direct commerce segment. Most of the revenues came from marthasflowers.com, the company's online flower business. Total revenue in this segment would have increased 18% excluding the results of the catalog operation, which was discontinued earlier this year. PROFLOWERS NAMES NEW GM Provide Commerce, parent company of ProFlowers, has named Mark Sottosanti as the general manager of the business unit, replacing Ken Constable. Sottosanti has been with the company for seven years as vice president of planning and logistics. The company also released unaudited fiscal fourth quarter net sales of $66 million, up from $52 million during the same period last year. Official results for the quarter, ended June 30, will be released August 17. HARRY & DAVID TO GO PUBLIC Harry & David Holdings, Inc. announced last week that it seeks to raise as much as $125 million in an initial public offering of stock, according to Reuters. The company, which plans to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HND," didn't estimate a price range or number of shares in the document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The document said the company generated net sales of $561.8 million in fiscal 2005, a 7.6% increase over last year. KABLOOM TO LAUNCH CERTIFIED LABEL KaBloom has announced plans to launch a KaBloom Certified label to its franchises, florists and mass marketers early this fall, according to the Society of American Florists (SAF). Working with Pokon & Chrysal, KaBloom plans to certify flowers at the grower level to be sure that they have been hydrated for six to 10 hours before being packaged in KaBloom's new container, the Moses Miracle. This container holds a special mixture to keep flowers hydrated during shipping via FedEx, SAF said. WHY FLOWERS REMAIN GIFT OF LOVE Two British professors, both male, recently devised a computer game based on a mathematical model to determine the role of "courtship gifts" in relationships, usnews.com reported. The results? Gifts that can't be returned or enjoyed with someone else, such as an evening at the theater or a bouquet of flowers, are most effective because they demonstrate intent and eliminate the possibility of exploitation. If this type of research will help to sell more flowers, it's fine with us. REFINERY FIRE HIKES DIESEL PRICES A fire last month at the Chevron El Segundo refinery in California has led to dramatic increases in the price of diesel fuel for the entire West Coast, according to Fleet Owner Newsline. WF&FSA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS WF&FSA welcomes three new members: Kay Berry, Saxonburg, PA Hardgoods supplier; Nana's Flowers (DBA Lavisa Beall's Roses), Miami, FL Importer; and Van Vliet New York, LLC, Long Island City, NY Wholesaler. YOUNG EXECS NETWORK CONTINUES TO GROW Four new members have joined the Young Executives, the emerging leaders' network. They are Lina Gutierrez, Monika Farms, LTD C.I.; Wayne Huckaby, First Choice Wholesale Florist; Ryan Marrero, Rio Roses Equiflor Corporation; and Steve Steinberg, Rio Roses Equiflor Corporation. WF&FSA Management Institute October 27-29, 2005 Houston, TX February 22-25, 2006 Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Lake Buena Vista, FL If you no longer wish to receive netWORK via e-mail, please reply to this e-mail with UNSUBSCRIBE as the subject. |