WF&FSA netWORK, 2-10-04 Issue
2-10-04 Issue
SALES CAMP TO JOIN FLORAL EXPO IN ATLANTA
Mark your calendars for WF&FSA Sales Camp, Oct. 29-30 in Atlanta. The WF&FSA Education Committee recommended and the Executive Committee has approved moving the date and location of the popular Sales Camp to coincide with Floral Expo 2004. Camp training will be held in the mornings of the last two days of the trade fair. Floral Expo will open later so there will be no overlap. All product demonstrations will be held in the exhibit hall during trade fair hours.
Flora Expo 2004 will be held Oct. 28-30 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, GA. The new show hours will be 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. 2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, click here.
Management Institute will be held separately in late June or early August this year. The location and dates will be announced soon.
SPONSORS PAY THE WAY FOR TWO NEW MEMBERS
Barry David and Ron Gainey, two newcomers to WF&FSA, will attend the Annual Convention, March 17-20, in San Diego for free, thanks to two convention sponsors. David, owner of Piedmont Floral Supply, Inc. in Commerce, GA, won the full convention sponsorship offered by Armellini Industries, Inc. The sponsorship includes full convention registration, a three-night stay at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort and up to $250 airfare reimbursement. Gainey, general manager of Glacier Mountain Floral Suppliers in Spokane, WA, won a full convention registration sponsorship offered by Floral & Nursery Times. All new WF&FSA wholesaler members since 2003 were invited by fax to participate in the drawing.
LOOK WHO'S REGISTERED!
Registrations for the WF&FSA Annual Convention continue to outpace last year. To see the list of registered attendees, click here.
INDUSTRY UPDATES ADDED TO CONVENTION PROGRAM
Representatives of the Society of American Florists (SAF) and the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO) will address attendees at the Convention. Dwight Larimer, president of Design Master color tool, inc., WF&FSA Immediate Past President and SAF Consumer Marketing Committee Chairman, will discuss the Society's latest research and publicity efforts on Thursday, March 18, from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. Attendees will view the latest television clips generated from the campaign.
Anthony Vollering, vice president of Growers Direct Wholesale Florist, and Felipe Ramirez of Asocolflores, are FPO co-chairmen. They will discuss FPO's consumer campaign and ways that wholesalers can participate on Friday, March 19, from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, click here.
COMPANY NEWS
PROVIDE COMMERCE REPORTS RECORD RESULTS
Provide Commerce, parent company of Proflowers.com, announced record fiscal second quarter results with 42% revenue growth and first-ever second quarter profit. Gross margin also improved 43.7% over the same period last year. CEO Bill Strauss credited the company's "core floral offerings" as well as repeat and new customers with the gains.
HOME DCOR SALES DISAPPOINT 1-800-FLOWERS
Although 1-800-FLOWERS.COM recently reported record second quarter revenues of $213.2 million, the sales of its high-margin home dcor gift items came in below expectations, reported DMNews. The company's gross profit margin for the quarter was 44.9% compared with 45.6% in the prior-year period.
DOLE PRESIDENT/COO RETIRES
Dole Food Company, Inc. recently announced the decision by Lawrence Kern, president and COO, to take early retirement. David Murdock, chairman of the board and CEO, will assume the additional duties of president and COO for the company.
MEMBERS SAVE BIG $ WITH WF&FSA FEDEX PROGRAM
A new FedEx usage-and-savings report shows that participating members saved an average of $2673 on their FedEx bills during the third quarter of 2003. One member saved $73,000 in three months. Is your company taking advantage of these savings? Our program reduces domestic rates by 35%, international rates by 45% and FedEx Ground rates up to 18%. To enroll, click here.
U.S., AUSTRALIA COMPLETE NEW TRADE DEAL
The United States completed negotiations for a free trade agreement with Australia this week, The New York Times reported yesterday. The new deal, which still must be approved by Congress, removes tariffs on more than 97% of exports to the U.S. As part of the agreement, the U.S. agreed to open its market further to many agricultural items, including flowers.
HAWAII TROPICAL FLOWER COUNCIL CHANGES NAME
The Hawaii Tropical Flower Council announced last week that it's launching a new identity for the 13-year-old trade group and changed its name to Hawaii's Flowers, according to the Hawaii Herald Tribune. The council hired a brand strategy company which defined a new forward strategy for dealing with the challenge of increasing foreign imports. The Hawaii floriculture industry's grower sales in 2002 were $92 million, close to one-quarter of the estimated $420 million U.S. domestic market.
WINN-DIXIE SHARES PLUNGE
Winn-Dixie shares plunged 28% after the grocery chain reported a $79.5 million quarterly loss, according to a report in The Miami Herald last week. Winn-Dixie blamed the "increasingly competitive supermarket landscape" and aggressive price-cutting promotions for the poor showing. Wal-Mart has been gaining on Winn-Dixie's status as Florida's second largest retailer, The Herald said.
ARROW AIR ENTERS CHAPTER 11 AGAIN
Arrow Air, a Miami cargo carrier formed from the former Fine Air when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2002, filed again for Chapter 11 protection from creditors, said The Miami Herald. A weak economy, high fuel prices and competition on rates caused the company to file. The carrier ranked 5th in cargo volume in Miami for the first nine months of 2003, with 100,250 tons. The airline will maintain operations to Latin America while negotiations to sell assets continue.
VALENTINE'S DAY BRIEFS
AVERAGE CONSUMER TO SPEND NEARLY $100 THIS YEAR
The average consumer will spend $99.24 on Valentine's Day this year, up from $80.44 in 2003, according to a new study conducted for the National Retail Federation. Total Valentine's Day spending is expected to hit $12.79 billion in 2004, reported Chain Store Age. The study, which polled 8,683 U.S. consumers, showed that 64.9% of men and 16.2% of women plan to purchase flowers as gifts.
FLOWERS TOP LISTS FOR WAL-MART CUSTOMERS
Jewelry, flowers and candy in that order are expected to top Wal-Mart customers' shopping lists for Valentine's Day, according to nationwide buying trends identified from last year's customer purchase habits. According to a company press release, "In seasons past, Wal-Mart customers have purchased enough roses to stretch 5,000 miles when lined end-to-end."
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING TESTS MAIL-ORDER FLOWERS
The March issue of Good Housekeeping includes the results of a Good Housekeeping Institute test to determine the best mail-order roses for Valentine's Day. The Institute ordered roses by the dozen from 10 mail-order and Internet florists, then asked a group of consumers and one florist to evaluate each bouquet based on preference, customer service and longevity.
The top three retailers were Same Day Flowers (even though the roses lasted only three days!), VirtualFlowers.com and Coast to Coast Flower Delivery. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, which delivered nearly 2.4 million roses and 600,000 tulips for Valentine's Day in 2003, placed 7th and FTD.com ranked 9th.
SATURDAY DELIVERIES BRING SURCHARGES
Some Internet retailers are adding delivery surcharges because Valentine's Day falls on Saturday, according to Investor's Business Daily. Next-day orders on Hallmark.com, which are delivered through FedEx, are normally $9.95. But it will cost customers $15.95 for delivery on Valentine's Day this year. Froople!, the online shopping service offered by the American Homeowners Association, provides shipping rebates on every transaction, up to $25 per order with no restrictions. Froople! shoppers can search by category, such as flowers and gifts, or shop directly at online stores such as 1-800-FLOWERS.COM and FTD.com.
UPS TESTS MEDIA FLOWER POWER TO BOLSTER IMAGE
A clever Valentine's Day quiz in a UPS press release gives the company many opportunities to promote its delivery strengths in the floral industry. Did you know, for example, that UPS imported nearly seven million pounds of roses for Valentine's Day last year? To handle the volume this year, UPS increased the number of flights during the peak weeks of Jan. 23 Feb. 12 by more than 50%.
CONNECTICUT FLORISTS EXPECT HOLIDAY ORDERS TO DIP
Most Connecticut florist shops are expecting Valentine's Day sales to be as much as 25% lower than last year because the holiday falls on a Saturday. Both retailers and wholesalers in the state have trimmed their rose orders, reported the Connecticut Florist Association.
COLLECTION AGENCY SWEETENS WF&FSA DISCOUNT
Singer, Bach & Associates, the collection agency endorsed by WF&FSA, will offer an additional 2% discount off one placement for every referral to another member that places one account with SBA by Dec. 31, 2004. For more information, contact psinger@sbacollect.com.
WHOLESALER CONNECTION FEATURES WF&FSA MEMBERS
The February issue of Florists' Review magazine, one of two wholesaler connection issues published each year, featured several WF&FSA members. One article highlights a panel discussion with WF&FSA and three wholesalers representing different regions of the country who shared their perspective of today's market and where it's headed. To read the article, click here. The magazine also featured five other WF&FSA members talking about "expanded buying options for retailers" and demonstrated how another WF&FSA member helps retail florists save money.
IN MEMORIAM
Ernest O. Brody, a past winner of the WF&FSA Leland T. Kinzele (LTK) distinguished service award, died recently in Delray Beach, FL. Brody had worked in the floral industry for 60 years and founded the Brody Company. Geoffrey Hemmrich of Hemmrich & Associates in Brentwood, TN, died suddenly last month at the age of 61.
WF&FSA WELCOMES SEVEN NEW MEMBERS
Seven new members have joined WF&FSA this month, bringing our total membership to 806. Welcome to our latest members: C.I. Colibri Flowers S.A., Bogota, Colombia international grower; Cove Four Slide, Freeport, NY hardgoods supplier; Flores Aurora Ltda C.I., Bogota, Colombia international grower; Florexpo LLC, Carlsbad, CA bouquet company; The Lucky Clover Trading Company, Benicia, CA hardgoods supplier; Tropical Trade, Inc., Lake Forest, IL bouquet company; WAFEX, Sunshine, Australia international grower.
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