Eye On DVFlora

Valentines Day is approaching, you’re busy and reporters are calling with questions about rose prices and the economy. Breathe. Smile. And seize the opportunity to talk to the media and score great publicity for your shop. The Society of American Florists (SAF) compiled a list of potential questions reporters might ask this Valentine’s Day along with suggested answers:

How is your business handling the down economy?
We have been serving our customers here in (town) for xx years. We have seen them through births, weddings, deaths and every joy and hardship in between. We thank them for their loyalty in supporting local business. In a tough economy, product quality, personal attention and a satisfaction guarantee became very important. We are proud to carry the best quality flowers and provide outstanding service that keeps our customers coming back.

Why are rose prices so high for Valentine’s Day?
Just like other commodities, supply and demand affects the price of roses. Valentine’s Day inspires the heaviest demand, more than any other day of the year. Several rosebuds must be sacrificed to create one long stemmed rose, and we need to hire additional help and drivers to fulfill the huge demand for roses on this one day in the middle of winter.

I saw roses advertised for much less elsewhere. Why are your roses more expensive?
When comparing prices, it is important to know what you’re buying. The price of a dozen roses will vary based on the rose variety, design style and the level of service. For example, long stem roses arranged in a vase and delivered to your sweetheart’s doorstep will cost more than an unarranged bunch of medium-length stems. Most of our customers find the added services and superior quality to be well worth it.

SAF members can see the more questions and suggested answers at www.safnow.org/vdayinterview.

By cooperating with the media, you can develop valuable relationships and establish yourself as a reliable, expert resource for future stories. This Valentine’s Day, seize the opportunity to talk to the media and make it work to your advantage. You may be surprised at what a little added exposure can do for your year-round business.

Ace Valentine’s Day Test Orders

Keep in mind that you may not always hear directly from the media even if they are doing a story on the cost of Valentine’s Day flowers. During the past several years, there have been numerous examples of “test order” stories during major holidays where reporters pose as consumers ordering flowers and publish a story picturing the arrangements they received, along with details on the cost and how their order was handled (courteousness of salespeople, accuracy of message card, timeliness of delivery, etc.). For some florists such stories have resulted in positive coverage; for others, not so good. The lesson? Treat every order as if it will end up on the front page of your local newspaper.

Looking for more Valentine’s Day tips? Order a copy of SAF’s Valentine’s Day Playbook today! This book was built for florists by florists in order to make sure they are prepared for the holiday. Make this year’s Valentine’s Day your best one ever. Call SAF Member Services at (800) 336-4743 or visit the SAF Store at www.safnow.org.

By The Numbers

California Floral Leads the Way

California is the top flower-producing state in the country.  It’s growers account for most of all domestically grown cut flowers in the United States.  Below are statistics that profile the floral industry in California.

• Number of cut-flower and foliage growers in California, 250.
• Number of employees of cut-flower growers, wholesalers and retailers, 14,580.
• Percent of all cut-flowers sold in the United States that are grown in California, 20.
• Percent of all domestically grown flowers sold in this country grown in California, 75.
• Percent of flowers sold to wholesalers and retailers outside the state, 50.
• Annual impact on the state’s economy, $10.3 billion.
• Combined assets of growers, wholesalers and retailers in the sate, $2.6 billion.
• Sales in 2007 of California flowers and foliage, $330 million.

(Source: The Flower Factor, Dec. 10, 2008, Center for the Study of Small Business, California State University-Sacramento.  Study funded by the California Cut Flower Commission.  Most data from 2007.)

Did You Know:
Important dvflora.com Tip For Holiday Shopping

Have you ever been shopping online at dvflora.com and noticed we have an item that is sold out and the website shows more are coming in? Then when you try to order that item, a message appears saying there are no more available.

Well the reason for this is that dvflora.com only looks for the next open Purchase Order for that item once it is sold out. It is unable to determine how many units on that purchase order are sold…to do that would slow down the website quite a bit.

I have an amazing tip that will solve this issue. However, it should be used with caution…

When you are viewing a list of items on dvflora.com, there will be a drop down box in the top right-hand corner of the list that says “AVAILABILITY.”

By default, yours should read “ALL.” This means that you will be able to see everything that is priced and available OR on an incoming purchase order (whether or not it is sold out).

In order for you to see only items that have available quantities for the specific delivery day you are shopping for, you will need to change that to read “By Ship Date.” Doing so will only show items that can be entered at that time for that day.

So now you’re wondering, “why don’t we have that as the default?” The main problem with always using this feature is that you will not see any future items listed on a purchase order. There is a good chance you can miss out on something special you may want to wait for or order at a later date.

Note: Changing this setting will be saved and appear every time you log in.

From nj.com -

Step inside the New Dodge’s Market in Elmer and one thing immediately catches the eye.

A beautiful tree sculpture stretches from floor to ceiling in the front of the store. It’s the perfect spot to string a bunch of Christmas lights. And, it’s the perfect place to hang some locally crafted glass-blown ornaments.

“We wrapped the entire tree in white lights. We strung them all over the branches,” said Maria Martin, sister of market owner, Scott Edmonds. “Then we hit the switch, and the lights just blew out.”

So they took the lights off and the tree sculpture — made by local artist Abe Warren of Quinton Township — now stands bare, and the ornaments — beautiful glass candy canes by another local artist, Mary Rogers — will find another home inside the market, Martin said.

The New Dodge’s Market prides itself in showcasing locally crafted art and using “as many local ingredients” as possible for its menu items.

“That was our idea. To use as many local people as we can,” said Edmonds.

It was an idea that definitely took hold.

Elmer landmark Dodge’s Market, a focal point in the small borough’s downtown since 1886, had a renaissance of sorts a little over a year ago when new owners Edmonds and James Thomas took over the historic property.

The pair wanted to keep the things that customers craved — the famous New York sharp cheddar cheese and fresh roasted nuts — and add a dash of something new.

Menu items — brainstormed “on my living-room floor inside my Asbury Park beach house” — include cold subs, hot subs, specialty sandwiches, salads, panini and homemade soups and quiche.

And customers definitely have their favorites from the menu, Edmonds said.

The Gorgonzola salad — mixed greens, walnuts, cranberries, green apples, balsamic vinaigrette and mounds of Gorgonzola cheese — is a hot menu item.

“We sell 20 to 25 of these salads every day,” he said.

The New Dodge’s Market offers daily specials as well.

Thursday’s specials included a sautéed pear salad, a barbecued chicken panini, chicken Italiano salad, kielbasa sandwich, reuben and corn beef special.

The market, in continuous operation since it opened in 1886, became Dodge’s Market in 1941 when Raymond and Ethel Dodge took over the grocery store in 1941 from Ross Usinger. The store was well known in the area for its fresh produce, meats, homemade specialties and fancy fruit baskets — along with roasted peanuts and cashews and that famous cheddar cheese.

Ethel Dodge and her son, George, fully supported Edmonds and Thomas when they decided to buy the market, a move that seemed like a big gamble to some.

“No bank in the area believed in the store because of the condition it was in,” Edmonds said. “It needed some work.”

So, they had to get creative, and instead applied for a federal business loan — which they got.

“It works. This building is so charming and it has such a great energy, that it just works,” Edmonds said.

Word of mouth has helped make it work, too, he said.

“Last Saturday it was unbelievable in here,” said Martin. “It was standing-room only.”

The lunch crowd usually comes in by 11:30 in the morning each day, she said.

“The thing that’s so unique about this place is that every day there’s a completely different crowd. We get people coming in every day telling us, ‘My friend told me about your place and said I have to come for lunch,’” Martin said. “Each day there’s at least a dozen people who’ve never been here before.”

Visitors come from all over — from as far as Stow Creek and Commercial Township in Cumberland County, from all over Salem County and even from Gloucester County, she said.

Bob and Tammi DeMarzio of Mantua Township stop in once a week to sip from bottles — real glass bottles — of Coca Cola.

“We stop here often. There’s no other place where you can get these old-fashioned sodas,” said Bob, pointing to a case in the back of the market.

The market also sells specialty goat cheeses from a goat farm in Lawrenceville, a big seller, Edmonds said; chocolates from local candy maker, Sweet Mary’s from Pilesgrove; Stonewall Kitchen mustard and jams and Old Monmouth Brittles. The store also has a full-service florist — Edmonds once owned a flower shop in North Jersey — and it still offers gift and fruit baskets made famous by the talents of Ethel Dodge.

“She was known for her fruit baskets,” Martin said.

In fact, when Martin and her brother first met Ethel and her son, George, the first thing she said was “I can still make a mean fruit basket.”

Ethel’s husband, Raymond, died before he had the chance to see the New Dodge’s Market, but Edmonds and Thomas still keep in touch with Ethel and George.

They even gave the new owners a painting of the market to wish them luck. It is proudly displayed atop the bakery case where pies, cakes, cookies and doughnuts tempt customers.

Perhaps it was the blessing from the Dodges that has helped make the New Dodge’s Market so successful.

Or maybe, Edmonds suggested, what really makes the New Dodge’s Market stand out is the variety of products sold here.

“You can buy something for a $1 or $100, and that’s what makes it work in this area,” Edmonds said.

The New Dodge’s Market is located at 55 Chestnut St. (at the corner of Main Street) Elmer. For more information, call 856-358-6733, email info@NewDodgesMarket.com, or visit www.dodgesmarket.com.

We are very excited to announce that DVFlora has teamed up with Syndicate Sales to offer you StarPoints for items purchased through dvflora.com.  Now you can easily shop through our website for your everyday hardgoods and earn valuable points that can be redeemed towards fantastic prizes through Syndicate Sales.

Joining the program couldn’t be any easier.  Simply log in to dvflora.com and select the Syndicate Stars menu located under Programs on the top menu bar.  Once on the page, you have to first fill out the short customer registration form in order to be given access to the program.  We then need two business days to send the information to Syndicate for approval.  Upon approval you will be sent an email confirming access.

The next time you visit the Syndicate Stars page, you will see several specials and a link to the list of items available for StarPoints.  Simply click on that link and begin shopping!

• Below each item description, you will see the estimated point value for each case purchased.
• In order to qualify for StarPoints, you must purchase a minimum of 10 cases during the course of 1 day.
• Syndicate items purchased through the SUPPLIES page, WILL count towards your total purchase and accumulate StarPoints.
  • You will not see the estimated point values on those items until you checkout.
• For more information and program details, click here.

RECEIVE DOUBLE STARPOINTS DURING THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER AND JANUARY!

As the intense flooding in Thailand continues to cause devastation across the entire country, we are still feeling a direct impact here.  Some of the farms are under water and have been forced to cancel orders with us, while others are located in areas that have seen no effects.  We are constantly monitoring the situation and using certain farms to assist in filling our orders.  If you have specific needs, it’s important to get any orders in as early as possible.

As more information becomes available regarding product availability, we will pass it along to you.  In the mean time, if you have any questions please contact your sales representative.

Delaware Valley Floral Group and Lynx-Global provided the basic logistics support for Ramiro and the Flowers for Kids organization to present roses as a gift to visitors at the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on Memorial Day 2011. Ramiro and his volunteers made memories more beautiful with flowers by providing more than 10,000 stems and several hundred bouquets on Memorial Day to visitors of the cemetery. Ramiro said presenting flowers to family members visiting their loved one’s grave’s was the most emotional program he’s participated in during his 22 years in the flower industry. The ANC administration was delighted, and conveyed some comments from visitor’s that were sent into their web site from this year’s event:

Michel Meredith Thanks to all who shared and placed the roses throughout Section 60. It was especially nice to see all graves with beautiful roses on them.

Kathleen OBrien This was so thoughtful – one for the grave and one for the memory. Thank you.

Michel Meredith Thanks to all who shared and placed the roses throughout Section 60. It was especially nice to see all graves with beautiful roses on them.

Anita Bemis-Dougherty Thank you so much!!! That was so wonderful to have a remembrance!

Sherri O’Boyle We will be interring our father this Friday at Arlington. I hope the beautiful roses and American flags at each gravesite will still be there.

Maggie Schoonmaker that is just beautiful

Drusilla Stinson Thank you for leaving the rose on Toby’s stone for me, thank you for the photo. I am very touched

.

You can see additional comments and photos by clicking here.

For 2012 DVFG will co-sponsor this special event with the Flowers for Kids organization. DVFG‘s Kevin Clifford and Ramiro Peñaherrera have now partnered and recently met with the administration of ANC working to organize the 2012 Memorial Day Rose give away. The goal is to expand the event with more than 35,000 roses being donated by the 68 sponsoring farms of Flowers for Kids and distributing them from several key locations on the grounds of Arlington to the visiting family and friends honoring America’s fallen heroes.

Kevin said, “DVFG often supports various good causes, however this one is special and we are privileged to participate in honoring the people and families that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Flowers are a form of emotional expressions and the classic silent expression of a single stem placed on a headstone is perfect.”

DVFG, along with its partners at Lynx-Global and Centurion Air Cargo, will be donating all of the logistics to move the fresh cuts and supplies needed to Arlington, Va. Flower Transfer Logistics (FTL) will set up a location at Arlington with cold storage and distribute the roses to various key locations throughout the grounds. FTL’s production division will be processing the roses and manufacturing bouquets; which will be donated to the Gold Star Mothers on the day of the event. More than 100 volunteers will participate.  In addition to the Flowers for Kids staff, DVFG plans to send at least 30 staff members, and the Fairfax County Virginia Fire Department has committed to 40 firemen, many of them first responders to the Pentagon on 9-11. The Volunteers will distribute two stems of roses to each visitor, one to place on a head stone and one to take home in remembrance of their friend or relative. A service for families that are unable to visit will also be provided for those who contact the cemetery.  A digital picture of the rose lying on the headstone will be taken and sent to the loved one via a method of their choice. The final component will be to provide red, white and blue bouquets to the mothers that have lost a son or daughter in the line of duty.

In 2012 ANC expects more than 100,000 visitors on Memorial Day. If you would like to volunteer, or would like to help sponsor the event, please contact Kevin or Ramiro.

Ramiro and Kevin wish to expand to five other actively visited National Cemeteries in the Northeast in 2012. More details will be released in the near future. If you would like to present roses at a National Cemetery near you (and this is a great opportunity to make your presence known in your community), contact Kevin, Ramiro or your DVFG representative.

Kevin Clifford
kclifford@dvfloralgroup.com
856.468.7000 ext1342

Ramiro Peñaherrera
robin@flowersforkids.org
202.386.6169

The busy holiday season is just around the corner and now is the perfect time to revitalize your design spirit. This program will be geared to helping flower shops not only survive, but sail through the holidays in a profitable manner.  Key points covered will include holiday planning, purchasing, streamlining production, motivating employees and creating ideas to help increase sales. With our tips and techniques, you’ll turn your everyday containers into memorable treasures, keep your cash register ringing and give your customers their best holiday season ever! Mark your calendar now and make reservations for everyone in your shop to attend this “must-see” program!

Featuring:
Teleflora Education Specialist
Tim Farrell AIFD, AAF, PFCI
Farrell’s Florist – Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania

Tim is an experienced designer whose down to earth approach makes him an exciting designer in any setting. With his style and imagination, he can motivate and inspire any audience.

When: 
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Where:
Rosewood Caterers
8888 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19136
(215) 333-3111

Time:
5:00 pm ~ 7:00 pm Registration
6:00 pm ~ 7:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm~ 9:00 pm Educational design program

Registration: 
Teleflora members
$25.00 Pre-registration
$30.00 At-the-door

Non-members
$30.00 Pre-registration
$35.00 At-the-door

Pre-registration Deadline: 
Monday, October 24, 2011

Cash or check only. Sorry, no credit card or clearinghouse billing.  Dinner is not guaranteed with at-the-door registration.  Please make check payable to Teleflora’s Penn Jersey Unit.

Reservations & Inquiries:
Reservations to: 
Betsy Barnes
Ramone’s Flowers
1904 Newport Gap Pike
Wilmington, DE 19808
(302) 994-8409

Inquiries to: 
Renee Tucci
The Rhoads Garden
570 DeKalb Pike
North Wales, PA 19454
(215) 699-2207

All florists are welcome!

Full Scholarships are available to the Teleflora Education Center in Oklahoma City!

Please ask at this event or contact Scholarship Chairperson, Rick Cuneo AIFD, at (856) 665-7660.

During this year’s Proflora Trade Show in Bogota, Colombia DV’s Tim Dewey received a huge surprise from Fides, a company that specializes in breeding and propagation of cut flowers.  Thanks to a series of conversations over the past year between Grand pop Bob Wilkins, Federico from Tahami, and Bas and Juan Camillo from Fides, the decision was made to name a new flower variety after Tim’s 12 year old daughter Maisy.  The baptism of the variety, a white cushion pom pon, occurred during the show.  Tim was honored to have been a part of the ceremony.

It was 17 years ago when Tim, in conjunction with Juan Carlos Hannaford from The Elite Flower Company named a new “test” rose variety after Tim’s first daughter.  The “Charlotte” rose went on to become the most popular red rose for a number of years in North America.  Tim’s second daughter, Constance, has a pink spray rose named after her grown in California by Eufloria Flowers.  It was only fitting that Maisy be included in the “Dewey” tradition. 

Here are more pictures of the event and a link to the Fides website.

Congratulations to Tim and Maisy on this great honor!

Last week key members of the DVFG Product Management team visited Bogota, Colombia to attend the Proflora Trade Show, which occurs every two years.  The event is one of the largest floral trade shows in the Eastern Hemisphere and is held in the main convention center in downtown Bogota. 

This year we felt is was very important to send a strong contingent to the event, as Colombian growers supply the majority of flowers to the rest of the world.  With this being an international event, buyers from many countries attended, seeking to buy the best fresh cut flowers Colombia has to offer.  Attendees from the DVFG team included Tim Dewey, Steve Catando, Bob Roche, Mike Mitchell, Karri Mast, and Mariela Caceres.  Once in Bogota we met up with Paula Arango (DVFG South American Farm Liaison) and Jorge Montenegro (Colombia Quality Control Inspector), who both reside in Bogota.  In addition to attending the show, we all had the opportunity to visit some of our largest farm partners.

Farms that supply from Colombia are often family owned operations and while some have grown really large over the years, there still remains the pride and passion in the family and leadership teams driving the companies.  With a business strategy of buying directly from farms for over 40 years, the DV Floral Group has many long term relationships with core suppliers and attending an event like this certainly consolidates these relationships in a positive manner.

Tim Dewey
DVFG Procurement and Product Management