I think 1-800-flowers is struggling because they so far have failed to establish itself as a value brand.
1-800's entire brand revolves around the convenience of ordering over the Internet. They really don't have anything else to rely on.
The same is not necessarily true for FTD and ProFlowers.
FTD does have a historical brand other than just convenience, even though that brand might be deteriorating.
ProFlowers, on the other hand, has a value brand. They are probably at the strongest position among Internet flower retailers.
In theory, independent florists can take advantage of recession and aggressively promote the fact that we provide a better value than 1-800's or FTD.
Unfortunately, independent florists, as a whole, carry the baggage of being over-priced. So most of us are not capable of capitalizing on the recession.
But it may not be too late. We can, for example, start a campaign with a slogan like "Why waste your $$$ on middlemen?"
1-800's entire brand revolves around the convenience of ordering over the Internet. They really don't have anything else to rely on.
The same is not necessarily true for FTD and ProFlowers.
FTD does have a historical brand other than just convenience, even though that brand might be deteriorating.
ProFlowers, on the other hand, has a value brand. They are probably at the strongest position among Internet flower retailers.
In theory, independent florists can take advantage of recession and aggressively promote the fact that we provide a better value than 1-800's or FTD.
Unfortunately, independent florists, as a whole, carry the baggage of being over-priced. So most of us are not capable of capitalizing on the recession.
But it may not be too late. We can, for example, start a campaign with a slogan like "Why waste your $$$ on middlemen?"
