Southern Retail is no longer

[Lizi]

This is so sad.


After exploring a number of options to restructure the convention, the Board felt that after 63 years it had successfully fulfilled its mission and was time to move on. SRFA has brought thousands of designers, owners,... and vendors together for the betterment of the industry. Now, as the retail environment has changed as well as the dramatic changes within the floral industry in recent years, the desire for SRFA to be the centerpoint of the industry in the southeast diminished. Many thanks to all the industry supporters who made Southern Retail and were still loyal friends of Southern Retail!

 

[theRKF]

I was sad to read this news on the Southern Retail FB page yesterday.

 

[BOSS]

And sadly this trend will continue I'm afraid.

Who ever thought Sunburst would go bye bye, Hosa may be next, and any number of other floral industry "staples" are on the rocks...or have gone already.

I just had a vendor here today, that will be at the MFA Spring gig next week, he thinks it's days are numbered as well.

Sad state of affairs....

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Boys and girls, 'social networking" has DESTROYED any need for shaking a person's hand personally, and it pisses me off to no end!!
I'm all for keeping in touch, BUT, when my arse is on a toilet seat, I want to be left alone!!
And , when I wanted meet REAL PEOPLE, we went to REAL 'gigs" and not this other nonsense, and NOW, this is the "result"!
The demands and pressures of floral retailing has been so badly polarized and damaged, by OG's, wire services, and social networking, that just the "thought" of of getting together seems so very far in the past, and THAT pisses me off as well!
Sorry, I don't mean to swear, but, whether a verb, adjective, or pro-noun, it STILL makes me wanna gag!

 

[bootcampguy]

Boys and girls, "social networking" has DESTROYED any need for shaking a person's hand personally, and it pisses me off to no end!! I'm all for keeping in touch, BUT, when my arse is on a toilet seat, I want to be left alone!!...............

I'll be looking for post on facebook, busy!

 

[BOSS]

Mikey, dude.... you seem a little "pissed off".... what's up bro?

Actually I don't think SN has anything to do with it, more likely the current margins in the industry that have emptied bank accounts no longer allow for frivolous spending, hell it's hard to pay the other bills too...

Couple that with folks current disdain for the way we have allowed the industry to morph, and many probably just want to have anything to do with it outside of their own walls.

 

[steve]

I agree Mark its hard to find the extra cash to be doing a lot of traveling and such. On other had losing such an organization and potentially what other few remain leaves us with zero leadership in the industry. The big boys and girls are in trouble yet we can not mount the surge it wil take to take our industry back and to steal this from Mikey that pisses me off to no end. And its our fault we as a group are so splintered. Look at last January when a fee got introduced here some took their ball and went in one direction others in another and some of us stayed. now I we can make an argument that some of those people might or might not be missed. But they had passion just like we have passion but now we are more splintered then ever with no traction and that should worry every single one of us and those that went off on their own.

 

[theRKF]

Boys and girls, 'social networking" has DESTROYED any need for shaking a person's hand personally, and it pisses me off to no end!!

I can't agree there, Mikey.

1) Florist conferences - incl our beloved OFC - went by the wayside 5+ years ago. I don't think FTD's had a national US conference since 2005 in Dallas. That predates the mass adoption of social.

2) Florists were slow to get into social media. Even here on FlowerChat (which is a type of social media) more members are confused by social than actively thriving on it.


I think conferences failed because the wire services turned them into sales events and the conferences overall didn't provide enough value to the attendees. Further, the majority of the audience didn't want to learn about anything other than design (which is important - but not exclusively so). If the florists don't value the event they won't go.

 

[bootcampguy]

.........I think conferences failed because the wire services turned them into sales events and the conferences overall didn't provide enough value to the attendees. Further, the majority of the audience didn't want to learn about anything other than design (which is important - but not exclusively so). If the florists don't value the event they won't go.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I'm gonna try to grab the date/hotel for SR (I've spoken the last 2 years there, great venue, great group) and try to hold a bootcamp there. That show in it's hayday late 90's 2,000 people. Heck, what about a FC convention. We're ready.........One of the best motivational speakers, cpas, computer guy (Ryan) and others are willing to come and teach what they know and then in turn learn something themselves for "nothing". As for the WS, yeah, it's time to hold a convention without them. I knew in Dallas in 2005, when they said we just can't do this anymore, what they we're really saying was "we don't want to face our members anymore". It wasn't about the money, please........................There are shops on here "kicking major butt", there's was to grow and increase sales, but you have to be willing or want to learn. See, back in the hayday, you could be an advertising victim, throw darts at the board and see what you hit, now you better not be a victim anymore. You need to know what works and have this equation in your head, Marketing = Math + Phychology. It's not rocket science.

 

[BOSS]

BOSS's Quote of the day!

I think conferences failed because the wire services turned them into sales events and the conferences overall didn't provide enough value to the attendees. Further, the majority of the audience didn't want to learn about anything other than design (which is important - but not exclusively so). If the florists don't value the event they won't go.

I concur, and would add...

I think part of it too is the *perceived* notion that the wires are in control of said events, simply by association. Being the biggest advertisers, the ones with the designers etc... Many want to disassociate from the wires, so they may be avoiding events that "look" like they're sponsored by the very companies generating the disdain.

I know the last two TF design shows I went to, while the designing was ok, the rah rah rah for TF and **ALL** their programs was a turn off. I mean how many quality designers should be mentioning technology and websites???

 

[bootcampguy]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner , also

 

[BOSS]

I knew in Dallas in 2005, when they said we just can't do this anymore, what they we're really saying was "we don't want to face our members anymore". It wasn't about the money, please........................

I don't think so Rick...perhaps in part, but back in the day, I had Bad Bobby come to one of the very last(didn't know it at the time) district meetings there was in Michigan, our unit always had 50-75 shops show up for the Christmas meeting. Was not long after, the districts were disbanded. I believe this (and stopping conventions) was done more to break up the communication between shops more than anything else and it worked. They didn't want to help facilitate organized rejection of their model... same reason they took down the FTD BBS of old... too much heat, too much communication between members...

 

[RWK]

I had not heard this and this news breaks my heart..........I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS thoroughly enjoyed Southern Retail. I will treasure so many memories of Southern now. I will indeed miss the Southern Retail.