Just my opinion
First to Rob. The idea of any "alliance" these days seems to be an impossible task. The major reason is you can't get any 3 florists to agree about anything, let alone 30,000 of them. Again, in my opinion, the idea is to get a concept going in one direction and get florists to join as it flows along. I don't mean to push IFA, but just taking that idea as the concept and solving the many little things that plague this industry and create a solid communication system within it for only florists could have all the benefits of an "alliance" you are talking about. Florists don't trust anything or anyone much anymore, so trying to sell them on getting behind anything is very difficult.
Steve has been talking about a national buying program and because I came from outside this industry, I too can recognize the advantages of large buying power. The problem is our industry is tied together by wholesaler and retailer. Any effort to buy direct or undercut the local wholesaler hurts them which inturn hurts us. I keep talking about a solid communication system as the basis for any change. What I mean by that is allowing florists to be their creative selves and provide them away to communicate that creativity between each other. RC, this year displayed pictures of their centerpiece arrangements for all of us to see. It gave me great ideas to do the same thing with items I already had. He built his centerpieces around the same base, just like TF arrangements and then basically changed the focal item and the flowers. They are NOT cookie cutter. Can you imagine if every florists had an internal system to display THEIR work <not pictures out of a book> at holidays with their pricing. Can you imagine if you could list or SHOW what each florist was offering for their $25 or $35 poinsettia or if their minimum arrangement is $25, a picture that shows what they do for $25 or $30. The WS can't do this, but technology is available to day that allows all of us to do very economically. All you need is a host and the hosts are already there. They just need someone to tell them which direction to go. We just need to take back control of our industry and have a vision for the future, not try to reconstruct the past! If florists than were able to promote the fact that only real florists can help you get the best values for your money, does anyone think that most consumers would still prefer to spend alot of time on the internet and then give their CC to whomever might be at the other end?
First to Rob. The idea of any "alliance" these days seems to be an impossible task. The major reason is you can't get any 3 florists to agree about anything, let alone 30,000 of them. Again, in my opinion, the idea is to get a concept going in one direction and get florists to join as it flows along. I don't mean to push IFA, but just taking that idea as the concept and solving the many little things that plague this industry and create a solid communication system within it for only florists could have all the benefits of an "alliance" you are talking about. Florists don't trust anything or anyone much anymore, so trying to sell them on getting behind anything is very difficult.
Steve has been talking about a national buying program and because I came from outside this industry, I too can recognize the advantages of large buying power. The problem is our industry is tied together by wholesaler and retailer. Any effort to buy direct or undercut the local wholesaler hurts them which inturn hurts us. I keep talking about a solid communication system as the basis for any change. What I mean by that is allowing florists to be their creative selves and provide them away to communicate that creativity between each other. RC, this year displayed pictures of their centerpiece arrangements for all of us to see. It gave me great ideas to do the same thing with items I already had. He built his centerpieces around the same base, just like TF arrangements and then basically changed the focal item and the flowers. They are NOT cookie cutter. Can you imagine if every florists had an internal system to display THEIR work <not pictures out of a book> at holidays with their pricing. Can you imagine if you could list or SHOW what each florist was offering for their $25 or $35 poinsettia or if their minimum arrangement is $25, a picture that shows what they do for $25 or $30. The WS can't do this, but technology is available to day that allows all of us to do very economically. All you need is a host and the hosts are already there. They just need someone to tell them which direction to go. We just need to take back control of our industry and have a vision for the future, not try to reconstruct the past! If florists than were able to promote the fact that only real florists can help you get the best values for your money, does anyone think that most consumers would still prefer to spend alot of time on the internet and then give their CC to whomever might be at the other end?
