What's FTD Offering?

[BOSS]

Yep and...question is, do "super florists" need walk-ins ?

I would say..no...

By being a phone call or mouse click away, and being able to deliver even in Atlanta within an hours notice would eliminate the need for walk-in customers.

HOWEVER, that said Gerald Stevens had a very good business model, but FAILED in execution. Consider it like, Bed-Bath and Beyond, or Bath and Body Works. They are destination store, and if a "super florist" was to incorperate these concepts into their locations they would become destination stores as well.

In Europe, florists are destination stores, almost on a daily basis, but you have to think, there is no unified look here in the US, outside of KaBloom. And KaBloom is growing at an alarming rate, both in the number of stores, and in revenues, hence profits. The KaBloom store are destination stores, depending on the walk-in customer.

It is already happening, and will continue. I do agree tho, that the small florist will survive. They have many things in their favor, like generally lower overhead compared to their bigger bretheran.

 

[steve]

A couple things that I live by are a unprofitable company is an unsafe place to work and anything that stays the same will die. Toto mention and I do not have exact words here but something to the effect that if you are selling their product it is with your own steam. Well fact is if we do not put our steam behind there product or Teleflora product we are not going to sell nearly as much or even enough. Overall the majority of florist in this country have done a lousey job of marketing themselves and the industry. If the florist can not market themselves and grow their business then FTD or teleflora is stuck with a dieing business. and now we are back to the two things I live by. This florist did not do it for themselves so the wire services did what they had to do to survive.

 

[BOSS]

Steve

I concur, most florists are lousy business folk, and do not understand what it takes to own your market.