Fueling Flowers-to-go
An industry insider offers tips to
 increase your premade bouquet sales
with Julie Anderson
(original article FLORAL RETAILING April 2001)

   A half-empty bucket of tired-looking, premade bouquets sat on the sales floor for several days. Meanwhile, busy employees passed by, moving boxes, rearranging plant displays and mopping up messes. Eventually, one of the staff noticed the bucket and tossed out the weary flowers. By that time, hundreds of customers had passed by, glanced at the bucket and grimaced at the shriveled foliage and brown blossoms. It wasn't a pretty picture.
   Yet, sales of premade bouquets paint a rosy portrait for those florists who know how to purchase and merchandise them effectively.
   Julie Anderson is one of those florists. Formerly a floral director for Furr's Supermarkets for 8'!2 years, Anderson recently left the chain to create her own consulting firm. This past fall, she ended a term as chairman of the Floral Marketing Association board of directors. Over the years, Anderson has watched the evolution of pre made bouquet sales increase and improve.
   Floral Retailing recently asked Anderson to provide floral retailers with suggestions on how they can increase their sales of premade bouquets. While relying on her own personal experience, Anderson also sought out information from four floral directors at some of the top-performing, high-volume florists in the country. These directors, to whom Anderson refers as her Retail Group, shared some of their most effective ways of maximizing sales opportunities for premade bouquets.
   Our questions and Anderson' s responses follow.

What's the first step in increasing the sales of premade bouquets?

To begin; make sure you or your buyer verify that the product mix of your premade bouquets is effective. A good product mix depends on the variety of flowers, their size and their color. When you correctly manipulate these variables, you will create the most successful premade bouquet program.
   Next, define the, specific aspects of your market area, including demo- graphics, cultural influences and disposable income. Provide this information to your supplier so he can merge your buyers' information with his own expertise to create or suggest a product that will satisfy your specific customers' needs. This means your supplier should provide you with your own, individual bouquet program-not a one-size- fits-all solution.

Once the retailer has the appropriate product mix, how can he or she get the customers' attention?

In talking with the members of my Retail Group, they concur that retailers should merchandise most premade bouquets outside of the cooler, except for rose and bulb bouquets. These directors have found the most effective placement of premade bouquet displays in supermarket floral departments are either within the department or in a high-traffic area nearby.
   In addition, place all your bouquet selections together. Customers don't want to run all over the store to see what choices you offer.
   Finally, make your displays massive to give them impact. Merchandise them in a vertical pattern according to the style of the bouquet.

What if you don't have a lot of space for a massive display? Isn't it better to at least have lots of small displays, especially if you are in a supermarket?

 We believe smaller auxiliary displays-such as those at checkout stands-produce only incremental sales and will not replace the sales generated within or near the actual floral department. Besides, consider the labor required in policing the small displays all over a store. Those auxiliary containers of flowers eventually become "Out of sight, out of mind" for your floral staff, who don't check them regularly. And nothing is worse than allowing customers to see small displays of half - full, mixed-up and dead bouquets.
   Not only that, but because most of your sales activity takes place within your floral department anyway, you need your staff localized there to provide the service your customers require. Auxiliary displays throughout your store, then, simply deplete the labor force that should be in your floral department.
   If you are a supermarket florist and you have been attempting cross-merchandising efforts, keep these factors in mind. Unless you are adequately staffed to support the maintenance involved with floral displays outside of the department, then you should not cross- merchandise outside of the floral area. Otherwise, shrink will offset any incremental sales you bring in.

What about the question of clear sleeves vs. decorative sleeves ? Which show off the flowers better?

I think the most effective bouquet program demonstrates a balance between both. I was recently in a top-performing floral department that had some of the most beautifully created bouquets r d ever seen. You couldn't determine where the flowers ended and the sleeves began. It was a total package for the customer. Yet, in another mass-market floral department I visited, I saw sleeves that didn't match the flowers. What a difference it was! It looked like a jumbled mess. As a result, the second store's pre-made bouquet program was very ineffective.
   A sleeve supplier told me he believes decorative sleeves enhance a bouquet and get the customer's attention. He says the use of decorative sleeves vs. clear sleeves is cyclical. Right now, for example, decorative sleeves are more popular.
   Decorative sleeves help emphasize colors that are attractive to specific cultures. I don't believe our industry addresses this opportunity as effectively as it could to market flowers to specific ethnic groups. With the diversity of the U.S. population, we as an industry need to take advantage of these types of opportunities to increase our sales.

What are the most effective fixtures to use in selling premades?

Merchandising fixtures should reflect your store's image. We've all seen retailers use boxes covered with foil, water-damaged shipper boxes and bakery icing buckets stacked on the floor. These "fixtures" don't provide much in the way of an attractive store environment.
   Choose fixtures that are the appropriate quality for your floral business. Be consistent in the type of containers you use, too, whether you choose black plastic buckets, galvanized pails or glass vases to maintain uniformity within your display.

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