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September 29, 2008 |
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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS TOGETHER |
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contents
Flowers Canada Retail Conference 2008
October 17-19 Ottawa, ON
Flower & Gift Online Sales Wilt in 2007
Compared to TOP 500 retail segments
Romantic Dinner at LenExpo
Russian Master Designer makes easy and romantic arrangements
Advocate for Colombian Floriculture Dies
Jose Maria (Pepe) De La Torre
Survey Says
Holiday for Bosses, Sweeties aren't up for promotion
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flower and gift sales wilt vs other top 500 retail segments in 2007
2007 was a tough year for online flowers and gifts retailers as their combined sales bloomed by less than any other segment in Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide.
For the year, the cumulative web sales of the 21 flowers and gifts merchants ranked in the 2008 edition of The Top 500 Guide rose by just 11% to $1.35 billion from $1.21 billion in 2006. In comparison, all retailers ranked in the Top 500 Guide grew their combined sales year-over-year by 21.6% to $101.7 billion while total online retail sales rose by 21.8% to $165.9 million.
In 2007, segment leader 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., No. 36 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, generated e-commerce revenue of $501.9 million, up 16.6% from Internet revenue of $430.3 million in 2006. Following 1-800-Flowers.com in the Top 500 flowers and gifts rankings are FTD Group Inc. (No. 55) at $260 million; Hallmark Cards Inc. (No. 127) at $92.9 million; RedEnvelope.com (No. 132) at $88.5 million; American Greetings Corp. (No. 136) at $85.2 million; Potpourri Group Inc. (No. 151) at $77.4 million; Celebrate Express (No. 163) at $64.7 million; The Vermont Teddy Bear Co. (No. 179) at $57 million; PersonalCreations.com (No. 189) at $51 million and JustFlowers.com (No. 323) at $20 million.
1-800-Flowers.com now controls 37% of the online gifts and flowers market as measured by the Top 500 Guide, compared with 19% for FTD, 6.9% for Hallmark and 6.6% for RedEnvelope.com.
When retailers began to notice the web, flowers and gifts merchants were among the first to take advantage of the Internet as a marketing and merchandising channel. 1-800-Flowers.com started selling online through CompuServe in 1992 and became the first web merchant on AOL two years later.
But in recent years gifts have become a commodity item on the web with even more online retailers offering gift registries, wish lists and targeted seasonal campaigns. To survive and maintain their market position, some flower and gifts retailers are making acquisitions while others have been acquired or now operate within a different organization as the result of filing for bankruptcy.
Since 2002 1-800-Flowers.com has made several acquisitions to diversify its line of business. In May 2002, 1-800-Flowers.com acquired The Popcorn Factory, followed by The WineTasting Network in November 2004, Cheryl & Co. in March 2005, Fannie May Confections Brands Inc. in May 2006 and DesignPac Gifts LLC in April 2008. By acquiring companies, 1-800-Flowers.com is building up a $250 million gifts business and targeting niches in gourmet food and gifts baskets, and a merchandising line of gifts for children and the home. “We are now at a revenue run rate of more than $250 million, making us a leading provider of gourmet food gifts,” 1-800-Flowers.com CEO James McCann told Wall Street analysts on the company’s year-end earnings call in June. “We continue to see excellent growth opportunities in this business for both our organic initiatives as well as acquisitions. In our home and children’s business, despite the economic headwinds in this category we have improved our bottom-line results significantly.”
In the online flowers and gifts market, 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. is using a mix of organic business development, mergers and acquisitions to drive sales. But many other retailers in the segment, including FTD, RedEnvelope.com and Celebrate Express are now under new ownership. In August, United Online, which also owns Internet service providers Juno and NetZero, the Classmates social network and web-based loyalty program MyPoints, purchased FTD in a deal valued at $754 million.
Two other prominent flowers and gifts retailers – RedEnvelope.com and Celebrate Express – also are now owned and operated by Liberty Media. In June Liberty Media acquired Celebrate Express for $31 million and merged the company with BuyCostumes.com, another company in Liberty’s interactive media group. In May Provide Commerce, another Liberty Interactive company, acquired the assets of RedEnvelope.com after a bankruptcy filing.
One way American Greetings, which saw revenue at its e-commerce subsidiary AG Interactive decline by 5% in the 2007 fiscal year, is trying to differentiate is by offering more digital and social network services. In December American Greetings spent $26.5 million and purchased PhotoWorks, an online photo sharing and personal publishing company that allows consumers to use their digital images to create quality photo-personalized products such as greeting cards, calendars, online photo albums and photo books. PhotoWorks offers production capabilities that position us for a comprehensive photo strategy bringing together both digital and physical products,” says American Greetings CEO Zev Weiss.
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romantic dinner at the lenexpo
 At the LenExpo in St Petersburg, Russia, Master Designer Peter van der Sluis showed how easy it is to make your own table arrangement in just a few steps.
During this exhibition all kinds of arrangements were passed in review and a lot of them were quite complex. However, this arrangement is easy to make yourself with only a few aids and only 3 different products.
A vase, floral foam and flowers
All you need to make this table piece are a vase, two round pieces of floral foam and some flowers. Put the first piece of floral foam on the vase and stick the Alstroemeria flowers in the foam. Take the stem of the Chrysanthemums so that you have separated the stem and the flower with only a small part to stick it. Stick the stems in the floral foam placed on the vase. Put the second piece of floral foam on the stems. Then stick the Chrysanthemums in the second piece of floral foam.
 Add the lilies
If there is no floral foam visible anymore at the top, because it is completely covered with Chrysanthemums, you can add the Lilies on the top of the foam. The stems of the Lilies can be a little bit longer, so that they rise above the Crysanthemums.
Ready for dinner
With only 3 different products you have a complete table arrangement.
The only thing left to say is - Have a nice dinner!
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advocate for Colombia floriculture dies
Jose Maria (Pepe) De La Torre, best known for building the bridge between the Colombian and U.S. floral industries died Sept. 18.
As former owner of Four Farmers (purchased by Dole Fresh Flowers in 1998), De La Torre made it his personal mission to promote Colombian flowers in the U.S. and he helped found Asocolflores in 1973, the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters. He also served as its president from 1981 to 1983.
Known for his persistence and upbeat personality, De La Torre was able to break through tensions and overcome cultural barriers. "It took about 30 years," De La Torre said about winning the trust of American growers, when he was inducted into SAF's Hall of Fame in 2002. "Little-by-little, step-by-step. Making friends - very good friends. Show that we are doing honest business. You can't win it in a day. You have to pay your dues and show you deserve to be in the club."
De La Torre's hard work paid off in 1999, when an agreement was made that Colombian growers and importers would fund a cut flower promotional effort, and domestic growers could chip in. The alliance, known as the Flower Promotion Organization, has funded research and a number of studies including the latest Vitamin F Study. He also helped to create Proflora, Florverde and the Colombia Flower Council.
He became an active member of several organizations, including SAF, where he was the first international member of the Growers Council, served on the Board of Directors and the Research Committee.
His contributions to the industry have been recognized by several organizations in addition to SAF, who've awarded De La Torre with their highest honors: the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association's Leland T. Kintzele Distinguished Service Award in 2002; Asocolflores's Edgar Wells Award, and The Floral & Nursery Times honored him in 2005 with a Living Tribute within the American Floral Endowment.
"Colombian floriculture is in heartfelt mourning for the loss a great man and mind, and a great friend, a flower grower and member of our association," says Ernesto Velez, chairman of the board of Asocolflores. "Pepe was an active visionary. We all owe much to Pepe in developing the excellent relationship that exists today with SAF and other organizations in the American floral industry."
During SAF Palm Beach 2008, Charles Kremp, 3rd, AAF, of Kremp Florist in Philadelphia, acknowledged De La Torre's dedication to the industry and his gift for building relationships at the Business Session held Sept. 20.
De La Torre "had to come here when the walls were up and the Colombians were so far away," Kremp said. "Yet, he really hung in there...Today, Colombia is so much a part of our industry, we could never imagine it any other way."
Evidence of De La Torre's commitment to education also lives on. He helped create the University of Los Andes, one of the eminent universities of Colombia, and served on the board of trustees for more than 50 years. He also served as the president of the board of trustees of Colegio Los Nogales in Bogotá, one of the country's top 10 high schools.
Survivors include his wife, Maria; four children, Joaquin, Nicolas, Lorenzo and Camila and eight grandchildren.
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survey says - holidays for bosses, sweeties aren't up for promotion
Sweetest Day is predominantly a fresh-flower holiday, promoted mostly by florists in the Midwest for the third Saturday in October. According to 2007 holiday survey, 23 percent of florists nationwide offered specials for the holiday and 19 percent promoted it. The florists that did offer specials were most likely to promote in-store arrangements (37 percent), or cash and carry bouquets (25 percent) than other products. The majority of florists (58 percent) did not offer any specials for the holiday, responding "not applicable" to the item.
For Bosses Day, usually held on Oct. 16, in-store arrangements accounted for 53 percent of promotions, with plants following at 32 percent. About a third of florists didn't promote specific items for Bosses Day and less than 40 percent offered Bosses Day specials.
Source: Zoomerang Online Survey
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Flowers Canada Retail represents all segments of the Canadian Retail Floral Industry.
Our goal is helping you reach yours.
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ph 1.800.447.5147 fax 1.866.671.8091
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