THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090185
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 152 lines
VALENTINE'S DAY FALLS on a Wednesday this year.
For busy husbands, boyfriends and sons, that's not necessarily good news. But for florists it's a bit of economic good fortune. Men buy more flowers when the holiday falls on a weekday because they don't have as many other options to choose from.
Flower sellers all over Chesapeake are bracing for Cupid's 24 hours of glory, which many say is the biggest single retail day of the year for the industry.
``For a one-day holiday, Valentine's Day is the biggest,'' said Richard P. Williams, owner of Wholesale Flower Market on Executive Drive in Greenbrier, the only flower wholesaler in the city.
``Christmas is like a month long,'' he said. ``For Easter, Mother's Day and Secretaries' Day, there is like a week when people do things. Valentine's Day is like an explosion all in one day.
``Florists are put under tremendous pressure to deliver on that day more than for Easter or Christmas,'' he said. ``Everyone wants their flowers delivered on that day. It's a very hard feat to make deliveries on that day. That's what makes it a special thing. Customers are getting a fresh gift.''
To ease the rush, some florists try to promote Valentine's as a weeklong holiday.
``That's not easy, because people want their flowers to be delivered on that one day,'' said Jackie G. Hutcheson, owner of Greenbrier Florist.
If flowers are sent the day before or the day after, the specialness of the holiday is sometimes lost, Williams said.
So florists' preparations for the onslaught are elaborate.
``Valentine's is a lot of work for us,'' said Joe C. Josue, owner of Southside Florist in South Norfolk. ``It's still days away, but I've been working on it for five weeks. When lay people come in, they often say, `I surely would like to work with flowers.' But they have no idea how much time and effort it takes to get to that position.''
Greenbrier Florist's Hutcheson began purchasing supplies such as flower vases and containers in October. Because early ordering ensures the availability of an adequate supply of blossoms, she placed her orders with flower wholesalers by Jan. 20, she said.
``You positively make sure you have all your supplies in,'' Hutcheson said. ``You don't want to get caught short.''
Hutcheson and other florists work ahead in other ways. They fill lots of water tubes, which encase the stems of flowers. They twist up gobs of red, white and pink bows and line hordes of rose boxes with tissue.
The Valentine's Day rush also means hiring additional flower designers and drivers.
But what concerns florists most is flower quality.
``The No. 1 thing is to order quality roses ahead of time or you just don't get them,'' Hutcheson said.
This year, florists already are receiving a lot of orders for free-style arrangements, which means the flowers either are tied together or put into a directly into a vase of water, rather than inserted first into the traditional ``oasis,'' or green foam block.
``Flowers last longer that way,'' Hutcheson said.
Cut flowers generally are grown in greenhouses, said Tom J. Lavagetto, who was actively involved in the flower business in California for 25 years. Lavagetto now is general manager of the wholesale division of White's Nursery and Garden Center, which markets to supermarket chains up and down the East Coast but sells to the public through Old Mill Garden Center on Old Mill Road in Deep Creek.
Cut flowers ``come from all over the world,'' Lavagetto said. ``South America, Europe, Africa, the Orient and Mexico, as well as domestic growers. It is an international market these days.''
Roses are still the flower of choice for many men, who make up the highest percentage of Valentine's Day shoppers.
``The reality of the situation is, a rose is a rose is a rose, and there are few substitutes for a rose to express one's love,'' Lavagetto said. ``Think about it. If I brought you one rose or a dozen, there's just something about it. The beauty of a rose is very unique.
``They are prickly. They're not long-lasting and, at this time of the year, they are pricey. But most of the time, we men are more concerned that the recipient is happy.''
Still, Lavagetto said, the flower market is changing. Customers are turning to other types of blossoms and even potted plants to show their affection.
``Within the flower business itself, there are so many more varieties available now versus years ago,'' Lavagetto said. ``Even though roses are so popular, they do not possess the percentage of sales they once did.''
Perhaps that's because prices for roses are so high at Valentine's Day. Many customers say they're too high.
``A lot of people feel that florists gouge customers at holiday time,'' said Josue, who began delivering flowers for Southside Florist when he was 16, and bought the 40-year-old business two years ago from Thelma Leigh Taylor.
``But it's really out of the retailer's hands. It's a supply and demand type of thing. The growers have lean times, too. They can only grow so many flowers. So the cost of goods to the retailer goes up considerably at holiday time.''
Williams of Wholesale Flower Market said wholesalers and retailers absorb most of the increased costs of flowers to get the added volume that the holiday generates. They need the business.
``Valentine's Day sales ranks with Mother's Day sales,'' Josue said. ``The two account for 30 percent of our sales for the year. Sure, I count on it for a boost. It helps us get through the lean times of summer.''
Preparing for Valentine's Day is tricky business for relatively new shops.
``It's a crap shoot out there,'' said Susan Mercier, floral designer and manager at Lasting Impressions, a new shop on Cedar Road. ``We've never been in a shop before, and we've never had a big fresh flower business. So this will be our step into the future. It is very intense. I have to be sure I order correctly because I don't want to eat up our profit.''
The shop opened in November. Early in December, Mercier and owner Glenda Fowler began ordering flowers for Valentine's Day.
``Since we're a new business, we had to order lots of things,'' said Fowler, who had worked out of her home for eight years. ``Valentine's Day is usually the holiday that gets you through the summer. Being new, we won't have much except creativity to sell us. They say you either make it or break it at Valentine's Day.''
Their supply and flower orders for Valentine bouquets filled three and a half legal pages. In addition to ordering 500 red roses, they requested 300 extra carnations. They also got cases and cases of rose vases.
When Valentine's Day rolled around last year, Julie and W. Joseph Bystrom were newcomers to the floral design business.
But now, with 20 months under their business belts, the owners of A Floral Fantasy near Chesapeake Square Mall have an idea of what to expect.
``We have a history behind us now,'' Joseph Bystrom said. ``Last year I don't think people knew we were here. It takes a couple of years to gauge what to expect.''
Both work other jobs while their daughter Jennifer manages the business. After work, the Bystroms head for the shop.
``We were a little understaffed last year,'' Bystrom said. ``We did well ordering flowers and ended up with less than less 12 roses at the end of Valentine's Day. We had ordered what we thought we would sell. We have a lot of walk-in traffic - more than we had anticipated. So we probably could have sold more if we'd had more (arrangements) on the floor.
``Valentine's Day is like a Christmas,'' Bystrom said. ``Only we do it all in one day.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
LOVE IN BLOOM
Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Richard P. Williams, president of Wholesale Flower Market Inc.,
prepares fresh-cut flowers for distribution to Hampton Roads
retailers.
Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Jackie Hutcheson and her daughter Donna Parker show off a vase
filled with roses.
Staff photo and cover illustration by MORT FRYMAN
Glenda Fowler, who owns Lasting Impressions, began ordering flowers
for Valentine's Day in December.
by CNB