Sunny Days for Flower Sales

By Gordon M. Henry

Valentine's Day has always sent lovebirds flocking to the florist. Right after Cupid's departure, though, flower sales used to shrivel up. No longer. Flowers, once an ornament reserved for special occasions, have become a year- round staple on many shopping lists. Now, no better reason for buying a bouquet is needed than that the sun is shining, or that the sun is not shining. Sandy Taylor, owner of Plaza Florist & Gifts in Urbandale, Iowa, has noticed the trend. Says she: "Lots of people buy flowers on the way home from work. When we sign the card we ask, 'For what occasion?' They say, 'No | occasion.' "

Business has blossomed for dealers in floral products in recent years. U.S. retail sales of cut flowers have increased from $2.9 billion in 1981 to $3.7 billion in 1985. Revenues for FTD, the long-distance delivery network, have been growing by more than 10% annually, reaching $551 million in 1985.

For many consumers, buying flowers is no more of an extravagance than buying a loaf of bread. John Culbreth, who works in Atlanta's bureau of recreation, picks up some fresh-cut varieties while he does his shopping at the DeKalb County farmers' market. Says he: "I don't know the names of what I'm buying. I just know how they look." People are buying flowers to decorate their homes, brighten up their offices or cheer up pals. Michael Goldberg, a Chicago financial analyst, sent flowers to a college friend who had failed a test.

One reason flowers are selling fast is that they are now available in so many places besides traditional florist shops. They are sprouting in grocery stores, in malls, on street corners. The Cincinnati-based Kroger chain has put flower sections in almost 60% of its 1,351 supermarkets. At the Apache mall in Rochester, Minn., Bachman's, a prominent Minnesota florist, runs a row of well-stocked kiosks called the European Flower Markets, where customers can shop without passing through any doors. And in Miami, New York and other cities, traffic-dodging vendors hawk $2 bunches to motorists who are willing to roll down their windows.

This wide availability triggers impulse buying. Says Flor Deleo, president of the Miami Flower Exchange: "You walk into a supermarket, see the flowers, and they're attractive and inexpensive. You grab a bottle of wine for $2.99. What's $2.99 more for a nice bouquet of flowers?" Trying to cash in on impulse purchases, 7-Eleven convenience stores in South Florida sell single long-stemmed roses alongside the soft drinks and beer.

The growth in the number of customers who buy flowers frequently has given rise to a new type of store. So-called stem or bucket shops let the buyer be the florist. Each fresh-cut variety is put in a vase, and customers are left to create their own arrangements. Florist Gwen Moore has opened two bucket shops called the Blossom Broker in suburban Denver. Says she: "People can walk right into the cooler and do their own thing."

Florists are cultivating all types of consumers, but they are especially encouraging women, who are used to receiving flowers, to give them to men. FTD created TV commercials in which Merlin Olsen, a former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle, talks about the joys of receiving bouquets. Florists say Olsen's macho image helps get across the idea that real men like posies. Says Kristi Stevens, who runs a Brentwood, Calif., shop called the Flowers That Bloom in the Spring Tra-La: "We're seeing women sending flowers to men to thank them for a date."

Demand for exotic foreign flowers is also budding. They accounted for an estimated $240 million in sales during 1985. The most popular source is the Netherlands, which exports about $100 million worth of tulips, freesias, lilies, alstroemerias and other varieties to the U.S. each year. Colombia and Israel are also major suppliers. From Hawaii and the Caribbean come tropical strains such as orchids, heliconias, proteas and banana flowers.

A well-oiled distribution network guarantees that even varieties from far- flung places are on store shelves within 24 to 72 hours after picking. Armando Goenaga, president of the South Flower Market in Manhattan, employs people who buy flowers at a weekly auction in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. The produce is packed the day of the auction and flown out on a KLM freight jet that night. The plane flies nonstop to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, and the flowers are transported in refrigerated trucks to South's warehouse. The next morning at 6 the flowers are trucked to South's stores, where workers cut the stems and put them on display.

The flower-distribution pipelines will be particularly busy this week. In addition to all the new reasons people have for buying bouquets, flowers are still a classy way to profess true love.

With reporting by Betsy Kraft/Chicago and Robert C. Wurmstedt/Denver, with other bureaus