File:Florists' review (microform) (16058510013).jpg

Title: Florists' review (microform)
Identifier: 5205536_18_2 (find matches)
Year: [1] (s)
Authors:
Subjects: Floriculture
Publisher: Chicago : Florists' Pub. Co
Contributing Library: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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WHOLESALE..... '^hfe»>Vr»^-^ ^'-^ ... «^ V. m'^m-^ ---^ ~ ^■W-^'>tef»t'Wf^'Vf» v»>^-Wr»>>>»-^ ^^J Not an Academic Question. ' ' The subject assigned to the essayists, namely, *' The Best Method of Market- ing the Product of the Wholesale Plant and FloAver Growers, is the one of many that has in all probability caused many a grower to "pause, ponder and reflect. Strictly speaking—and in the words of the sage of Princeton, "It is not a theory, it is a condition that con- fronts the grower." How best to market one's product is in no wise an academic question, nor is it one to be answered by an essayist in a manner satisfactory alike to all grow- ers. The subject, old and hackneyed though it is, lends itself nevertheless to a deal of serious thought and honest reflection. Since time immemorial, down to the present day, market conditions, the law of supply and demand, the merit of the product itself and a multitude of other reasons, both local and general, have been largely responsible for the va- rious methods employed in marketing products. Superior Product Sure of Market. The manufacturer producing an article of superior merit need not rack his brains about devising methods of mar- keting it. He is sure of his market, de- spite the most ingenious methods em- ployed by the host of his competitors to undermine his chances. His success is assured not because of some invisible, lucky star in the heavens above, as some are prone to think, but because of an earnest, honest and conscientious effort on his own part to achieve his success and to base it upon true merit, on this earth below. This is certain. After all, what is success? Perhaps this question can best be answered in the words of Taine. Says the eminent Frenchman: "Success and failure are products, like vitriol and sugar." No methods, be they ■ ever so clever and in- genious, can possibly win, unless founded upon true merit. Approaching the subject from a nearer viewpoint, we can easily point out a number of growers who have achieved success, who have created a demand and a market for their product by the simple method of producing goods of superior quality. I lay stress upon the words simple method because the simplest methods are invariably the straightest and the surest in the end. It is a mat- ter of record that high grade stock, be it roses, carnations or chrysanthemums, coming into our markets, is the first to leave the commission man's place, is the first to be disposed of by the retailer, that the so-called seconds are next in line, while flowers of an inferior quality and of questionable age either find their place in the waste barrel or else are offered to the public by the street ven- A paper by S. S. Skldelsky. prepared In re- sponse to the W. F. Kastlng prize offer, but ex- ceedlnK the limit In length, and withdrawn from competltton. der at 10 cents per, or three dozen for a quarter. "What is the result? It is simply this: The man producing goods of quality has at the same time evolved a splendid method of marketing his product, while he who lacks in the qual- itative attribute stares failure in the face, pondering all the while upon means and ways and the best methods to "un- load." Selling Inferior Stock. To unload—it would be hard to find another word in the English com- mercial vocabulary that is fraught with such sinister meaning alike to the pub- date methods employed in marketing or unloading such products, as a matter of course "the best that ever came out of a seed pod." How alluring the ad- vertisements, how convincing indeed! And what are the results? How many of these "breadwinners" have stood the test of time? How many have proved meritorious enough to be worthy of a' second year's trial? One can easily count them on his fin- gers with some fingers to spare. What is wanted is less of the unloading pro- clivities and more of the genuine, old- fashioned honesty. There is no question, however, but that we are making rapid strides along the highway of progress, both material and moral. The day is well-nigh drawing to a close—and let Us hope never to return—when questionable means were regarded as the alpha and omega of success. Experience has taught us to take broader views and to follow straighter paths. Sound Business Methods Best. But to return to the subject under
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S. S. Skidelsky. lie and to the one who bears the imme- diate or ultimate weight of its burden. To the former it means a bad bargain, dear at any price, while to the latter it means both financial loss in the end, plus loss of reputation almost at the start. Thus both are the losers, the heavier one, however, being he with the unload- ing" tendencies uppermost in his mind. The history of our carnation seedlings during the last decade amply illustrates my idea. Who will question the up-to- consideration. Granted that the best method of marketing one's product is to be sought for and found in the green- house itself, the question nevertheless arises, how should the grower attend to both ends of his business? While it is undeniably true that by "one's deeds one shall be judged"; in other words, that the quaifity of a grower's stock, coupled with his own honesty, reliability and business integ- rity, will soon win him a host of buyers, the fact must not be overlooked that

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