SAF Wednesday E-Brief - 06/27/2007 (Plain Text Version)
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1-800-Flowers.com Franchisee Closes Stores
Furthering a successful online business operation was reportedly the major motivation behind Colorado-based Veldkamp's Flowers' decision to close five of its seven stores in early June. This recent action comes on the heels of the florist's decision to become a 1-800-Flowers.com franchise two years ago. Steve Jarmon, a 1-800-Flowers.com spokesman, said in a June 22 Denver Business Journal article, that the family-owned Veldkamp's Flowers "consolidated five under-performing, free-standing, full-service locations." Those Colorado locations included Highlands Ranch, Broomfield, Arvada, Parker and Littleton. Only two stores will remain open: the original Lakewood and downtown Denver locations. "Veldkamp's is a forward thinking business which has continuously evolved to embrace the changing real estate market. Now they are embracing the changing consumer behavior influenced by the Web, and the appropriate real estate model to service their customer in today's world," Jarmon says. Owner Ben Veldkamp, AAF, acknowledged that this is a big change for his company. “We’ve repositioned to go forward. We’re changing our model,” he says. “We’re just in transition.” Jarmon says that 1-800-Flowers.com uses the Veldkamp's Flowers model as one of the most successful examples of its franchising program; there are about 100 franchisee stores nationwide. According to Jarmon: "The streamlined operation will provide an improved customer experience to 'call, click or come in' which best represents the 1-800-Flowers.com franchise business model while reflecting customers' growing preference to shop online." Another Denver florist, BJ Dyer, AAF, AIFD of Bouquets, said, while it's not a strategy he is pursuing, he understands Veldkamp's decision to move the focus of Veldkamp Flowers from a walk-in store to a more Web-based entity. "It solidifies what everybody already knows is going on ... The Internet is being controlled by order-gatherers," Dyer said. One benefit to local florists of this recent development, Dyer said, is that 1-800-Flowers.com will really lack a local presence. "It really differentiates us as a local store," Dyer said, adding that small, local florists could do very well and compete alongside national order-gatherers by emphasizing their local roots. --Cassandra Foster
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