No Show - 2007

Many have read in my previous columns about my company’s commitment to enhance and upgrade our plants, taking them beyond the plant business. We presented a whole bunch of new products at TPIE. We bought all kinds of different design stuff from our local wholesale florist.
Two weeks later, we were shipping a big order of garden arrangements to a major retailer and one of our growing staff stuck three pieces of red sparkly ting ting in a garden. The ting ting greatly improved the appearance of the gardens. We were fortunate that our wholesale florist had ten thousand of these things in stock and we could buy them right away. I realized we would probably not be so lucky next time we needed volume like that.
I had noticed in the “calendar of events” section of one of the trade magazines that the Wholesale Florists and Florists Supplier Association (WF&FSA) trade show is coming up in a little while in Phoenix. This seemed like a good opportunity to meet some importers as well as see the possibilities for decorations. There is no question that we will use huge volumes of this kind of stuff in the future. I went to the Web site and discovered that I had to be pre-approved by staff in order to go buy stuff. I filled out the application and followed up with a phone call the next day because I was concerned that the airfares would go up while waiting for my approval. To my surprise, I got the following from WF&FSA:
“I am sorry that I can not approve your request to attend the WF&FSA Floral Expo as a wholesaler. We recognize you as a grower and therefore a supplier. We have had several suppliers define themselves as wholesalers to attend as wholesalers and have denied all their requests.
The Board of Directors will be addressing our policies in coming meetings, and hopefully we will be able to make the proper adjustments in the future.
I am sorry for the inconvenience.
I recognize your position and importance in the industry, but my hands are tied.”
Well, that's that. No show for Kerry. I am puzzled about whom they are trying to protect. Is there fear that I will roam the aisles trying to sell my plants to the assembled wholesale florists? Puuleeeze, give me a break. Not even worth commenting on. Are they trying to protect my local wholesale guy from me going around him? For medium volumes, it is more convenient and cost effective to deal with a local guy. For very large quantities, I am going to want to deal with the importer even if the local guy gets a little bite on the deal. And as for being a wholesaler … it would be kind of hard for me to sell my production retail. I even operate two cash and carry outlets that serve florists and interior designers in the south and central Florida area. Very wholesale.
So, in their great wisdom, whom did the organization protect? They protected their exhibitor members from getting my business. I am not sure how exactly that helps them. Years ago I had experience with WF&FSA when they and FMA did shows together. The shows were much bigger then. Judging from their letter, they have had several requests from growers to go to the show. I am not surprised that more growers are interested in adding value to the stuff the produce, yet none are allowed to buy from the WF&FSA exhibitors.
I guess I should just forget about all this crazy upgrade stuff and write letters to wholesale florists asking them to buy my stuff. Um, no, that’s not going to happen. I already do a considerable amount of importing from China of containers and pots. This just means a couple more days of looking at shows in China, sourcing the stuff I would’ve gotten at the WF&FSA show. Now I will be forced to import far in excess of my own needs because a forty-foot container holds so much. That means I will have to sell into the market in order to justify the volume required to import. I guess I will be a supplier after all.
While attending the show, maybe some of the WF&FSA members should take a side trip to California’s La Brea Tar Pits, where they can inhale deeply and think about their future.