Profitable Proms? It’s Possible!
Long swaths of cotton. Slim satin trim. Sweet floral prints. No, I’m not describing my granny’s nightie. I’m
describing the hottest fashion for prom circa 1981.
Gunne Sax was the designer of choice for the 1980’s fashionista—a term that, justifiably, may be arguable when
you read Wikipedia’s description of the label: “Often associated with its 1970’s prairie, Victorian and Edwardian-
styled designs, which drew on many elements popular in late 19th- and early 20th-century American fashion, such as
lace, gingham and calico.”
And, as the photo at right clearly illustrates, I was a true fashionista of the day. My dress looks like it could have
come straight out an episode of “Little House on the Prairie”—a perfect example of high Gunne Sax glamour!
Today’s prom styles? OMG!!!
According to an article on the Huffington Post, the trends for 2013 prom dresses are couture-inspired designs that
reflect the latest runway fashions: Gold metallic. Ravishing red. Long slits. Sequins, peplums and peep-toe booties.
Whatever your memories of prom are, your thoughts on the event today probably reflect your viewpoint as a florist.
And for many, that is not a positive perspective. Reviewing some of the most common references to the annual party
in the FlowerChat forums reveals a decidedly negative slant with regular references to promzillas and momzillas,
while others complain about the fact that the fetes often fall on the same weekend as Mother’s Day.
Nevertheless, not every florist has such a negative view. In fact, some even look forward to the sales opportunity.
They say you not only can make a tidy profit, but you also can groom future customers to appreciate flowers and
encourage their future purchases.
“Prom is not brain surgery,” one FlowerChatter pointed out in a discussion. “It’s simply tedious,” she said. So,
to counter that problem, don’t assign the designs to your higher-paid staffers. Instead, she suggested, use “cheap
labor,” such as a local college student who you can train quickly. (She paid hers $9 an hour and said she was trained
in 15 minutes.) The technique has paid off, she proclaimed. “I have four other shops in town that refer corsage work
to me because they don’t want to do it. I get such thank-yous because girls will call shop after shop, and no one will
help them, and then we are their hero.” The best part? When that girl or mom needs flowers in the future, her shop is
the first one they will call.
“Plus, if they are not normally flower buyers, there is no better time for them to come into the shop to see all the
different flowers and arrangements.” She said she was eager to hear these customers proclaim, “I want that!”
or “Oh, how gorgeous! I wish someone would send me that!” She teaches her staff to sell these admirers on the
idea of picking up a few loose blooms to give to friends on their birthdays—or subtly hinting that, once the teen
is at college, she’ll be able to call and order flowers for Mother’s Day and know exactly which ones are mom’s
favorite—because, after all, mom happened to point them out when the two of them were in the shop.
“We become the cool place to get a present from,” she added.
Oh, yeah, and—again—in reference to that long-term strategy, she wrote,“Who wouldn’t want a few dozen, or
hundred, new customers in the pipeline? Think long-term! Yeah, the funeral order or mom’s order from the wire
service may pay more today. But how much will it pay out in the future?”
Finally, she emphasized, “Don’t forget your cost-of-goods sold is nothing for corsages. And if you are gluing, you
can get it down to under 10 minutes per corsage. So, at my basic price of $25 (usually they spend more), that is $300
revenue/design hour with $18 in COG and $12 in labor (once you add in taxes). There are not many things I can
make a 10X ROI.”
She admitted that she didn’t include selling time in those figures, “but we have it down to less than 10 minutes (per
order) because we make it so self-serve,” she explained.
“Prom can be very profitable,” she emphasized, noting that is “an $8 billion industry annually in the U.S. To put
that in perspective, the entire NFL is $16 billion a year. I want to make sure I am getting a piece of that. I’ve got the
revenue at Mother’s Day to have extra help in, so I use that extra gofer girl (who is sweeping people out, helping
with wraps and other menial work) to sell prom, along with the driver who is also waiting around. It is worth the
extra payroll to feed future sales.
“It’s worked for me,” she added. “I see many, many, many of these girls come back.”
What about you? Have you had great success with prom sales? What are your tips for fellow FlowerChatters?
Long swaths of cotton. Slim satin trim. Sweet floral prints. No, I’m not describing my granny’s nightie. I’m
describing the hottest fashion for prom circa 1981.
Gunne Sax was the designer of choice for the 1980’s fashionista—a term that, justifiably, may be arguable when
you read Wikipedia’s description of the label: “Often associated with its 1970’s prairie, Victorian and Edwardian-
styled designs, which drew on many elements popular in late 19th- and early 20th-century American fashion, such as
lace, gingham and calico.”
And, as the photo at right clearly illustrates, I was a true fashionista of the day. My dress looks like it could have
come straight out an episode of “Little House on the Prairie”—a perfect example of high Gunne Sax glamour!
Today’s prom styles? OMG!!!
According to an article on the Huffington Post, the trends for 2013 prom dresses are couture-inspired designs that
reflect the latest runway fashions: Gold metallic. Ravishing red. Long slits. Sequins, peplums and peep-toe booties.
Whatever your memories of prom are, your thoughts on the event today probably reflect your viewpoint as a florist.
And for many, that is not a positive perspective. Reviewing some of the most common references to the annual party
in the FlowerChat forums reveals a decidedly negative slant with regular references to promzillas and momzillas,
while others complain about the fact that the fetes often fall on the same weekend as Mother’s Day.
Nevertheless, not every florist has such a negative view. In fact, some even look forward to the sales opportunity.
They say you not only can make a tidy profit, but you also can groom future customers to appreciate flowers and
encourage their future purchases.
“Prom is not brain surgery,” one FlowerChatter pointed out in a discussion. “It’s simply tedious,” she said. So,
to counter that problem, don’t assign the designs to your higher-paid staffers. Instead, she suggested, use “cheap
labor,” such as a local college student who you can train quickly. (She paid hers $9 an hour and said she was trained
in 15 minutes.) The technique has paid off, she proclaimed. “I have four other shops in town that refer corsage work
to me because they don’t want to do it. I get such thank-yous because girls will call shop after shop, and no one will
help them, and then we are their hero.” The best part? When that girl or mom needs flowers in the future, her shop is
the first one they will call.
“Plus, if they are not normally flower buyers, there is no better time for them to come into the shop to see all the
different flowers and arrangements.” She said she was eager to hear these customers proclaim, “I want that!”
or “Oh, how gorgeous! I wish someone would send me that!” She teaches her staff to sell these admirers on the
idea of picking up a few loose blooms to give to friends on their birthdays—or subtly hinting that, once the teen
is at college, she’ll be able to call and order flowers for Mother’s Day and know exactly which ones are mom’s
favorite—because, after all, mom happened to point them out when the two of them were in the shop.
“We become the cool place to get a present from,” she added.
Oh, yeah, and—again—in reference to that long-term strategy, she wrote,“Who wouldn’t want a few dozen, or
hundred, new customers in the pipeline? Think long-term! Yeah, the funeral order or mom’s order from the wire
service may pay more today. But how much will it pay out in the future?”
Finally, she emphasized, “Don’t forget your cost-of-goods sold is nothing for corsages. And if you are gluing, you
can get it down to under 10 minutes per corsage. So, at my basic price of $25 (usually they spend more), that is $300
revenue/design hour with $18 in COG and $12 in labor (once you add in taxes). There are not many things I can
make a 10X ROI.”
She admitted that she didn’t include selling time in those figures, “but we have it down to less than 10 minutes (per
order) because we make it so self-serve,” she explained.
“Prom can be very profitable,” she emphasized, noting that is “an $8 billion industry annually in the U.S. To put
that in perspective, the entire NFL is $16 billion a year. I want to make sure I am getting a piece of that. I’ve got the
revenue at Mother’s Day to have extra help in, so I use that extra gofer girl (who is sweeping people out, helping
with wraps and other menial work) to sell prom, along with the driver who is also waiting around. It is worth the
extra payroll to feed future sales.
“It’s worked for me,” she added. “I see many, many, many of these girls come back.”
What about you? Have you had great success with prom sales? What are your tips for fellow FlowerChatters?