Rio Roses Monthly Newsletter - Good as Gold winners, RIO GRANDE, and more!

Having trouble viewing this email? CLICK HERE to view in your web browser.
September 2009
 

"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest ."
- Mark Twain

RIO GRANDE to sponsor SAF's 42nd Annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition! - RIO GRANDE, our latest product based on our new grading standard, is the official sponsor of this year's Sylvia Cup Design competition.The Sylvia Cup is the floral industry's longest running, live, national annual floral design competition. Contestants receive the same product assortment and a surprise task. The competition attracts some of the best designers in the business and all the designs in this year's competition will feature RIO GRANDE. A panel of distinguished designers judge the competition. Click here to learn more about the Sylvia Cup.

Rio Roses Sponsors Nashville Music Garden Dedication (Sept. 29, Nashville, TN) - A new rose garden is being unveiled in Nashville. The 2,700 square-foot public garden acknowledges the music and artists synonymous with Nashville. Roses in the garden are named after Nashville stars like Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl and others. Rio Roses will sponsor the dedication reception and ceremony by giving all attendees a Rio Rose. Click here to visit the Nashville Music Garden website.

RIO GRANDE ad in Florists’ Review and Floral Management - Look for our RIO GRANDE advertisement in the September issues of Florists Review and Floral Management magazines. Each magazine goes to over 20,000 readers, most of whom are retail florists and designers. Click here to see the ad.

Amato Wholesale Open House – (Aug 15 & 16, Denver, CO) - Amato wholesale hosted their annual open house where several hard good and flower vendors showcased their products to hundreds of their retailers. The retailers that attended were amazed the new product lines that Amato is offering. A special thanks to Amato for having us there! Click here to see photos from the event.

Karthauser & Son’s Customer Appreciation Day – (Sept. 3, Germantown, WI) – Karthauser held their annual customer appreciation day where they hosted all of their retail florist customers at their warehouse facility. It was a great way to say “Thanks” for their continued support and to showcase product for the upcoming seasons. Click here to visit Karthauser online.

Got news? Please share it with us! Email us at marketing@rioroses.com

Last month Rio Roses Introduced “Big Blooming Heads” with RIO GRANDE! We have been getting an overwhelming response from the retail and design community. The extra large heads and three tier packing are a hit!

Check out the RIO GRANDE images from the Facebook page of Make Scents Florist in Boyd, TX. Tammie was so impressed that she blogged about RIO GRANDE and invited her customers to come see the roses for themselves. (Click images to enlarge.)

What makes RIO GRANDE better?:

Extra Large, Open-Cut Blooms

  • Minimum bloom height for every rose is 2.4 inches.
  • Average bloom height of all RIO GRANDE varieties is over 2.6 inches.
  • Bud is cut at stage 3, known as "Russian Cut" to ensure MAXIMUM bloom size and development.

'Designer Cut' Stems

  • In each 25 stem bunch, the stems are pre-cut in three tiers.
  • In a Select grade bunch, the stems are 65cm from top to bottom.
  • In a Super Select grade bunch, the stems are 75cm from top to bottom.
  • All RIO GRANDE boxes are packed 150 stems.

Seasonal Assortments

  • The assortment of colors in a RIO GRANDE box changes with the season, so you get popular colors when you need them most.
RIO GRANDE IS NOW AVAILABLE A' LA CARTE - The power of choice! Pack RIO GRANDE with the varieties you want. Click here to see the latest varieties available in RIO GRANDE.
CALL YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE FOR MORE INFORMATION! 1(866)RIO-ROSE

Congratulations to the winners of GOOD AS GOLD! Wholesale sales people and retail florists across the country competed against each other for the opportunity to win great prizes for booking and holding new Regular Weekly Orders! Thank you to everyone who participated in the promotion. Below is a list of winners for the Wholesale promotion and the Retail Florist promotion.

A very special congratulations goes to Anette Potts of Sieck Wholesale and Green Oak Florist & Garden Center of Jackson, MS for winning the Gold prizes!

WHOLESALE PROMOTION WINNERS

Gold Prize: Anette Potts, Highstown, NJ

2nd Place: Dino Williams, Ft. Worth, TX

3rd Place: Jim Cronia, Jackson, MS

4th Place: Charlie Cutler, Oklahoma City, OK

5th Place: Sherri Barnett, Oklahoma City, OK

6th Place: Ron Chludil, Flint, MI

7th Place: James Laminack, Cullman, AL

8th Place: Tom Taylor, Chillicothe, OH

9th Place: Bart Scheuller, Midway, UT

10th Place: Richard Sutherland, Ft. Worth, TX

RETAIL FLORIST PROMOTION WINNERS

Gold Prize: Green Oak Florist & Garden Center, Jackson, MS

2nd Place: Blooms & Baskets, Moore, OK

3rd Place: World of Flowers, Meridian, MS

4th Place: Ada Greenhouse, Ada, OK

5th Place: Flower Tyme, Laurel, MS

6th Place: Granbury Flower Shop, Granbury, TX

7th Place: Josey’s Poseys, Bradenton, FL

8th Place: Hunt’s Florist, Baton Rouge, LA

9th Place: Countryside, Sandsprings, OK

10th Place: Fremont Flowers, Hayward, CA
Oscar Fernandez , Sales Director

Fall: A Season for Making Connections

Summer is over. The kids are back in school and the rest of us are settling into our normal routine. Fall reinstates a sense of normalcy, which is very good for business. In general, schools, businesses and other organizations hold many events in the Fall. Events like Good Neighbor Day, Susan G. Komen races, Sweetest Day, among others are perfect opportunities for wholesale and retail florists to get out there and network.

Network marketing is an opportunity for florists to meet consumers and businesses who they may not reach through their standard advertising methods. Recently, network marketing was named the "most powerful way to reach the end user" by Success magazine. Networking gives business owners ‘face time’ with potential buyers. It helps humanize the business and offers potential customers a face and a name (and hopefully a pleasant conversation) when thinking about the business.

There are several key factors that will help you maximize your networking opportunities. First, choose to join groups or attend events that will compliment your services and benefit you through referral. The beauty of the flower business is that groups and businesses of all kinds are potential flower buyers. When making connections, it is important to portray a clear picture of what you do, why, and for whom. Identify what makes your company special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must establish a mutually beneficial relationship with other business people and potential customers. In a nut shell, show people why you and your shop are special, and show them how flowers can be a benefit to them.

Fall is a refreshing change to the slow summer months. It is the perfect time to see what is going on in your community, get involved and make new business contacts. Network marketing is an inexpensive way to increase sales. Search the internet to see what is going on in your community and how you and/or your retail florists can participate. The only thing left to do is get out there and make profitable connections!

Kerry Sallabedra, AIFD, of Valley Floral Company and his team use Rio Roses to create multiple arrangements for the 2009 AIFD Awards Symposium.