From the elaborate to the modest, many-a-milestone is marked by the flower.
Recognizing its role as more than a congratulatory gesture and expresser of sympathy, those on the business side of things ”“ designing and selling flowers ”“ have also seen the reality of marketing a perishable product.
“Flowers are a secondary buy,” said Mario Tataseo, partner at Caroline Flowers Inc. in the 12,000-square-foot D”™Agostino Supermarket in Rye Brook. “It”™s not like buying milk. People are struggling with their paychecks now and it”™s going to affect the sales. And the summertime happens to be the worst time of year in the flower business. People are traveling and going out a lot. You can do better with plants than flowers.”
Flower sales at the tri-state gourmet market are down “at least 10 percent to 15 percent from last year,” said John Vasapoli, director of produce. “If the recession is turning around, we haven”™t seen it yet. But, we hope it turns around soon.”
Of pricing, Tataseo said changing activity is a norm.
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“Now, they”™re (flowers) cheap, but come January, the prices start climbing because of Valentine”™s Day,” he said. “What you can buy now for fifty cents, it”™s going to be $2 in the winter. It also depends on what the crops are like coming out of South America and Holland ”¦ on a higher scale, roses from Holland can be $2 to $3 dollars a stem. There is a big fluctuation of prices in the flower business.”
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Some aspects of the industry remain the same, such as Caroline Flowers”™ most popular arrangement: the tried and true red rose bouquet with baby”™s breath.
Beginning in the high-end supermarket business at the age of 14, Tataseo turned his attention to flowers some eight years ago with the help of Nicholas D”™Agostino Jr.
He started in the basement of a supermarket and graduated to a store annex a few years ago after partnering with friend Caroline Gisondi, a full-time nurse who coordinates the flower business mainly on the weekends.
Caroline Flowers sells arrangements out of the Rye Brook store and 66th Street spot in Manhattan; two more are planned at the Cross River D”™Agostino and another in Manhattan.
“There was a need to have better quality flowers in the supermarket than what was currently available,” Vasapoli said. “When Mario was approached with the idea, the point was to bring it up a notch and to bring a more hands-on, service-oriented approach.”
Tataseo said D”™Agostino is now in negotiation with popular Internet floral retailer 1-800- Flowers.com “so we can have a national distribution.”
He admitted he wants to do larger-type work, namely weddings and funerals, in addition to selling to the casual passerby.
As for the future of Caroline Flowers, Tataseo said D”™Agostino comes first.
“I have to finish D”™Agostino before I go anywhere else and from the looks of it, I don”™t think I”™ll ever be finished because it keeps on getting bigger,” he said. “It keeps getting exposure. It takes awhile to build a business.”
