To make a 111-year-old shop feel sharp and modern FTD Education Consultant J. Keith White, AIFD, focused on specific touch-ups: new paint, color blocked merchandise and some rearrangements to make the space more efficient. Pictured above, a remodeled hallway area.
A 111-year-old flower shop in Ohio got a reinvigorating shot of merchandising and display advice earlier this summer after FTD sent in an expert for a ultra-fast makeover that the owner says already has led to sales increases.
In early June, members of the FTD team, including FTD Education Consultant J. Keith White, AIFD, traveled to Ironton, Ohio, to perform a merchandising makeover for Weber’s Florist and Gifts. The fourth-generation business, headed by Sharee and Shawn McDonald, has been working to update and rebrand their store — but the daily grind of running the business had left them with little time and money to create their new vision.
That’s where White came in. After observing how the busy shop worked for several hours, White started making suggestions on how to streamline operations and pull customers deeper into the store. In practice, that meant creating a dedicated area for permanent botanical designs (a popular segment within the business), removing cabinet doors for easier access to supplies and color-blocking much of the merchandise to create displays that make customers stop, linger and buy.
White said the strategic tweaks were aimed at improving the areas where the shop already shines—and those areas are many, he insisted.
“I was blown away by the amount of walk-in they get, and how busy they were with funeral work and wedding consultations,” he said. “Sharee does a wonderful job buying items that are perfect for her market, with really beautiful packaging, so most of my work was on how to make those areas even more attractive, and, in terms of organization, how to make it so that people are able to work faster and more efficiently, without walking back and forth across the store.”
For her part, Sharee already has reported back to FTD that customers have been “blown away” by the changes and that the store has seen a “dramatic” increase in sales.
Check out before and after pictures and read more about the experience.
