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Gerald Stevens is aimed directly at the 90-year-old FTD system, which allows someone to walk into a flower shop in Washington and order flowers for someone in Wichita, Kans. In an FTD order, the referring florist gets a 20% cut of the price and the wire service 7%. That's money that can't go into the flowers, argues Adam Phillips, a Gerald Stevens senior vice president. The company hopes to attract consumers, like bees to flowers, with better quality and more value for their money. Merrill Lynch analyst Neil Godsey thinks they have a shot. "They're doing some things that have never been done, and they've got to put inventory management and other technologies in place and build their brand to make it work," Godsey says. "In four or five years, we think everyone will know who Gerald Stevens is."
For next year, suffice it to say that your Valentine-shopping choices are expanding--and your excuses for messing up diminishing.