Flower retailers get aggressive for Mother's Day

NEW YORK -- Floral brands are waging a fierce flower battle for this year's Mother's Day.

Spending on Mom is expected to drop 10% to $14 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

But the trade group says flowers remain the most popular gift. Florists will peddle their petals with aggressive marketing this week as the lead-up to the Sunday holiday.

Flowers rack up $2 billion in sales in a two-week window. The revenue is twice as much as for Valentine's Day, although sales for that holiday also are concentrated in two days. Nonetheless, the romantic holiday may be a barometer for the maternal market. And if it is, florists could be swimming in leftover roses.

The Society of American Florists reports that 74% of retail florists responding to a survey reported an average decline of 22.7% in Valentine's Day sales. The holiday fell on a Saturday, which tends to depress sales, but the economy had a "huge" impact, says spokeswoman Jenny Scala. However, she's upbeat about Mother's Day: "For Mother's Day, you are not only saying, 'Thank you' and 'I love you' to your mom, but you are also saying it to your sister, your daughter, your mother-in-law."

The big floral brands will spend more, do more and introduce more products to entice buyers:

• FTD. The 100-year-old network of 20,000 independent florists has a new website, a new look for its Mercury Man logo and a new luxury line: arrangements that start at $179.

"They are beautiful, more exotic arrangements than we've offered before," says Robert Apatoff, president. He thinks there's a market. "We understand the economic times, but there's part of the market that wants unique and bigger arrangements."

Also new are "Say it Your Way" bouquets, arrangements for about $49.99 that include the option to record a personal message. After placing an order, the buyer can record a personal message over the phone. The message arrives in a heart-shaped device attached to the order.

• Teleflora. In its biggest Mother's Day marketing program, the company began a TV ad last week and paid programming on cable's HSN on Tuesday. The message is that Teleflora products are arranged by hand, not flowers in a box. The three 30-minute segments on HSN, which reaches 90 million homes, feature a Teleflora florist.