Van Vugt 1 David Van Vugt December 17, 2013 English 1100 Professor Lago A Wholesalers Dilemma It died.

It did not die as ordinary things die, with breath slowly leaving and oxygen abandoning the user as if it has given up already. No, it did not die as in losing a heartbeat or forgetting to pump blood. However, it clearly died. It existed, and then it ceased to exist. From one moment to the next it failed in its ultimate goal for survival as everything else surrounding it looked on, not in horror, not even in pity, but in the way a dog looks on when a fellow dog surrenders its life to fate. This thing, this reality, that died, was a store. An independent, familyowned store. And as soon as the bigger, more competitive store opened down the street, this independent, family-owned store ceased to exist. As I drive through my town, I am pleased to see little stores along the main roads that have existed as long as I remember. The hardware store, my favorite pizzeria, the barber shop, and the flower store have endured little changes over the years. However, as I reach the outskirts of town and notice the greenhouses that run down Farm Road, I am reminded from working there that not every town has the same story. Almost every day, news travels that another flower shop closed down; this means that we lost another customer. When my father talks to the owners of these stores, they often admit that they lost customers due to the rise of major competition in chain stores and were therefore forced to close down. The story does not end in our area; it does not even end with New Jersey. In South Carolina, for instance, small stores are being taken over by large wholesalers who sell to commercial hardware stores (Becknell 1). It seems that the only way to continue in the greenhouse business is to vend to chain stores.

Van Vugt 2 Its happening everywhere. Everybody is feeling it. Wherever we go, shops are closing down and box stores are opening up. Competitive box stores open right next to each other while generational stores are closing down for lack of business. If I travel up the highway I need only to pass a couple of miles and I will have seen countless box stores. This is the story around the country. This is the story everybody hears and feels personally. However, behind the scenes there is a bigger story that requires not only sympathy, but economic adjustments. We feel it in New Jersey, but it is happening around the country. Van Vugt Greenhouses, the greenhouse that I work at, is faced with a dilemma; either sell to box stores or slowly wane along with it current customers, the small shops around the state. Wholesalers have a requirement to meet the need of stores who must meet the need of costumers. As retailers change, however, it is harder for wholesalers to meet the need of these stores. Box stores require a different product than smaller mom and pop stores; whereas small businesses desire quality over quantity, box stores require a much greater quantity while winking at superior quality. This has drastically altered the greenhouse business. My grandfather started the business selling only to independent stores within a close proximity of him. Whereas a few years ago small flower shops only wanted to buy finished product to sell that looked presentable and durable, large stores desire only to carry flowers, and such a view erases quality. When a massive hardware store sells flowers, customers change their routes and look for one-stop shops. Sadly, the small family businesses that older generations remember are not capable of carrying every product on the market. Therefore, customers are beginning to ignore them. This problem is very personal for me since I intend to take over a wholesale greenhouse someday. I became worried when I realized that the greenhouse is faced with this dilemma; therefore, I talked to Steve Mol, the shipping manager at Van Vugt greenhouses. When I asked

Van Vugt 3 what the biggest change has been since he started working, Steve claimed that the decrease of independent shops due to the increase of chain stores has made the most dramatic difference in the flower business (Steven Mol). The greenhouse wholesales to independent stores which compete with chain stores. The competition of the retailers directly affects the business of the wholesaler. Part of the greenhouses main objectives is to build relations with its customers. The advantage to this is that the buyer will become attached to the seller, and this promotes more sales. This method of business is only possible if the buyer is an independent shop with direct control over sales. In Relationship Marketing Strategies, Danny Claro makes a point that sellers ought to build relationships with buyers. Sowe can point at a number of advantages for firms to set up close relationships with counterparts (Claro 1). This is exactly what the greenhouse does with its customers; relationships build sales. In addition, the greenhouse has developed relationships with other wholesaling greenhouses. This is partly because many of them are in the family, but the relationship also aids in producing an environment of discussing sales and customers, something helpful for building sales. My father, the owner of Van Vugt Greenhouses, has direct contact with each of his costumers; he visits the stores, calls the managers, and pays attention to complaints so as to make our product better. In contrast, one of my cousins, who manages a greenhouse in North Carolina, services a chain hardware store from Florida to Maine. Clearly, it is impossible for him to build relationships with his customers; instead, he must rely on contracts and suitable product in order to maintain his customer. Since box stores are drastically on the rise, it is clear that not everyone regrets the decrease of independent shops. In fact, some say that the rise of box stores could give the entire countrys economy a boost with its cheaper, more affordable goods. The average consumer also

Van Vugt 4 might enjoy the convenience of a chain store where practically anything can be found. It is easier to buy every product in one store rather than shopping around in various stores sounds appealing. However, this ignores the problem of the competition among hard-to-come-by wholesalers. If wholesalers are hurt economically, goods will inevitably escalate, hurting the entire nation. To bring it closer to home, the rise of box stores which sell flowers will reduce the number of wholesalers since only select wholesalers can sell to chain stores. It is therefore irresponsible to speculate that the desire for cheaper goods will make people buy more which will boost the economy when it is clear that wholesalers tend to govern whether or not prices go up (Caves 1). In the greenhouse, plant prices are based on the price of the growth of the plant. The retailers must base their price on the price of the wholesaler. This also causes a problem for small flower shops since they must make a profit based on the price of the wholesaler whereas in box stores the quantity of product compensates for the lower prices. Likewise, if the greenhouse sells to chain stores, we must lower our prices which will hurt our business dramatically since all our expenses stay the same even when seller price goes down. There is a solution to this problem, however. Eventually, if the market continues as it is going right now, small shops will close. Until that happens, the greenhouse will serve small stores and avoid the box store as much as possible. However, we will eventually need to sell to box stores. The only way to do so without becoming careless with presentation is to remain selling superior products and to keep sales to a minimum while serving the same customer. This will enable the costumer to notice the quality and stay loyal. Until that time, however, the greenhouse will remain loyal to small stores and will avoid box stores as much as possible. My journey into the greenhouse will be mixed with the relationships my father built with customers and the pressure of selling to chain stores. I trust that college will give me the skills necessary to

Van Vugt 5 make smart choices in sales. I will also glean from my fathers wisdom since right now he must decide on what customers to remain loyal to. Clearly, box stores are a problem. Without small family businesses people change the way they shop, and that change has caused major eruptions in the greenhouse business. The continuation of Van Vugt Greenhouses lies in adaptability and the duration of small-scale flower shops for the time being.

Van Vugt 6 Works Cited Becknell, Jennifer. Lake Wylie Pilot. Customers lament closing of Stacys Garden Center. October 10, 2013. Newspaper, Web. Lexis-Nexis. November 12, 2013. Caves, Douglas. Mitigating Price Spikes in Wholesale Markets through Market-Based Pricing in Retail Markets. April 2000. Electricity Magazine, Title. Web. Google Scholar. December 17, 2013. Claro, Danny Pimentel, Priscila Borin de Oliveira Claro, and Decio Zylbersztajn. "Relationship Marketing Strategies: When Buyer and Supplier Follow Different Strategies to Achieve Performance." Brazilian Administration Review 2.2 (2005): 17-34. ProQuest. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Mol, Steven. Personal Interview. October 2, 2013.