It’s the one day of the year that virtually everyone in relationships goes out of their way to express their love.
And it’s the busiest day of the year for Manteca florists who have to prep and plan in order to meet the massive demand that people place in the form of both pre-orders and last-minute gift ideas.
According to Mary Pina at Rose Cart, Valentine’s Day is one of the two busiest days of the year for their business. It runs about neck-and-neck with Mothers Day in the spring.
But as far as preparation goes, pre-orders have already started flowing in. The business has already started recruiting extra help from decorators and delivery drivers to make sure that everybody who gets their order in has their delivery on Feb. 14.
“We’ve got to make sure that we have extra vases ordered and flowers and everything else that goes into prepping for the big day,” Pina said. “We start advertising for Valentine’s Day about a month before, and we usually don’t start getting the flowers in for the arrangements until a week before.
“Then it’s time to get all of them put together.”
At the Rose Cart it’s more than just flowers that are part of the regular delivery cycle. Balloons, chocolates, plants and stuffed animals are often selected to accent the floral designs.
And make no mistake – the biggest seller on the day of lovers is the red rose.
“We estimate that we move about 200 dozen roses on that day,” Pina said. “It’s the most that we’ll sell all year in a single day, and that’s why we make sure that we have everything that we need.”
She recommends that orders get placed in advance to ensure that they’re ready, even though some orders can be placed the day before.
Over at the Manteca Floral Company, staffers are trying to use last year’s sales numbers and current sales trends to determine what they’ll need to service the customers that will be coming in over the course of the next two weeks.
“If we had a crystal ball we’d be set,” said owner Tamra Carrillo. “Right now we’re going by prior years, notes we’ve taken, and our recent sales and we’re going from there. It’s by far our biggest day of the entire year, and we start advertising displays as early as January to let people know what we’re going to have.”
Like the Rose Cart, Carrillo will be calling in past designers and friends to help staff the counter and piece together the bouquets that will go out on Feb. 14.
“It’s a busy day, and a busy week leading up to it,” she said. “But we’re going to be ready for it this year.”
The Rose Cart is located at 1114 N. Main Street, and can be reached at 823-9300. Manteca Floral Designs is located at 339 S. Main Street, and can be reached at 823-6213. Both businesses are taking early orders.
And it’s the busiest day of the year for Manteca florists who have to prep and plan in order to meet the massive demand that people place in the form of both pre-orders and last-minute gift ideas.
According to Mary Pina at Rose Cart, Valentine’s Day is one of the two busiest days of the year for their business. It runs about neck-and-neck with Mothers Day in the spring.
But as far as preparation goes, pre-orders have already started flowing in. The business has already started recruiting extra help from decorators and delivery drivers to make sure that everybody who gets their order in has their delivery on Feb. 14.
“We’ve got to make sure that we have extra vases ordered and flowers and everything else that goes into prepping for the big day,” Pina said. “We start advertising for Valentine’s Day about a month before, and we usually don’t start getting the flowers in for the arrangements until a week before.
“Then it’s time to get all of them put together.”
At the Rose Cart it’s more than just flowers that are part of the regular delivery cycle. Balloons, chocolates, plants and stuffed animals are often selected to accent the floral designs.
And make no mistake – the biggest seller on the day of lovers is the red rose.
“We estimate that we move about 200 dozen roses on that day,” Pina said. “It’s the most that we’ll sell all year in a single day, and that’s why we make sure that we have everything that we need.”
She recommends that orders get placed in advance to ensure that they’re ready, even though some orders can be placed the day before.
Over at the Manteca Floral Company, staffers are trying to use last year’s sales numbers and current sales trends to determine what they’ll need to service the customers that will be coming in over the course of the next two weeks.
“If we had a crystal ball we’d be set,” said owner Tamra Carrillo. “Right now we’re going by prior years, notes we’ve taken, and our recent sales and we’re going from there. It’s by far our biggest day of the entire year, and we start advertising displays as early as January to let people know what we’re going to have.”
Like the Rose Cart, Carrillo will be calling in past designers and friends to help staff the counter and piece together the bouquets that will go out on Feb. 14.
“It’s a busy day, and a busy week leading up to it,” she said. “But we’re going to be ready for it this year.”
The Rose Cart is located at 1114 N. Main Street, and can be reached at 823-9300. Manteca Floral Designs is located at 339 S. Main Street, and can be reached at 823-6213. Both businesses are taking early orders.
