Feeling the love at Cugini Florists in downtown Renton this Valentine’s Day

February 10, 2009 5:02 pm
Cugini Florists co-owner Bill Gaw said the recession has caused a 30- to 40-percent dropoff in sales starting about a year ago. It's the worst downturn he has seen since he got into the business in the late 1970s. He's banking on Valentine's Day to give his business much-needed cash flow.
Cugini Florists co-owner Bill Gaw said the recession has caused a 30- to 40-percent dropoff in sales starting about a year ago. It's the worst downturn he has seen since he got into the business in the late 1970s. He's banking on Valentine's Day to give his business much-needed cash flow.

Two thousand roses.

“That’s a lot of roses,” says Bill Gaw.

Selling the last of those long-stemmed beauties Friday and Saturday will keep Gaw and his better half Sharon Landes busy at their downtown Renton flower and gift shop. As will hawking the hundreds more daffodils, irises and tulips special ordered by Cugini Florists for Saturday’s flowercentric holiday.

“Valentine’s Day is huge,” Gaw says. “We’ll do as much on one day as we will normally do for Mother’s Day weekend.”

Huge means seven to eight percent of Cugini’s annual business. Ten percent on a good day.

“It gets crazy. It gets crazy,” Gaw says.

Deliveries start Wednesday and will continue Friday and Saturday. Gaw figures his drivers will make 125 deliveries Fridaty and 100 Saturday. He hired extra drivers.

Gaw expects sales to be evenly split between walk-in and delivery orders. That means two to three Valentine’s Day shoppers in the store at a time.

Shoppers buying not only flowers, but also chocolates, teddy bears and the store’s “I love you” and “Hugs and kisses” balloons.

Although the extra money is nice, Gaw doesn’t usually look forward to the added lines and headaches of Valentine’s Day. But this year’s weekend holiday will be easier.

“This year I’m looking forward to it because it’s not as intense as a weekday holiday,” Gaw says.

Sales at CUGINI FLORISTS are 20 to 40 percent lower on Valentine’s Days that fall during the weekend than those during the week.

The reason? Business deliveries.

“Guys want their girlfriends, wives and fiancees to know they love them,” Gaw explains.

But he says those men also want the friends and co-workers of those girlfriends, wives and fiancees to know about that love.

If Valentine’s Day was on a weekday, Gaw would order 3,000 roses and send out truckloads of flower deliveries. He would also hire extra flower designers and delivery drivers.

But even during the weekend, the hearty holiday is a “big cash flow boost” for Cugini Florists.

“Hopefully it will buy us some time to get through the rough economy,” Gaw says.

Not that Gaw’s worried about his shop’s survival. Loyal customers have gotten Cugini’s through previous hard times.

“We’ve had customers who we did wedding flowers for and now we’re doing their daughter’s wedding flowers,” Gaw says.

Other customers are Renton pioneer families “who wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.”

Some of those customers have been in Renton since even before Cugini Florists opened — as an Auburn grocery store in 1923. The shop moved to Renton in 1973, and Gaw and Landes bought it in 1984.

Renton had about nine flower shops in the 1980s and early 90s. Now Cugini Florists is the only flower shop within city limits. Malesis Flowers and Gifts in downtown Renton was recently bought by Kent Floral and closed its Renton store at the end of January.

But Gaw knows his loyal customers will stick with Cugini Florists.

“It’s challenging now because of the economy, but people send flowers for emotional reasons, and those reasons still exist,” he says. “People fall in love, get married, have babies, have anniversaries. Unfortunately people die, too. That’s part of the business. People coming and going.”

He and Landes are eager to serve those people this Valentine’s Day.

“I’m really looking forward to making people happy this year,” Gaw says. “I feel the love this year.”