Naples Flowers, a fixture in Old Naples for more than half a century in the same location on Tamiami Trail, opened June 1 at 979 1st Avenue North at the corner of 10th and 1st Avenue North, five blocks south and one block east from their old location. It’s a move resulting from an issue many businesses must face when rental properties are acquired by new landlords. The building where Naples Flowers has been renting space since 1958 was sold.

“We were unable to come to a meeting of the minds with the new landlord,” said Ted Stallone, who has owned and operated Naples Flowers with his wife Jill for the past six years. “The likelihood of a major rent increase and no guarantees was too risky. We decided to make a change.”  The Stallones felt they had to move the 53 year old landmark.

While Stallone is nostalgic about the old space, he is excited about the new chapter in the Naples Flowers history. The new space, he says, is a major upgrade from the current space and comes with benefits their customers will appreciate.

“We have always had a tremendous problem with parking which will be vastly improved with the new space,” said Stallone. “From 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., my customers could basically not get into the building because the neighboring restaurants were so busy and one customer came into the store in tears one day because she drove around and around until she finally was able to park.”

He explained that even though the Stallones were renting 49 percent of the building, they were not allotted sufficient parking space.

“In moving, we’ll have more efficient quarters – we’ve had a tremendous amount of floor space we couldn’t use because being all about flowers, a lot of the gift floor space was underutilized,” he said. “Naples Flowers will have the same quality product and customer service they’ve provided for 53 years, in a much better location for our customers.”

“Naples Flowers has a small percentage of walk-in business. We are a destination business where people come in to place orders or pick up orders because we do most everything on the phone and on the wires,” said Stallone, who has modernized Naples Flowers over the years. “But we hope the new storefront will stimulate more walk-in business.”

Over the years, other floral businesses have tried to infringe on the Naples Flowers name, said Stallone. He has witnessed competitors’ attempts to add “Naples Flowers” or “Naples Florist” to existing company names. Fighting such efforts in court can be successful, but expensive and he would rather invest in things that his customers want.

One of those investments has been in design and high end custom orders. Stallone’s wife Jill handles the design elements of the business.

“My wife Jill is the creative one – she’s why we hear our drivers when they come back telling us about the ‘oohs and ahhhs’ they hear when they deliver flowers,” says Stallone.  “We know flowers are a luxury in this economy, so we want customers to know whatever amount of hard earned money they’re spending, that we are going to go overboard to ensure it’s everything it can possibly be.”

Some of Stallone’s favorite designs have included purchasing 25 ‘Oscar’ statues which they submerged into cylinders as part of arrangements for a swanky event. For another customer, Stallone had to acquire 50 pounds of bananas and deliver them with a customer’s arrangement.

Another endeavor the Stallones have made a priority over the years is supporting local schools by donating flowers for science classes and providing discount programs. Stallone is a member of the Sheriff’s Association. Law enforcement and fire officers receive an automatic 10 percent off purchases from Naples Flowers.

“Buying flowers is an emotional action – you do it as a networking action for a potential boss or coworker or as a necessity, in a matter of life or death, and all of that cycles back under the heading of a local community florist,” said Stallone.

He says the toughest times are when grieving families come into the shop. One particularly difficult case occurred a few years ago when a little boy had passed away and his family had one of his favorite train sets. The Stallones created a casket cover and incorporated the child’s train set into the flower arrangements.

“Sympathy arrangements are some of the most difficult and customers will come in grieving and tell us they don’t even know what to say, and we help them figure that out with flowers,” says Stallone. “We will get them there however they need to get there – that’s what we try to do because that’s who we are.”

Another of Stallone’s customers was known for always wearing high heels. His wife drew a gigantic high heel and we sent the arrangement full of flowers as a high heel.

“Those types of things you’re only going to get from a local florist you have a relationship with,” he says.

Jenny Foegen, sales and marketing director of the Naples Princess agrees. Naples Flowers has been providing flowers for her company for the past 15 years.

“One of the most important things in business is relationships with your vendors and at Naples Flowers I get to work directly with the owners – Jill is always coming up with new, creative ideas and never ceases to amaze me or our clients,” says Foegen.

The new location of Naples Flowers opened June 1 at 979 1st Avenue North at the corner of 10th Street and 1st Avenue North. For more information, call 239-262-7011 or visit http://www.naplesflowersinc.com/.

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