Is delivery service costing you, or adding to your profit?

摘要

JACOBSEN'S FLOWERS HAS been vital member of the Detroit floral community since 1920—but the last 10 years have not been an easy ride. Now in its fourth generation, the shop is run by siblings Harold and Amy Jacobsen. Their marketplace has been turbulent to say the least. The recession of 2008 hit Jacobsen's with full force. Nearly 20 percent of all the homes in their delivery area became vacant or went into foreclosure—a hardship very few shops faced. Unfortunately, it went from bad to worse in 2013 when the City of Detroit filed bankruptcy, the largest city in the United States ever to do so. This is not the kind of environment in which a shop should be raising prices, right? I caught with up Harold, who raised the shop's delivery fee from $13.95to $16.95 this year.