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Blossoming Profits through Superior Marketing:
A Case Analysis of Calyx & Corolla
This analysis focuses on the case study of Calyx & Corolla, a mail order flower company.
Calyx & Corolla is a relatively new company that utilizes a different distribution channel than
conventional companies for fresh flowers. Calyx & Corolla mails flowers direct from the
growers to the customers via Federal Express and eliminates the middleman (Appendix A). This
permits Calyx & Corolla to provide fresher, longer-lasting flowers to consumers. The
management of Calyx & Corolla is contemplating a change in their long-term business strategy
as they examine their ability to compete with more traditional outlets such as retail flower shops
and wire services like FTD. Ruth Owades, the founder of Calyx & Corolla, has hired Marketing
Consultants (MarCo) to assess the strengths and weaknesses of her business and make
recommendations on how her company can fully develop their mail order concept.
Background:
Calyx & Corolla is a small mail order flower company that was founded in 1988 by Ruth
Owades. Ms. Owades secured $2 million in capital from approximately 18 different investors in
order to launch the company. By 1991, Calyx & Corolla exceeded $10 million in annual sales
and Owades and her associates were reassessing the firm's long-term growth strategy (Wylie and
Salmon, 1991). Up to this point, Calyx & Corolla was primarily a mail order company, but
management is now considering expanding their market and is unsure of how they should
proceed. Recently, a well-financed venture capital-backed start-up failed and Calyx & Corolla
ac ...