Local businesses prep for Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Love is in the air, and it smells of chocolate and flowers.

Mmmmmmm.

Local candy and flower shops aren’t complaining about the desire to buy something sweet and sentimental for Valentine’s Day on Sunday.

“It’s big for us,” said John Giannios, co-owner of Giannios Candy Co. in Struthers, of the holiday.

How big?

It’s the third-largest holiday for the candy shop – after Easter and Christmas.

It’s the same across the state line for Sharon, Pa.-based Daffin’s Chocolate Candies.

“It’s an amazing holiday because we do the bulk of our business in three to four days,” said Connie Leon, retail manager for Daffin’s.

Mitch Cohen, owner of Edward’s Flowers on Elm Street in Youngstown, estimates Valentine’s Day accounts for 5 percent to 6 percent of the store’s annual business.

Mothers’ Day and Christmas are big, too, though holiday sales pale in comparison to the year-round demand for funeral arrangements, Cohen said.

Last year, Cohen reported that the store sold about 325 delivery and 100 pickup orders during Valentine’s Day week. This year, he estimates his sales will drop approximately 20 percent because Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday when the store will not be open.

Edward’s Flowers will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, however, for those who still need a gift for that special someone. Twenty to 25 percent of Valentine’s Day orders tend to come in the day before, Cohen said,

which indicates that not all sweethearts plan ahead.

Employees at Edward’s Flowers have been busy this week with de-thorning roses and soaking flowers in a special solution to preserve freshness.

Flowers are best kept at temperatures between 34 and 39 degrees, Cohen said, and the store’s delivery trucks come equipped with special heaters to make sure the arrangements don’t fall prey to the winter elements.

Cohen learned the floral business from his father, Edward, who first opened the family shop in 1947.

Edward, then a mail carrier and a student, drew inspiration from a dance he attended. At his mother’s urging, Edward bought a corsage for his date.

“He felt that any business that could charge you five bucks for a corsage was the business for him,” Cohen said.

Chocolatiers and florists have St. Valentine to thank for making Feb. 14 the holiday of love.

February long has been labeled as a month of romance.

As just one of the legends has it, St. Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome, according to The History Channel.

Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those married with wives, so he outlawed marriage for young men. St. Valentine thought this was an injustice so he continued to perform marriages in secret.

Now, St. Valentine and love are celebrated every year with cards and candy – and lots of them.

Total Valentine’s Day spending this year is expected to reach a high of $19.7 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s Valentine’s Day Consumer Spending Survey.

For top gifts this Valentine’s Day, 50 percent of consumers surveyed say they plan to buy candy, spending a total of $1.7 billion. Another $4.5 billion will be spent on going out to restaurants, tickets to a show or another experience.

Americans are expected to spend $4.4 billion on necklaces, earrings and other items. Lastly, $1.1 billion will be spent on greeting cards; $2 billion on apparel and $1.9 billion on flowers.

At Daffin’s and Giannios, the top seller for Valentine’s Day is chocolate-covered strawberries.

Both candy shops started to make their batches Friday morning, so they are fresh for Valentine’s sales.

Both shops say it is hard to determine how business will fare for them on Valentine’s Day. The weather and the day on which the holiday falls both impact sales.

“Usually, when it’s on the weekend it’s better,” Leon said. “It’s a sweet holiday, and people always think of chocolate.”

Chocolate is a gift people like giving and receiving. It’s both edible and shareable.

“That’s what I still get my wife,” said Greg Giannios, co-owner of the candy company.