Aug 23, 2009

Goodies, In Bloom arrange co-branding dealBy Cheryl HallDallasNews.com

Call it inspiration at IHOP.

That’s where Jim Futterman and Chuck Goodman cooked up a co-branding strategy that they believe will carry In Bloom Flowers and Goodies From Goodman through the recession and beyond.

The proprietors of these well-known family businesses recently melded their operations to cut expenses and marry their brands without changing ownership.

Call or shop online at either and you get both. Go into one of In Bloom Flowers’ seven shops, and you’ll see gourmet baskets from Goodies From Goodman.

It all started over pancakes.

For the past 20 years, Futterman (who owns In Bloom with his wife, Lori) and Goodman (who owns Goodies with his brother, Bobby) have met monthly at an IHOP near their companies to swap ideas.

There are plenty of similarities in the floral and the gift basket businesses. You basically take orders, create arrangements and deliver them. Their topic for 20 years has been simple: how to add five customers each day – a realistic challenge that adds up to real dollars over the course of a year.

But in February, the recession forced Futterman and Goodman to think broader and deeper. They homed in on the key difference in their businesses to unite them.

Their peak times sit at opposite ends of the calendar.

In Bloom’s season begins with a Valentine’s Day bang and continues through Easter, Administrative Professionals Week, proms and Mother’s Day.

To longtime Dallasites, the Goodman name is synonymous with baskets and novelty containers filled with gourmet treats. But nearly 75 percent of Goodies’ bountiful baskets are bought for the year-end holidays.

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