Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 13/02) - Shayne Desjarlais always understood flower power but now his relationship with posies has gone to a new level.

Grower Direct manager, Shayne Desjarlais is preparing for a busy Valentine's Day. He hopes to own the Yellowknife Inn Mall location in six months. - Thorunn Howatt/NNSL photo

"I didn't really know much about flowers. So I went to the library and got all the books I could and started reading," said Desjarlais, manager of Yellowknife's newly re-opened Grower Direct store. He was known to buy flowers for his girlfriend every Friday but since getting involved in the store he has become immersed in botany in a different way.

About two months ago Skip Kerr met with Desjarlais about the Grower Direct store in Centre Square Mall. It wasn't long before the two struck a deal, with Kerr owning the outlet and Desjarlais managing.

"I'm under the agreement that in six months I have the option to buy it out," said Desjarlais.

A Grower Direct franchise costs $25,000. That fee covers flower store operational information as well as the training program that Desjarlais took part in.

There was previously a Grower Direct store in the same location so fixtures and leasehold improvements were already in place.

"The space in the Yellowknife mall was already prepared so we were pretty much ready to go," said Desjarlais who added that the store's spot is perfect when it comes to impulse buying. Both shoppers and downtown workers pass by every day.

For now Desjarlais is working most of the store's hours himself but he plans to bring a few part-time people on board soon.

"Opening up any store is nerve-racking," said Desjarlais.

But he insisted he is more excited than tense. Since deciding to get into the flower business he has spent most of his waking hours reading about flowers and caring for them. That was after a four-day training course in Edmonton.

Grower Direct fresh cut flower stores work under a formula involving quantity and set standing orders. The founding company, based in Edmonton, commits to annual contracts with Equadorian flower growers regarding flower types and fixed prices. Then a deal is struck with franchisees for regular shipments of flowers.

But like most businesses in Yellowknife, shipping is one of the main challenges.

Even though the flowers are flown North, they are still subject to the elements. One of Desjarlais' first shipments was touched with frost. He had to go through each flower and take out any that had perished. In the future, he hopes to be able to ship in a special climate-controlled truck.

One of the biggest shipments of the year arrived this week -- just in time for Valentine's Day.

Desjarlais has already planned a delivery schedule for the day.

But he insists that flowers shouldn't be just for special occasions.

"'Just because' are the best kind of flowers. It's not just when you're in the doghouse."