Phillip's Interior Plants & Displays

Business name:

Phillip's Interior Plants & Displays

Address:

700 Enterprise Drive

City:

Oak Brook

State:

Illinois

Zip Code:

60523

Phone number:

(630) 954-3600

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Express you love, friendship, thanks, support - or all of the above - with beautiful flowers & gifts!

Florists in Oak Brook IL and Nearby Cities

Flowers and Gifts News

Flower business blooms for generations

You know, every city or village is a little different. We are in nine towns, eight flower shops, a main floral design center and a plant operation in Oak Brook. They are all different, but they are all similar." When is your busiest time of year? "Traditionally, December is the biggest month, Mother's Day the biggest week, and Valentine's the biggest couple of days, but with birthdays, new babies, weddings, special events and funerals, we florists stay busy all year long. Flowers are just such a vital part of so many important occasions." What is the most popular product you sell? "At our stores, the top sellers are roses, take-with bouquets, custom arrangements for every occasion, and local wedding flowers. At our headquarters in Westmont, we focus on even larger weddings and events. We also design family funeral flower tributes for many of Chicagoland's finer funeral homes." What is the thing you most like to do as part of your business? "We love working with our customers and delighting them with beautiful fresh flowers, creative designs and the personal service that only a real local florist can provide." What is your least favorite service to provide? "If it involves flowers and serving our customers, we love it." What is the best thing about owning your own business? "The sense of accomplishment and the positive impact we can have on our customers, employees and local community." What is the biggest downside to owning your business? "The paperwork." Tell us about the most memorable customer you had and what made them so. "Over the years, we've been honored to provide flowers for celebrities, dignitaries and several U.S. presidents, but one of our more memorable accomplishments was decorating the dais for the pope's visit in Grant Park with about 18,000 blooming plants, provided at cost, with the help of volunteers. It was a truly beautiful expression of support for such a historic and meaningful occasion." What is the biggest misconception about your business? "People think of the flower business as just designing flowers, but it's also about sourcing, staffing, computerization, delivery logistics and a host of other critical details. For example, we import fresh flowers direct from dozens of different suppliers in multiple countries, and we deliver daily to the city and over 150 suburbs. It's all about the details." How would you describe your business philosophy? "Our business is built on hard work, family togetherness and knowing that our most important customer is the next one who walks in the door, calls on the phone or orders with us online." If you weren't doing this, what line of work would you be in? "Well, for most of our active family members, it was a fairly clear-cut path (into the business). I came through a secondary route, music in Nashville, and then real estate investment marketing in Louisville (Ky.). But it's not as eventful as it sounds. Once I got married and had kids, I decided it was time to settle down and come home. Our youngest member right now has an engineering degree, and he worked for an aviation company. Now he's one of our buyers, and he managed a couple of our stores. And he found he had the same gene as my grandfather — he's quite a good designer." When it comes time to retire, is there a family member who will be taking over for you? "Fortunately, we have three generations of family members already active in the busine... (Chicago Tribune)