10
April | 2021
Florist Spotlight
By Jules Lewis Gibson
Charles Carithers
Carithers Flowers
Atlanta, Georgia
@carithersflowersatlanta
V
oted best florist for 16 consecutive years by Atlanta magazine, Carithers
Flowers has been a staple in that city since the 1970s. A long tradition of
excellence has been successfully carried on for a second generation, with
Charles Carithers now leading the company founded by his parents, Larry and
Jane. I had a chance to catch up with Carithers recently, and he shared some of the
secrets of keeping a long-revered brand thriving in a completely different world.
My first question, of course, was how he has managed to keep the shop on
top for so long. "We've had much of the same team together for 20 to 30
years, which is key to our success. ey do a fantastic job. It's my job to
keep the lights on," says Carithers, humbly.
Having a great team has, no doubt, contributed greatly to the
company's success; however, Carithers' insights into the coming
market trends has guided the business through the tumultuous past
two decades. He explains how the company adapted online and
consolidated locations before the real-estate crisis in 2008.
"We had six stores at one time, around 2003, and we saw year-over-year
sales in our stores declining while our call center continued to do well,"
Carithers shares. at pattern accelerated in 2006, and Carithers Flowers
