In 1886, C.E. Pennock's half-brother,
S.S. Pennock, then 17 years old, joined the business and the name
was changed to C.E. and S.S. Pennock Company.
In 1890, the company purchased property at 1608 Barker Street,
later renamed Ludlow Street, in Philadelphia, which remained the
headquarters through the next seventy five years of success and
growth. |
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During the first 25 to 30
years of the company's existence, much time was devoted
to justifying the economic importance of this new type of
business and gaining acceptance by providing needed service
to both the grower and the retailer.
For many of those early years, the official company hours
were 6:00am to 9:00pm, six days a week, and open until noon
on Sunday. This 94-95 hour week was the norm except when
extra hours had to be put in at holiday times.These long
hours were expected of those in the wholesale business.
At one point, Pennock's best customer,a local Philadelphia |
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| retailer, told Pennock that if
he wanted to keep his business he must remain open 24 hours a
day. The company experimented with this idea in an effort to satisfy
their customers, however, after numerous nights without a sale,
the decision was made to resume the early closing of 9:00pm.
Deliveries in the early days were by messenger, horse and wagon,
rail express or by baggage master. Incoming grower shipments arrived
the same way.
Lack of competition throughout the country and adequate sales
promotion helped to establish the importance of the wholesaler
and enable the company to make daily rail express shipments to
retailers in such distant cities as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago,
Minneapolis and St. Louis, as well as areas closer to home such
as Boston, New York, Baltimore and Washington.
The sales in Washington grew to the point where
it became necessary to open what was to become the first branch
office there in 1909. In 1910, the company opened its second branch
office in New York City.
The success of these two branches influenced the
company to open its third branch in Baltimore in 1913. These four
offices saw the company through World War I and the 1920's until
the fifth branch was opened in Newark in 1931.
In 1937, the Boston office was established, with Norfolk following
in 1946, Jacksonville in 1947, Pittsburgh in 1951, Miami in 1953,
Orlando, Camden (now Pennsauken), and Uniondale in 1955. Springfield,
Massachusetts was added in 1956, and an office in the Germantown
section of Philadelphia in 1957. The Germantown office was consolidated
with the Philadelphia operation when the company moved from Ludlow
Street to its present Stokely Street location in 1965. In 1970,
the Pennsylvania Cut Flower Supply Company in Reading was purchased
and became the company's 16th office.
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The Pennock Company has initiated
many innovations in the wholesale floral business over the years.
A milestone was reached on April 19, 1946, when they chartered
a Douglass DC-3 and made the first shipment of eastern flowers
from Philadelphia to Miami, Florida, with stops in South Carolina
and Georgia. This came shortly after the direct transoceanic air
service from Philadelphia to London in Novemer 1945.
The company instituted the "jobber" or distribution
concept in 1953 and employed manufacturer's representatives to
sell floral foam throughout the country. |
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Today, well after our first full century, many of the Pennock
branch locations have consolidated and moved to larger, more convenient
locations based on the needs of our customers. Pennock Company
continues to grow in its' second century of operation with more
than 350 associates. In 1982, following the death of Samuel S.
Pennock, the company became Employee Owned.
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