Company Background

Mears Floral Products, Inc. (MFP) is a wholesale distributor of fresh flowers and greens, plants, interiors products, and floral supplies such as: glassware, baskets, silks, ribbon, dried materials, foam, preservatives, Christmas decor, and more. Founded more than 60 years ago, MFP, which is based in Springfield, MO, and has 28 employees, serves retailers in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma with its fleet of refrigerated trucks.

Business Challenges

MFP has struggled not only in the wake of the recession, but also with the passing of their president, Dave Mears, who was also the past president of WFSSA (Wholesale Florist Association) and regarded as one of the industry’s best. The company has seen a steady decrease in sales and profits every year since 2006. “We have made a lot of improve-ments since then, which was enough to keep our doors open,” said Vice President Kelly Parsons, “but it just wasn’t enough to be profitable.”

Company Background

Dorian Drake International is an export management company that helps U.S. manufacturers in four product categories - automotive, food service, industrial and hardware – developing their international sales, distribution and in the building their brand. The company was originally founded as Dorian International in 1980 by Ed Dorian Sr. and later changed its name in 1996 based on the integration of British-owned Drake International – a company five-times its size – which is acquired in 1985. “It was like a minnow swallowing a whale,” says Ed Dorian Jr., the company’s CEO who joined his father at the company full-time in 1983. The company is celebrating its 10th year of playing The Great Game of Business in 2012.