Summary

Personal relationships and fostering excellence are as intertwined at Winston Flowers as its flowers. As a family business, it understands the value of relationships, and working with people you know and believe in. It also believes clients deserve the very best, bringing a commitment to exemplary service in everything it does. However, it was challenged to find these values in a bank that could also support its evolving scale and growth strategy.

After a friend’s introduction, Business Co-Owner Ted Winston realized Eastern Bank offered what his business needed. He says, “Eastern Bank has supported our success by providing solutions to everyday business needs as well as capital, loans and other solutions when we wanted to grow or expand. Eastern is a perfect match for our business in that I have a banker who is always a phone call, text and email away, and I get the solutions and services I need as a business owner.”

Overview

Family-owned for over 75 years, Winston Flowers began modestly when Robert Winston and his son, Maynard, first wheeled their pushcart of flowers onto Boston’s Newbury Street. Today, the third-generation, family-owned company is run by Maynard’s sons, David and Ted Winston. It is one of the nation’s most highly regarded florists, with a worldwide online presence, four shops throughout New England, and design studios in Boston and New York City.

Winston Flowers’ humble beginnings on Newbury Street in the 1940s.

Exemplary client service is a value that got handed down to Ted from his grandfather, and a point of pride for the company’s 200 employees. For Winston, working with a bank that takes relationships as seriously as he does is essential, where building a personal relationship is valued and connecting and communicating regularly are easy. He says, “I did consider other banks, and we've used other banks in the past. However, it was the impersonal challenge that brought me to Eastern more than 10 years ago. I was seeking a personal relationship with my banker. I didn’t want to get lost in the queues of a larger bank, and the smaller banks didn't offer all of the services and solutions I needed in a bank.”

Relationship banking is a core value for the Eastern Bank commercial banking team. Through a consultative approach, relationship managers take the time to learn about each business beyond the numbers, which helps them be better bankers to the companies they serve. As a community-based bank, Eastern’s commercial banking team also lives and works in the same areas as the businesses they serve. As a result, they can offer a better understanding of unique regional needs and challenges in addition to issues particular to local, family-owned businesses.

Eastern Bank Relationship Manager Tom King and Winston Flowers Co-Owner Ted Winston in a floral warehouse space.

With key decision-makers based locally, business owners can also receive financing decisions more quickly, helping them to best manage their options when a business need calls for speed and efficiency.

The Results

Winston speaks to the many financing solutions his Eastern commercial banking relationship manager helps him think through and provides. For example, floral designs are ever-evolving and changing multiple times per year to provide the freshest flowers available based on seasonality. Adding to this seasonality are high demand peak periods such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day when financing options unique to seasonal businesses are important considerations. A passion for understanding what customers like and how to deliver an even better customer experience has also led Winston Flowers to finetune its brick and mortar strategy while expanding both its online business and product offerings which now include floral-related household items.

“Eastern Bank has supported us and supports us all the way through in our day-to-day banking needs and beyond,” says Winston. “When we were looking to grow and take advantage of new business opportunities, Eastern provided the capital and loans to expand our business.”

Examples of solutions Eastern Bank has provided to Winston Flowers include: commercial real estate financing to expand its footprint into new markets in Connecticut and New York City, and upgrade showroom and warehouse spaces; a line of credit to bolster working capital during peak periods, helping Winston Flowers meet seasonal demand while providing high-quality products; and a revolving line of credit as well as comprehensive cash management and deposit services to assist with ongoing, daily business needs.

The scale of financial solutions, combined with its personal, local banking relationship, are reassuring no matter the direction the business takes next. Ted Winston shares, “Eastern understands that clients want to feel the personal touch and the importance the bank places on the relationship,” Winston says. “That's why I have always felt valued as a client with Eastern Bank.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eastern Bank takes the time to understand your business and build a personal bank relationship, and is here to help support your commercial banking needs. Learn how the Commercial Banking Team at Eastern Bank can help your business deliver on its strategy and grow.

More Commercial & Business Insights