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We’ve all got memories of February 14, whether they be from receiving nice cards and choccies in primary school to being scalded by your better half for forgetting it, but one thing doesn’t change… Valentine’s Day is big business.
In 2022, Aussies collectively spent somewhere between $415M and $500M on V-Day for their special someone. It seems an industry all its own with numbers like that. And, looking abroad the numbers only increase with American’s punching past the $1B mark in2022.
With all that in mind, (and the fact that it’s almost upon us) we thought it worth diving into Valentine’s Day with a look at its history through to how it has become such a big event for so many businesses.
There’s not really one source of truth when it comes to the original Valentine’s Day but, most historians say it’s roots either run through Christian or Roman history. There are even alternate versions of each story, so take the below with a grain of salted caramel ….
Some historians suggest that the Christian church placed St. Valentine’s feast day in February to “Christianise” the celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival (a pagan one), dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture. It was an attempt to slowly remove the pagan beliefs and build the Christian fraternity. Many suggest this happened a long time after the ancient Roman’s version of the story however…
Legend has it that Emperor Claudius II executed two men (both named Valentine) onFebruary 14th in consecutive years of the 3rd century.Apparently one of the two Valentines was a priest who performed marriages in secret despite the fact that such things were outlawed for young men byClaudius who believed that single men made better soldiers. Once the weddings were discovered, Valentine was put to death. The tradition for love letters is said to have come from the note he wrote the night before his execution to his jailer's daughter, whom he had befriended, signing it "From Your Valentine."
As mentioned, Valentine’s Day has become big business with so many millions being spent in such a short period, and, we can point the finger at clever marketing over literal centuries as the reason...
In 1714 Charles II of Sweden began communicating with flowers, assigning messages to each type of flower. It’s suggested he was the first to assign love and romance to the red rose, setting the stage for the exchange of the rose on what we call Valentine’s Day today.
In 1822,Cadbury sold the first heart-shaped box of chocolates in England on Valentine’sDay, clearly seeing an opportunity to grab the market on a day that has by now been celebrated for hundreds of years.
In 1849 inMassachusetts, S.A Howland & Sons produced 12 sample Valentine’s Day cards hoping to make $200 on sales, but ends the sales trip with 25 times that amount, proving massive demand for such things on Valentine’s Day. One year later, the company featured the first ad for their cards in the famed local newspaper.
The business of Valentine’s Day began to blowup between 1866 and the 1950s, with everything from conversational candies being born, then turned into hearts. The launch of the Hershey Chocolate company and their Hershey kisses, the beginning of American Greetings(specialising in cards). During the same period, Hallmark cards was founded and the first florist delivery service (then known as FTD) pioneered the enormous business of sending flowers to far-away loved ones.
From the 1950s until now, it’s a landslide ofValentine’s specific businesses popping up, while clever marketers began to use the holiday for businesses that aren’t specific to Valentine’s Day. Examples of such things will just about blow your mind …
Well, as with any business, understanding and identifying a market then fitting that market is the beginning. But, building a strategy to support such things is the real key to longevity and solid growth.
We’re not suggesting that building a business around one day of the year is best practice, but if you apply the same thinking as those who are incorporating Valentine’s Day into their model you might find your own niche to fit and dominate. After all, strategically growing a business is where the fun is right?
For us it’s examples like V-Day that make us think a little bit laterally. Thanks to the sheer volume of business that happens on Valentine’s Day around the world, we as accountants can’t help but look a little closer.
If you’re looking for tailored, strategic advice that fits your business and financial goals, speak with the Attune team today on 1300 866 113 or send us an email to start the conversation.
