Lombard shop celebrates 20 years as part of Phillip's Flowers' 90th birthday

LOMBARD – From across town to across the globe, giving the gift of flowers is a practice that transcends cultures, believes Jim Phillip, chairman and CIO of Phillip's Flowers & Gifts.

"[Whether] happy or sad, people use flowers as a way to connect to all the special occasions in life."

The business – now in its fourth generation of family ownership – turns 90 years old this year. What started from a humble beginning below an apartment in Cicero has grown into a national brand, with eight traditional flower shops and three design centers spread out across Chicago and the western suburbs.

The company's Lombard shop, 1110 S. Main St., reaches its own milestone this year– celebrating 20 years in business.

Chris Neely, manager of the Lombard store and a village resident, said the business has many loyal customers, who keep coming back for one simple reason.

"Because we do a good job," Neely said with a laugh. "We try to make everyone happy."

The Phillip's brand began in 1923, when founders James and Helen Phillip opened the first flower shop below the Cicero apartment where they raised their three children, J.R., Loreley "Lee" and Russell.

From an early age, the children developed a strong work ethic helping their parents with odd jobs in the shop. The philosophy of hard work and family togetherness is something that has permeated down through each generation.

Jim Phillip fondly remembers working as a child next to his grandfather in the La Grange Park shop, the second location that opened in 1952.

"I was working weekends, holidays and summers with him," he said. "I remember being impressed watching how he put together flower arrangements – he was a true craftsman."

Just as Jim remembers his grandfather, Jim's son, James, a fourth generation Phillip and current manager of the Wheaton location, said he recalls helping his grandfather, J.R.

"He was very diligent and detail-oriented," James Phillip said. "I remember he would go around and he would leave little notes of things I should work on for the day."

The business opened its third location in Oak Brook in 1961, but it wasn't until the 1970s that the company really grew in response to the interior landscape boom, when everyone wanted green plants in their homes and office buildings.

Between 1972 and 1986, four more locations where opened, in Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Elmhurst and Westmont.

"The population has grown west, and we've grown with it," said Baxter Phillip, executive vice president and a third generation member of the family.

Today, there are eight family members in management positions with the company, which has more than 100 designers and a total of roughly 250 employees, Baxter said.

Every day, the company prepares about 500 arrangements for delivery in roughly 150 suburbs, sends its plants, flowers and gift baskets to places around the world and also has a green plant interior landscaping division in Westmont that assembles plant and holiday displays for both private homes and commercial businesses.

Despite additional competition that has surfaced with online flower retailers, Jim Phillip is confident that the future is bright for the business.

"We hope to uphold our standards and quality of service, which I think become valued more and more in this impersonal age," he said. "We're [still] very much a small business."

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Phillip's Flowers timeline

1923: James A. and Helen Phillip open the first Phillip's flower shop in Cicero

1952: Their son, J.R. Phillip, opens a second store in La Grange Park

1961: Their son Russell Phillip opens a third location in Oak Brook

1972: Hinsdale store opens

1975: Downers Grove store opens

1982: Elmhurst store opens

1986: Westmont store and design center opens

1993: Lombard store opens

• 1995 - Naperville store opens

• 1996 - Oak Brook warehouse opens (commercial interior plantscaping and holiday decorating divisions)

• 1999 - Wheaton store opens

• 2011 - Chicago design and delivery facility opens