Del Rio Flowers and Gifts went out of business in early March after opening a year ago.

With the closing, some said the flower shop, 221 W. Lincoln Highway, had trouble because there was already a heavy saturation of florists in the area.

“When he opened up, I didn’t think DeKalb could support four florists,” said Mary Rehak, owner of All Seasons Florists, 852 S. Fourth St.

The clientele Del Rio targeted, mostly those from the Hispanic community, was not ready to support a floral shop, Rehak said.

The store was only getting a few customers a day, said Bretne Fick, former manager and lead designer.

Distance was also a factor of the closing, Fick said. The commute was too cumbersome for store owner Rogelio Del Rio, who is originally from Aurora, she said.

Del Rio used several marketing strategies, including radio commercials and ads in the Northern Star, Fick said.

In addition to flowers, Del Rio sold Spanish CDs, phone cards, airplane tickets to Mexico and various types of insurance.

The store also rented Hispanic DVDs and offered money-wiring services to Mexico to increase profit margins.

Del Rio used a service that networked florists all over the country and would send and receive business from it, Rehak said.

“Those services are expensive,” Rehak said. “You need a good customer base before you get involved with them.”

Another reason for the financial instability was the mediocre turnout during the holiday season, Fick said.

“We were way understaffed for Valentine’s Day,” Fick said. “I was the only designer, and our drivers were just there for the holiday, so there was a little confusion.”