Local florist leaving town

Hill Floral Products is shutting two Indiana locations:

Hill Floral Products is closing four of its stores nationally, including one in Richmond and in Indianapolis.

Hills' Floral of Indianapolis, at 930 W. 16th St., has 14 employees that will be laid off, according to store employees who spoke by phone today.

The Indy location, which specialized in selling to retailers or floral-related businesses, has been on West 16th Street since 1971 after formerly being in Downtown Indianapolis for decades, said Chuck Kloss, a flower-buyer who has been employed there for 31 years.

"It's just economics. It's been a tough business for the last 15 years," Kloss said.

The store's last day will be this Friday.

The Palladium-Item of Richmond also reported on the closures today.

The newspaper said Hill Floral Products had between 600-700 employees nationally in 2005 and provides flowers sold by florists, supermarkets and in more than 200 Sam's Clubs, where the company has the floral department leases.

Locations in Toledo, Ohio, and Chattanooga, Tenn., will also close, the paper reported.