Aug 9, 2016
Going for GoldBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

The Summer Olympics are in full swing, and I don’t know about you, but I look forward to them every four years.

Michael Phelps has already added to his historic medal count, but after the first night of competition, more attention seemed to be turned to the circle marks on his body from cupping, a Chinese therapy.

First thing the next morning, I had received an email from a local spa that they were having specials on “Olympic-inspired” cupping. What a great way for a small business to capitalize on huge hype!

This got me thinking about what garden centers can be doing in the wake of the Rio Olympic Games. I came across this article from Yahoo! that has five great tips you could implement in the next couple weeks.

One of the easiest is to simply display your red, white and blue products with appropriate signage. Maybe even craft some grab-and-go items inspired by the colors or sports, similar to what you might do for teacher’s gifts or holidays.

You could then make a quick transition from the Olympics to election season like the department on display at Homestead Gardens in Maryland last week.

Take a look at all the photos from our East Coast garden center visits on our Facebook page.

Has your store done anything to jump on the Olympic bandwagon? Let me know at [email protected].

Fourth Season

It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is coming. Mark your calendars for Aug. 16, 2016, at 1 p.m. EST for a webinar by Shannon Kuhrt of M&M Wintergreens.

She’ll be talking about how to succeed with the holiday season. Register now so you don’t miss it.

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Abby (Kleckler) McGarry is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].