Are You In Fashion?
Back in September, several members of the Lawn & Garden Retailer staff attended the Garden Centers of America’s Fashion In Bloom (FIB) event, a Pack Trials-type tour on the East Coast. Like Pack Trials, attendees travel from stop to stop, visiting with plant breeders, touring growers/retailers, looking at new varieties and getting plenty of display ideas.
This was the event’s second year (last year going by the name Eastern Performance Trials). And while the attendance was a little lower than what many of the exhibitors would have liked, there was no shortage of ideas or interesting products. The tour’s six stops Conard-Pyle, Homestead Growers, American Horticultural Society, Virginia Growers, McDonald Garden Center and White’s Nursery and Greenhouses and 32 exhibitors created a world-class show that couldn’t possibly be described within this very limited space. What I’ve done instead is gather a few pictures to give you an idea of the many great ideas we got from the event. For a more complete showcase of Fashion In Bloom, go to www.fashioninbloom.com.
I hope to see this event next year and invite everyone to take part; it’s definitely worth your time. The dates have not yet been set, but it usually happens toward the end of September.
A Few Final Thoughts
As you well know, November is our last issue of the year, so before signing off for 2006, I want to tell you a little bit about some of the things we have planned for 2007. Probably the most exciting for us is adding another issue. With the addition of a May issue, we’ll be publishing 10 months next year, taking off only October and December. Also, we have several exciting new series/departments planned for next year, including a new series that will examine successful non-garden retailers, a consumer panel that will answer questions about their gardening habits and a merchandising contest. Look for more details about the merchandising contest in an upcoming issue of the Retail Report, our biweekly newsletter. Not yet a subscriber? You can do so at www.lgrmag.com.
I also want to extend our congratulations to sister publication GPN for being a finalist in the Folio: Eddie awards. This is an award given by magazine publishers to magazine publishers for overall editorial excellence. GPN was selected from more than 2,200 entries, and we are very proud to be among such a distinguished group.
And finally, Happy Holidays from all of us here at Lawn & Garden Retailer to all of you out there. We hope your holiday season is filled with happiness, fun and busy cash registers!
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