Mar 26, 2014
Warming UpBy pmihalek

The other day on my Facebook news feed, a hort-friend from Portland posted an image taken in Salem, Ore., of cherry blossoms doing their thing. A few minutes later a garden center owner from Massachusetts jokingly commented, ” What is all that stuff on the tree branches? It looks like some kind of growth??? It’s 5 degrees here. I wish…”

On the calendar, “spring” is here, but in reality, the weather is still a bit of a grab bag and most of you need a big time warm-up. And by warm-up, I mean practice. It’s time to start visualizing effective endcaps and vignettes. See the display. Be the display. And once you’re all warmed up, you’ll be ready for our 2014 Merchandiser of the Year. With three supporting sponsors —Dramm, Braun and MasterTag — this year’s contest and prizes are bigger and better and more enticing than ever before. Stay tuned for more details. Come April 1, we will begin our call for entries up until June 30. And that’s no April fool.

In the meantime, check out some sales floor advice from retail consutlants Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender in their March article “Increase Your Shelf Esteem.” They share nine tips to get your store retail ready just in time for the spring crowds.

Surviving the Shark Tank

In a recent “Take 5” eNewsletter from AmericanHort, the email highlighted a CNN interview with Mark Cuban — billionaire, Dallas Mavericks owner and star of ABC’s Shark Tank.

The real takeaway from the interview came on the backend. Cuban was asked what can businesses learn from watching Shark Tank. His answer wasn’t sugarcoated:

“Shark Tank isn’t a microcosm, it’s the real world. Know your business. Recognize you have to compete. Know your numbers. There are no shortcuts. You have to sell. Customers own you. The list is beyond long. But the messages are clear — you have to work hard to succeed.”

Enthusiastically (think spring),

Pete


pmihalek