May 12, 2015
The Busiest Season of AllBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Mother’s Day is in the rearview mirror but hopefully strong spring sales have just begun. I know here in Chicago the weather has been all over the map: a high of 85 degrees one day and a high of 50 two days later.

On Sunday, in between the rain spurts, I walked into the garden center a block from my apartment with the single purpose of grabbing some potting soil. I was actually surprised (and excited!) about the number of people wandering the aisles on such a gloomy day weatherwise.

What did Mother’s Day look like in your garden center? Did you have any unexpected items that did really well? What are you doing differently this year compared to last year? I want to hear about it at [email protected].

I Can Only Guess

I’m pretty confident that you have some displays this year that the world should see, or at least your peers.

Time is running out to enter Lawn & Garden Retailer’s 2015 Merchandiser of the Year competition.

This year’s winner will receive sales-generating prizes totaling over $3,000 provided by the contest’s sponsors Braun Horticulture and Dramm. Click here to learn how easy it is to participate.

July Already?

It’s “Game On” for garden center retailers at Cultivate’15. AmericanHort and Lawn & Garden Retailer are excited to announce the action-packed Minute to Win It – Retail Challenge competition.

Representatives from garden retailers across the country will battle in three different contests, while racing against a one-minute clock, to demonstrate their retail and horticultural supremacy.

Stay tuned for more details! And in the meantime, send me a message if you’re interested in becoming a contestant. You know you want to.

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

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