Celebrating a Decade of Success
An Energizing Experience
The first year of the show there were three of us that went, and the reason we went is because we wanted to freshen up our stores for fall and also for the Christmas season and think about spring.
We go to a lot of shows, and this one has an incredible amount of energy. You can just feel it. Shows historically the last 10 years are sort of sliding down and there’s not the number of retailers there used to be, and this show just has lots of people and lots of energy.
From the very start, nobody was disappointed.
We go to write orders, we go for education, and we want to see new products.
We have brought up to 15 people to the show. I believe in education within my associates, and the rest of the leaders in this company and I don’t think we’re the only ones that have the ideas. There are a lot of ideas that come from associates, so we really work on trying to teach them and give them opportunities.
One of the best places that we meet people is that they have a luncheon for some of the people who have bigger stores, and we always make sure we sit at a table where we don’t know people and spread out so we can share ideas and learn from them.
We use the show as a time to regroup, think about what spring was like and what early summer was like, and then the show gives us lots of ideas and items to talk about.
The thing about the show is it is a good selection of everything from plant material to home décor items to seasonal items, and it also forces you to think about fall, about Christmas and about spring, and that’s why the timing of this show is very good.
— Jeff Wandell, Prairie Gardens, Champaign, Illinois
Always Something New
The one thing I say about this show is you always find something new. I’m one of these people who goes to a lot of trade shows, so when I’m walking through a trade show I’m only looking for two or three new items. I’m happy when I find a couple new lines because that makes it worthwhile.
had his photo snapped with classic rock guitarist Rick Derringer. On tap for this year’s show is REO Speedwagon on Tuesday
evening, Aug. 16.
That keeps things fresh in our garden center. It’s always fun to have new and different things to present to our customers, and you really can’t find them unless you walk a trade show and look out for some of the new things that you see.
Jeff [Morey, IGC Show founder] has done a really good job of getting new and different vendors each year in the show, and I don’t know how he manages it because a lot of shows have the same people. Here 80 percent of the people are the same, but Jeff always seems to get new and different vendors, and that’s what we’re really looking for.
If you have an open mind and are willing to try new and different things and maybe things that you’re not really comfortable selling, you can find new and different things in that show every year.
I think of all the tradeshows in the country this is the one you really should go to.
There are things that every time I go to the show, I bring stuff back to my buyers, and I end up seeing the products in the nursery because they too were looking for new and different things.
— Tom Courtright, Orchard Nursery & Florist, Lafayette, California
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