Articles

Watery Wonders

You've read about it, heard about it on the radio and even seen your competitors take a stab at it... the water garden category. In your eyes, however, it can equal a big headache. For... more »

Show Your Artistic Side

For garden center owners who are not well versed in art and artistic styles, works of art may be the last products they would ever consider selling. Yet, the art industry can be quite accessible,... more »

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Garden Center Chic

Many Americans are enamored with clothes and the fashion industry. Mass retailers help increase this interest by frequently updating their apparel lines, often several times within a season, and top clothing makers hold runway shows... more »

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Seasonal Help 101

It's that time of year again: Nice weather is bringing customers to garden centers across the country. The surge in sales and services that is taking place creates the need for additional staff. For many... more »

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Is Storage Costing You?

When you stock a product, you are making a commitment to have that product available in reasonable quantities for immediate delivery to customers. Retailers need to keep items in stock to stay in business, even... more »

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Winner’s Circle

Most of the time, consumers can see a plant's appeal. They can appreciate the cheddar-pink flowers that cover dianthus 'Firewitch' or the golden plumes of celosia 'Fresh Look Gold'. But award-winning plants can also offer... more »

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Targeting Locational Demographics

Demographics, or the statistical characteristics of human populations used to identify markets, are of utmost im-portance to garden centers, especially those expanding into new areas. Demographics can determine a lot for retailers: Depending on a... more »

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Gift Center Genius

The overall gift industry is a $253 billion market. According to Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of the Outdoor Living Report and the book Why People Buy Things They Don't Need, that... more »

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Going, Going, Gone

You probably spend a staggering amount of time and money researching, shopping for and trying to sell the season's hottest new products. Most storeowners do. That's what retail is all about, right? Whether you're selling... more »

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Soil Basics

When customers stroll down the potting soil aisle in your garden center, do you often notice confused looks on their faces? This confusion may be brought on by the wide array of soil products that... more »

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Indoor Gardening

Recently, I heard that 2005 was the year with the highest gardening activity seen in the last five years: more than 91 million U.S. households purchased some sort of horticultural product. Despite the good news... more »

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Planning A Garden Center

One of the many piles on my desk is my "humph" pile. It's where I put things I think are interesting — things that produce that inquisitive "humph" when I read them. Newspaper clippings, information... more »