Articles

Gardening For Everyone

Gardening is for everyone, or at least we would like to believe that. After all, it is America's number-one hobby. Some of the people who are not able to participate in all that nature has... more »

2006-2007 Visual Sourcebook: Products By Category

Welcome to the fifth annual Lawn & Garden Retailer Visual Sourcebook. This guide is designed to help you locate sources for green goods, hard goods, nursery supplies, services, holiday products and pretty much anything else... more »

2006-2007 Visual Sourcebook: Vendor Directory

Shop ‘Til You drop!

Welcome to the fifth annual Lawn & Garden Retailer Visual Sourcebook. You'll notice that our Sourcebook continues to grow every year as we add more companies to the listings and more products to the "Marketplace."... more »

Pohmer On…Shopability…

Okay, you've invested in POS systems to ensure you have the right level of inventory on hand, worked with your suppliers to streamline distribution, allocated shelf space based on sales histories and developed the logistics... more »

Pohmer On…Timeless Management Messages

Over the years I attended quite a few of Peter Drucker's seminars; some were in small groups and very interactive and some were with auditorium-sized audiences. Some of what he presented was simply a validation... more »

Pohmer On…Monkey Trouble

These were the words on a sign that I had mounted by the entrance of my office when I worked for many years in retail buying, merchandising and marketing. Most people thought this was simply... more »

Pohmer On…Celebrate…Failures?

Celebrate failures... is Pohmer losing it again? Why would anyone want to consciously reward failure, unless they are not smart enough to tell the difference between failure and success... or are just looking for another... more »

Pohmer On…Bring On The Complaints!

We all know the drill... we see an unhappy customer complaining about something to someone else in the store, and we tend to turn around and head in a different direction. "Boy, these pesky, irritating... more »

Pohmer On…Two Out of Five Ain’t Bad

For those of you old enough to remember the providential words of the great, worldly philosopher Meat Loaf, "Two out of three ain't bad." Surely he wasn't referring to retail consumers when he wrote that... more »

Dollars & Sense: The Gross Profit Myth

Editor's Note: Say hello to our newest columnist, Bill McCurry. If you've heard Bill speak at major industry events, you know his formal education is in finance, which he taught at the graduate level. Although... more »

Dollars & Sense: Yes, You Can Earn A Bonus This Year

Bigger bonuses for you and the team! There's an idea that makes everyone smile. However, the corollary to bigger bonuses is cost controls. The smile disappears. Now you're glum. But without cost controls, you won't... more »