Articles

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Who is your Customer?

Just as important as opening your eyes to the image your business creates is focusing on who your customer is. You can be making great impressions, but if the wrong audience is noticing, it won't... more »

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Putting Trees in the Limelight

Over the last 10 years, garden centers have become more sophisticated in their approach to selling, merchandising and displaying in many areas of the store. We build new greenhouses for annuals and perennials, new stores... more »

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Color, Color, Color

I travel to numerous garden centers and trade shows every year, studying all of the trends, displays, customer service ideas -- basically everything that has to do with the industry. The thing that I have... more »

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Industry Leader Forecast

Oh, if only we had crystal balls. Think about it. We could see into the future and be prepared for those late-coming springs or the newest product trend or the economy's ups and downs. It... more »

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Successful Sales

What is the next big area of garden retailing that, when improved, will increase profit? You meet all of the discounted early-order deadlines. All of your available space, and then some, is full of product... more »

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Lawn & Garden Retailer Headlines

Every spring, the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco comes alive with open houses hosted by major plant breeders in the United States and Europe. Known to growers as the California Pack Trials,... more »

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Saving for a Rainy Day

This past spring was full of rain and unhappy faces. What's the phrase that annoying camp counselor always said to us? That's right, "Turn that frown upside down!" Sorry to say, there is some truth... more »

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Windows of Opportunity

One of the most pervasive renovation challenges for garden centers is making the best use of existing structures that are in the wrong place or those that have outlived their retail usefulness. I call such... more »

Something to think about

Heading into hiatus after the first year of Lawn & Garden Retailer , we wanted to leave our readers with enough information to keep them busy until our return in January. The suggestion of a... more »

Lawn & Garden Retailer Headlines

Easy radio commercialsThe Society of American Florists is now making it easier for SAF members to include radio commercials in their advertising mix. A library of more than 50 creative radio commercial scripts awaits members... more »

The InvaluableTraining Coordinator

Before you embark on a long-term training program for your garden center, you'll need to enlist a training coordinator from your team other than yourself. The person you need is motivated to help others and... more »

A Little light in your life

When you think of lighting for your home, you probably imagine indoor lamps and fixtures, but lighting is also a good accent for outdoors. No, I'm not just talking about porch lights and green and... more »