Management
Keeping Your Brand Fresh
I recently came across a fairly succinct definition of a brand: “The intangible sum of a retailer or product’s attributes: its name, packaging and price positioning, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.”... more »
Raising the Bar
While we may have thought the growth seen in 2020 was an anomaly, indications so far point to continued growth for 2021. With more Garden Center Group members reporting in our weekly department review (WDR),... more »
Is Zookeeper Part of Your Job Description?
I had a sign that read, “My Office is Not a Zoo!” mounted by the entrance to my office when I worked for many years in retail buying, merchandising and marketing. Most people thought this... more »
It’s More Than Just Semantics…
In my 26 years of working in senior positions in retail for both big box and smaller entrepreneurial companies, and then 25 years of helping advise companies and organizations as a consultant (yes, I really... more »
Garden Center Group Releases P&L Study Results
The Garden Center Group has released results from its 17th Annual P&L Study for 2020. The study, which was first conducted in 2004, has never seen the level of increases reported this year. The results... more »
Making Plans for an Uncertain Future
Theresa Riley didn’t always aspire to own the family business. Her parents Harry and Mary Witte founded Rockledge Gardens in 1960, initially as a bulb-packing business. Through the ‘60s and ‘70s, it evolved into the... more »
What Is Your Secret Sauce?
As you are about to embark on the most challenging months of your spring selling season, I tried to come up with something motivating and inspiring that could help cheer you on and I stumbled... more »
PPP Loans and Your Garden Center
The program designed to provide financial relief to businesses during the pandemic caused confusion for many businesses during 2020. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act, is complex and the related tax... more »
Streamlining the Supply Chain and Boosting Customer Engagement
Warren Patterson knew there had to be a better way. As owner of Barrie’s Garden Centre in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, his biggest challenge was finding the time to place and receive orders from the multiple... more »
What Are You Marketing?
As I was looking through the ads in Sunday’s paper (in January — too early for lawn and garden ads in the Minneapolis market), it got me thinking about a dilemma that always mystified me... more »
A New Way of Thinking and Planning
The year 2020 brought us a whole new set of variables we hadn’t anticipated or planned for; this got me thinking about some inadequacies in our traditional planning processes. Historically, most business leaders have adopted... more »McHutchison, Vaughan’s Consolidate in Chicagoland
Vaughan’s Horticulture and McHutchison recently announced that they have made a long-term commitment to the Chicago region by consolidating each company’s young plant division into one Chicagoland office in the western suburb of Naperville.. “This... more »
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Videos
News
June 23, 2022
Monrovia Celebrates Pollinator Week with Garden Centers
June 21, 2022
Rockledge Gardens Announces New Ownership
June 21, 2022
Dümmen Orange Raising Funds for Yellowstone Rebuilding
June 17, 2022
