Management

March 2006

A Gift Market Overview

With so many gift shows throughout the year across the country, it can be hard to know which ones will suite your gift-purchasing needs: Some feature educational sessions or target specific regions, and some only... more »

March 2006

It’s Not How Much You Sell — It’s How Much You Get To Keep

Sales, sales, sales. It seems every businessperson involved in small business, garden center owners and managers included, bases success on the amount of sales generated during a given period.A day doesn't go by, especially at... more »

January 2006

Surveying Christmas

We asked survey participants to describe their season in 300 words or less and here are some of the best responses, in no particular order. There are a number of similarities as well as differences,... more »

January 2006

Achieving Christmas Success

In a year of unstable economic times with no immediate relief in sight and retail indicators continuing on a downward spiral we gathered at our store for our annual Christmas management meeting. We were not... more »

January 2006

Seven Steps To Hiring Honest Employees

Lucille Thomas, owner of Sunrise Lawn and Garden had a problem. The anonymous caller said, "Employees are stealing from your store. They're not ringing the sales and keeping the money." When Lucille asked for more... more »

January 2006

Employee-Pricing Promotions

Some experts say General Motors Corporation's (GM) summer campaign that offered employee discounts to car-buying consumers was a stroke of genius, but others argue it was an act of desperation.GM posted a $1.1 billion loss... more »

January 2006

Test For The Best

There is plenty of discussion among business owners about testing job applicants before they are hired, but is it really all that easy, effective and necessary? Most owners and managers rely on the application or... more »

January 2006

Power To The Independents

After purchasing Salem, Ore.-based Terra Gardens last year, Dan Estacio didn't have much extra cash sitting around. The problem was, Estacio needed to fill his nursery with new product to get ready for his business's... more »

A Uniform Approach

A Uniform Approach

I've been shopping in stores many times when another customer has asked me a question meant for a store employee to answer. Since I'm not in the habit of wearing store logos, customers are obviously... more »

Is an Onsite Workshop for You?

Is an Onsite Workshop for You?

The story of Bemis Farms Nursery is the story of an industry. Although the garden center is unique in its philosophy, presentation, products and personality, it is representative of the more than 17,000 independent garden... more »

August 2005

It’s Buying Time Again

Welcome to the fourth 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 »

August 2005

Business-to-Business Transactions

The National Retail Federation found that holiday sales in 2004 rose 5.7 percent over the prior year, with consumers spending a whopping $222.23 billion throughout the Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa seasons. Looking back at your... more »