Management
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...
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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."...
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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...
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Making the most of the holiday season can be easy if you create a plan and follow through with it, including staffing accordingly. Though the window of sales is short, the holiday season can be...
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Spring is over, time to relax, go on vacation and not have to think about plants for another year. You better not be thinking that way; just because spring is over does not mean that...
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Choices for greenhouse pest management vary depending on the size of the greenhouse and how it is used. Retail greenhouses have many challenges for managing pests that are different from production greenhouses. Retail greenhouses are...
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2005 Retail Forecast The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently revised its 2005 sales forecast based on the inclusion of new merchandise categories (food and beverage stores, building materials and garden equipment stores, health and personal...
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Consumers can usually be relied on to "shop 'til they drop." This was one of the primary drivers of the economic recovery we saw in 2003-2004. In fact, the 7-percent surge in sales in 2004...
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Most everyone would agree that an excellent way to increase your retail sales is by creating customer awareness through promotions and marketing. While many store owners have already developed extensive advertising programs, they often overlook...
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Home stores and mass merchants provide stiff competition for independent retailers in virtually all categories. The "boxes" have become experts at transaction selling, providing low-cost and convenient product solution, and processing hordes of customers. Now,...
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Back in high school, I worked at a neighborhood pharmacy afternoons and weekends. One of my responsibilities was keeping the vast display of greeting cards clean, neat and stocked. Thinking back on that experience, even...
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In the years since moving to Chicago, I have become an avid baseball fan. I count the days until spring training starts, I get to the ballpark as often as possible, and I've even started...
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