Management

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 »

August 2005

Profiting from Christmas

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... more »

August 2005

Spring Ahead but Don’t Fall Behind

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... more »

July 2005

Ridding Retail of Pests

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... more »

Lawn & Garden Retailer Headlines

Lawn & Garden Retailer Headlines

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... more »