Marketing

10184

Pohmer On: Lessons To Be Learned…Wal-Mart

OK, after reading the headline, you're probably expecting a discourse on how low prices drive business and how you should jump on that bandwagon. Don't take me wrong... Wal-Mart is a very successful company that... more »

10184

What Looks Good To You?

As you're walking through the mall or driving down the street, which retail stores grab your attention? It might be a store's window display, its advertisement on the side of a bus or another person... more »

10184

Low-Cost Marketing Ideas

Creative ways to advertise and market products, companies and events are conceived every day, each one bigger and better than the one before. Larger companies can even afford to hire agencies to do all of... more »

The Not-So-Big Garden Center: Being Right About Demographics

The January 2006 issue of Lawn & Garden Retailer included the annual "Industry Leader Forecast" article, and I was flattered to be included in the forecasting group. As 2006 draws to a close, I revisited... more »

Changing Customer Habits

The single most consistent factor in the entire retail equation is "The Customer." Everything may change. Cycles come and go. Prices and geography have less to do with customer habit than an innate and intuitive... more »

10151

Weather Or Not, There It Goes

Spring 2006 might be in the past, but for many, it was a season they will not long forget. The culprit? Weather. Whether it was good, bad or just so-so, weather was the talk of... more »

10151

Tapping The Organic Trend

Even though we have recently seen a "movement" of sorts toward an organic lifestyle, organic gardening is not new — it has been in existence since long before the term "organic" was coined (the term... more »

Accents Tailored For You

If your customers are called "guests" and your garden center occupies 6 acres of choice southern California real estate, you cannot afford to sit on your laurels. Consumers visit the big boxes to buy the... more »

10123

Going, Going, Gone

You probably spend a staggering amount of time and money researching, shopping for and trying to sell the season's hottest new products. Most storeowners do. That's what retail is all about, right? Whether you're selling... more »

10123

Indoor Gardening

Recently, I heard that 2005 was the year with the highest gardening activity seen in the last five years: more than 91 million U.S. households purchased some sort of horticultural product. Despite the good news... more »

10141

It’s All Fun And Games

Children may be small, but they can be quite powerful — especially in the retail sector. The heft of their allowances and the pressure to purchase they exert on parents and caregivers makes the children's... more »

10141

Scaling Down And Toning Up

If you have been stocking the same trees and shrubs for 5-10 years or more, you are probably missing out on sales. Recent breeding advancements and renewed customer interest have made the back lot, where... more »