The Garden Center Group

The Garden Center Group (The Group) is your resource for solutions to operational issues facing your company. This is not another "buying group" revolving around selling you more goods, but a company that focuses on business solutions designed to help you increase sales, improve operations and retain more profit. By consolidating garden centers who agree to work together towards a common goal, The Group is able to provide a host of professional products and services most centers would not be able to access on their own.

The core to the success of The Group rests on the people involved. We've pulled together an ever-growing list of experts called Service Providers who assist our centers in solving operational problems by providing insight, direction and one-on-one assistance when needed. The following is a listing of some of the current products and services available to garden centers in The Group.

Marketing - Proven advertising and marketing messages designed to build sales, expand market position, secure customer commitment and extend the selling seasons. A wide array of media choices are used to provide the best mix for the most impact... gaining new customers while maintaining the ones who continually build your business.

Marketing/Advertising Review - All forms of advertising from radio, newspaper, direct mail and television can be reviewed, critiqued and designed to make sure your company is creating the right message in the proper medium.

Merchandising - Learn how to use the character of your site, your product mix and merchandise presentation to create a shopping experience that will improve traffic flow while increasing sell-through rates and inventory turns.

Strategic Planning - The deciding factor that sets your company apart from all the rest is the passion and excitement that exists between the company, the staff and the customer. Discover how to create a unique retail environment that will define your company's position in the marketplace.

On-Site Consultation - Any number of Service Providers can work with you one-on-one for a more detailed, focused activity that can have a dramatic impact on your business. This process can speed-up the time between planning and taking action on issues ranging from site development, marketing, merchandising, finance, employee training and human resource issues.

Telephone/Fax/Email Consultation - You now have direct access to private consultation time regarding all aspects of your business from some of the industry's most respected talents. Information when you need it designed to help you achieve your goals.

Site Design and Development - From property evaluation to architectural design, you now have access to an award winning design firm that provides a full range of industry specific design assistance programs.

Financial Budgeting and Review - At the end of a busy day or busy season, the final score is measured on how well your company did meeting it's financial goals and obligations. Now there's help with the entire process from planning, budgeting and monthly evaluation.

Human Resources - Now there's answers to your questions about compliance with employment regulations, policy manuals, affirmative action plans, hiring, firing, performance evaluations, compensation plans and other personnel related matters. This is an area where one mistake can cost you a tremendous amount of heart-ache and money. Working with our experts will help you be prepared before problems arise.

Employee Training - From on-site sales and customer service training sessions; to on-going educational workbooks and newsletters on a variety of employee development topics; to intensive 2-3 day staff training retreats, we make sure your employees are part of the business improvement loop.

Mystery Shopper Service - An industry exclusive, your company can now take part in the same type of program used by most of the country's leading retailers. Your Mystery Shopper service has been designed to focus on garden center specific activities to help you and your employees improve the shop-ability of your store.

Media Placement - No more dealing with annoying media sales reps, not knowing for sure if the offers they present are in your, or their, best interest. Our media buyer makes sure your advertising dollars are being used in the most cost-effective and results-driven manner possible.

Being part of The Group provides you with direction, support, guidance and assistance in some of the most important aspects of running your garden center. You'll find proven methods, techniques and principles coming straight from centers in The Group as well as from a carefully selected group of Service Providers.

Communication plays an important role in providing Group centers with valuable, business building ideas. We keep you in touch through a variety of channels:

Clients Only Website Pages
Once your company becomes part of The Group, you will have access to a password protected section of this website. On these pages you will find a constant update of information exclusive to Group centers. Visit the links below for samples.

weekly communications like the bottom line
communications like Strategies blog provided by Horticultural Advantage
email and website links to all Group centers, Service Providers and Preferred Vendors plus thousands of photos showcasing the best ideas from Group centers across the country
weekly sales results from all participating Group centers throughout the country with a Weekly Department Review report that compiles sales, promotions, weather and customer shopping patterns
articles written by Service Providers exclusively for Group centers
detailed information about upcoming Group events, workshops, tours and gatherings as well as notes and photos from recent Group events, workshops, tours and gatherings
Retail Spotlight, a photo report dealing with a wide variety of retailing trends like signage, traffic flow, merchandising and site development from garden centers to major retailers across the country

bottom line enews and Strategies blog
These are the communication tools that keep you in touch with the latest Group happenings plus information about seasonal business planning and market observations you can immediately apply to your business.

Weekly Department Review
Being part of The Group allows you to participate in an industry exclusive, now in it's 10th year, with more than 90 garden centers from all over the country sharing their sales figures on a weekly basis for more than 25 product/department categories. You'll find areas of opportunity to help each department of your garden center perform at a progressively higher level by comparing sales trends and promotional results with other centers in your Sales Group as well as nation wide. There is no other benchmarking program in the industry where you can go for detailed financial information like this. Several centers have told us that this one service alone is enough to make them decide to become part of The Group.

Regional Financial Group
Meeting and sharing financial information with Group garden centers in your region is a valuable tool for your center. The Regional Group concept fulfills that need, gathering together the best garden centers for a one-day session of discussing and comparing garden center financials and how to improve upon Profitability. These meetings are at an additional fee.

Annual P&L Survey
Now in it's 6th year, the industry's most detailed sales and expense study to date. The analysis of financial information submitted is in a standardized format according to The Garden Center Group's official chart of accounts. Participating garden centers receive their results followed by comparison reports based on Regional Groups and Sales Groups.
The results of this survey are presented each year at The Garden Center Group's Annual Fall Event.

gardencentergroupEs
The online exchange of information for the benefit of those who want their garden center to become or continue to be PROFITABLE! With highly focused content one topic at a time you'll get the information & feedback you need in time to apply it.

Annual Fall Event - 10th Annual Fall Event Sept 30-Oct 1, 2010
It was just a matter of time before we all realized that the traditional industry meetings that take place every Winter needed a change. Winter is not the best time to consider new concepts, create plans for Spring or make serious buying decisions. Between an over-load of association seminars and almost weekly trade shows, who has time to put anything you might see or hear in place before Spring? That's why The Group has our big meeting in the Fall, so there's plenty of time to implement new ideas before Spring arrives.

This major Event, held in various parts of the country, provides you with the opportunity to meet face-to-face with other Group centers; talk with Service Providers and see the newest products from Vendors. Workshops and seminars conducted by professionals from all facets of business are short on theory and long on ideas and processes you can put right to work to help your center improve.

Group Gathering (Click here for Events Schedule)
Your participation in Group activities is one of the most important reasons for being "connected". This is the opportunity for you to take part in a number of meetings, workshops, training sessions, tours and corporate retreats, all designed to provide you with the information you need to help you reach both your business and personal goals. And to accomplish that task means there are times to mix business and pleasure. We believe that your business is the catalyst for what you do in life. Spend some time with us during a Workshop at one of our Group centers or a Summer Escape in Mexico and you'll see what we mean. (Visit the Photo Gallery)

A Sense of Community
A very unique aspect to The Group is the environment of sharing information between everyone involved. If you have questions or concerns with almost any topic revolving around your business, help is as close as a call, fax or email to one of the Service Providers or to another center in The Group. Interaction between all participants is encouraged and welcomed. This is networking at it's best... between friends and people interested in your success.

These business communications and professional services are only available to garden centers in The Group. To find out how your company can be part of the industry's most unique and exciting organization.