A Tale of Two Sears and "A Road Not Taken"

by Danny Summers

This past week in the WDR, Steve Bailey spotlighted recent announcements by Sears Holdings they will shrink and streamline their produce offering in the coming months as they try to reorganize AGAIN. Steve's parallel here was a challenge to Group Centers to be vigilant about the products you are offering. He has recently told me he often sees centers getting lazy on controlling inventory (and turns) when sales are strong and times are good and therefore not maximizing their profitability.

Welcome to the ReFresh Calendar

by John Kennedy

The month of April is dedicated to the importance and impact of consistency.  From driving the customer experience to the art and science of plant health, ensure that your team sets standards to drive consistency in every aspect of the month.

Death by Marketing

By Sid Raisch

An Italian proverb reads, “He that deceives me once, it's his fault, but if twice, it’s my fault.” The question from this is, are you dangerously close to death by marketing?

The Pulse of the Garden Center Industry

by Steve Bailey

You might think the title of this article is a bit of a stretch when describing The Group’s 2018 Profit & Loss Study. I don’t. There’s nothing in our industry that even approaches the depth of information reporting centers receive.

To Protect and To Serve

by John Kennedy

On the side of every law enforcement vehicle in America is the simple phrase---to protect and to serve.

New and Updated Employment-Related Forms, Documents, and Posters for Garden Center Group Members

from Jean Seawright

Just in time for the spring season, Seawright & Associates has provided a variety of new and updated forms, documents, and posters that are now available under the Human Resources section of Power Tools! Check out their Ideas for Sourcing (recruiting) Talent handout.

Raising Your Invisible Ceiling on Growth

by Sid Raisch

Do you have a plan to break through your Invisible Ceiling this Spring?

Telling the Story - the Standard of the Superbowls Past

by Danny Summers

Robert is always pushing us to "tell a story". He says every ad needs to tell a story. Looking back at some of the best of previous Superbowl ads, it seems there are a few common threads the very best share that come to mid... puppies and kids of course. And there are others that really just tell an inspiring story.

Before we step back in time, I want to share just one from this crop of Superbowl ads. It is the Kia 2 minute spot. It begins with a young boy in a cowboy hat telling the story about a small town in west Georgia. It really is a true story of a small town of "unknowns" creating something special.

Simplify (one word says it all)

by Danny Summers

simplify [sim-pluh-fahy]
verb (used with object), sim·pli·fied, sim·pli·fy·ing.
    •    to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier

It is a very basic, two syllable word but the process of simplifying something is not always easy. Building on what I started at the top of this GROUPtalk (One-Man-Band), I want to share some thoughts on this challenge. For many of our centers today the above graphic could easily represent a flow-chart of operations. Adding complexities throughout time just piles on layers of things to do. These are things you most likely feel are important and are "must-do's. At the same time the graphic also could represent your job responsibilities.

If you are an owner or manager, you have the power and ability to change this picture. Some months back I reminded you of the ultimate "Gatekeeper" and I showed you a picture. Do you remember who is was? It was The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. Remember anyone wanting to enter Oz had to come through him. That's the position I see many of our center's owners or managers in today. This has to change. It is called Team-Building and Delegation!

The PRICING PROCESS... for FUN and PROFIT

by Sid Raisch

This is perfect timing as you prepare for spring and set your pricing strategies. 

The Forecast – Outlook for the Spring Season

featuring Dr. Charlie Hall and Dr. Marco Palma, Texas A&M, College Station, TX

The SNA Conference was held January 7-8, 2019 in Baltimore, in conjunction with MANTS. Dr. Charlie Hall, the nation's foremost green industry economist, teamed up with Dr. Marco Palma to provide insight on the outlook for the spring season.The following is the recorded presentation. Whether you were there for the event or not, this is an important 29 minutes for you and your management team to see again!

Should you hold back, stand status quo, or see this time of uncertainty as a time of opportunity? What impact will housing trends have on the economy? How will Generation X impact the market as the Baby Boomers are retiring? What will the 2019 spring season look like and how will it impact your business? Structural changes in the industry will also be discussed, along with strategic implication for growers, service providers, and retailers.

What Happens If We Don’t?

by Sid Raisch

It’s time to get some things done, don’t you think?

Trends - an interesting observation.

by Danny Summers

Recently I participated in a webinar covering a collection of "trends" across the globe. It was produced by an international company in the business of collecting a tremendous amount of data and trying to put a sense of order to what they see. At first glance, it appeared to be all over the board. Of course, there were lots of modern, high tech gadgets and activities and some trends you recognize as "way-out-there," but one observation began to appear throughout that we should appreciate and leverage in your business. The first comment that led me into this path of thought was:

"We're the same old humans with the same old human needs."

Wow! That, in the middle of a bunch of high-tech, "way-out-there" trends, grabs you and brings you right back down to earth. As you see so many weird new trends, this type of very basic statement brings a sense of grounding. It's a very organic statement if you think about it.

We Sell Fresh Air!

Observations by Danny Summers

I recently subscribed to a publication devoted entirely to Visual Merchandising and Store Designs for retail (actually its name and acronym is VMSD) and in its December issue that arrived last week, the cover story's headline was "FRESH AIR." You can see the front cover below right.

At first glance you have to ask yourself... "Are they selling plants or other things?"

Van Wilgen's Success of PW Store-in-a-Store

by Jessica DeGraaf and Meghan Owens, Proven Winners^®

Loyalty Programs - Group Sharing Footnotes

The following footnotes have been collected by Danny Summers from The Group during discussions on this subject at the time of developing this story. We plan to add additional ideas from others over time. These notes provide important additional Group guidance in developing or evaluating your program(s).

Loyalty Programs to Drive Sales & Customer Engagement

By Sam Kirkland, National Accounts Manager, Epicor Software
  ...with Group discussion footnotes added

[Footnotes have been collected by Danny Summers from The Group during discussions on this subject at the time of developing this story and are located at the end of this article. These notes provide important additional Group guidance in developing or evaluating your program(s).]

Group Client Advisory: I-9 Compliance

by Seawright & Associates

On Wednesday, November 7th, Seawright & Associates' Jean Martin presented a GROUPtalk-Live webinar for Group Clients titled "Winter is Coming... Prepare for ICE!" This was one of the largest attendance for any GROUPtalk-Live sessions and for obvious reasons. This is a very important subject and it also underscores the importance of having the talents and resources of Seawright & Associates for our Group Centers (a huge benefit of being in The Group). Prior to the session, Jean had supplied both the current I-9 Paper Version Form and Instructions for each participant for note taking.

YES! You can Leverage the Network

by Sid Raisch

Undeniably, the best part of The Group is YOU, when connected with other members. At Fall Event 2018 I shared with the group a presentation on connecting with each other at a deeper level in order to achieve the full benefit of this best part of The Group. Please read the rest of this, then review the presentation slides at the link provided below, before acting on the ideas I’m asking you to implement today and tomorrow.

Making the "Emotional Connection"

by Danny Summers

Robert Hendrickson has pushed The Group for years now on some of the very best ways to tell your story and build that unique, emotional connection with the customer. This is the extreme opposite of selling by price and certainly much more effective than selling by the old standard of "feature and benefit" marketing.