The Group Experience

by Danny Summers

The Group Experience is multi-faceted. When someone outside The Group asks me what we do, the discussion progresses in multiple directions. Of course, I usually give a brief story on how The Group came together and the beginning stages of our financial sharing and benchmarking programs.

The conversation usually then moves on to all the areas of peer-to-peer sharing, through our WebSystem and all our 12+ different eLists. And of course, I talk about interaction with our Team of Service Providers as well.

The Homegrown Advantage

by Danny Summers

With all the news today about imports, exports and tariffs, it becomes natural to think about what our Centers offer today. The great Trees, Shrubs, Perennials and Annuals you sell are certainly grown close to you or at the very least in the same region or country. Some of you are actually growing some of them in-house. There may be some imported components, whether it is peat or peat substitutes, bamboo stakes, etc., but the majority of what a customer takes home could be considered Homegrown.

Even our great non-plant suppliers, the majority of them produce their products domestically. Just take a look at what you have in your Center today and think about where it is being made. I'm confident the majority of what you see is Homegrown. OK, saying a non-plant item is Homegrown sounds somewhat strange, but you get the point.

Your Future Team and Audience

by Danny Summers

Look at the faces above.

Just imagine, this could be your top management team some years from now.

Wellness = People + Plants

by Danny Summers

Our industry devotes a tremendous amount of effort to Plant Health (or Plant Wellness). Offering a healthy plant is at the core of what we do. If it is not healthy, it just doesn't sell.

What we don't spend much time on is the Wellness of People. Obviously, each of us is very concerned about our overall health and the health of everyone around us. But, there is a growing movement on a connection between the two, hence the subject today... Wellness = People + Plants.

America Needs a Break!

by Danny Summers

If you are subscribed to The Group's Marketing eList, you may have seen the message shared last Thursday by Tom Kegley, The Group's Brand Guru. Tom shared a review of this year's Super Bowl Ads, produced by Kantar, one of the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business and brand partners to the world’s top companies, including 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers.

Singing Our Song!

by Danny Summers

If you have been part of The Group for very long, you have read my observations through recent years on how other brands and industries leverage what you have to gain attention to what they are offering. This approach shows either someone in their garden enjoying plants and flowers or even in a Garden Center setting, either as a retail customer or even a Garden Center owner or staff.

You can often see this in new medicine ads or business services. They show happy people in Garden settings.

The SPARK of Innovation

by Danny Summers

Where does the idea... that really changes things begin? We could say it begins with a spark. A single thought. It might be called "the lightbulb moment". A quick search at Merriam-Webster defines spark as...

Spark - as a noun

Garden, Health or Nature Center?

by Danny Summers

Logically thinking, we identify our Garden Retail operations as Garden Centers. For instance, just look at our name for The Garden Center Group. Your actual business name may include Garden Center (more frequently today is the word Gardens), or certainly Nursery, Nurseries, or even Greenhouse is common.

But there are some important trends that suggest there may be something more...

Sharing Success

by Danny Summers

Last month, I saw the news that Harris Rosen, founder of the Rosen Hotels & Resorts in the Orlando, Florida, area, passed away. That brought back thoughts and many memories of The Fall Event in 2015 and is the basis for this message. Harris was kind enough (and we were fortunate enough) to have him give The Group a personal welcome at the start of The Fall Event 2015. More about that a little later. But first, let me share what I have learned about Harris Rosen.

The Fall Event 2015 was in Orlando and our host hotel was the Rosen Plaza (one of three Rosen Hotels located in this area of International Drive), just across the street from the Orange County Convention Center, where The Landscape Show is held each year. The Landscape Show, produced by the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA), is a sister event to TPIE and serves the more general industry segments, more non-tropical, you might say. On the final day of The Fall Event 2015, participants were able to experience The Landscape Show.

New Treasures Found!

by Danny Summers

With every Group Gathering, I am excited to see what we will find and what we will learn. It is certainly always the case at The Fall Event. It is also true when we gather at other industry events.

Whether at MANTS, TPIE, Cultivate, or Farwest, the possibilities of new plants, new products and new ideas can bring great excitement!

The SPARK of an Idea

by Danny Summers

It is easy to make light of or dismiss a single idea, no matter how small it may seem at the time. What we most likely don't see at the time is the potential impact of that idea.

It could appear just to be a SPARK of an Idea. And, if we are not paying attention, we may miss opportunities.

When Does Spring Begin?

by Danny Summers

The answer to that question varies by who you ask, where their Garden Center is located, and of course... the weather!

For a technical answer, we can turn to the Old Farmers Almanac, which says the answer is:

New in 2025!

by Danny Summers

We are just 2 days away from the arrival of the New Year 2025 and in some ways, it has already begun. Just look at Week 1 above!

We have been busy working on a number of changes, tweaks, modifications and leap-forwards in a number of Group programs. Most of these have come through your input and suggestions along with sharp observations by our Service Provider Team.

What Matters Most

by Danny Summers

This time of year, as we greet family and friends and gather for Christmas and Holiday activities, it is the perfect time to count our blessings. Of course, for me, the blessings of faith, our family, our health, our friends, our work, and even our country are on this important list.

Karen and I have served the horticulture industry since 1988, when we first took on the position of managing and leading the Southern Nursery Association in Atlanta. Over the years, the number of amazing people we have met and worked with creates a list that is difficult even to imagine. I have often said:

Progress Ahead

by Danny Summers

Were you with us last Thursday for our December GROUPtalk LIVE Session?

We were fortunate to have some of our Centers who received the new Best in Category Awards with us to explore "How are they do it". Tim Quebedeaux began the session by sharing new data on three of the key categories: Annuals - Perennials - Tropicals (be sure to watch the recording for these new data views). And Group Best of Category Award Centers shared ideas on what is working well for them in these categories. There were important details being shared during this 1+ hour session so if you missed it, you can watch the full session recording. It has been added and is now available on the GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2024 page in The Group WebSystem.

Exploring What's Possible

by Danny Summers

You may remember in the July 8th GROUPtalk; I shared a message titled...

Drilling Down for Higher Performance

A Vision for 2025

by Danny Summers

In recent weeks, I was asked to share with the Ball Horticulture Team during one of their monthly meetings. My part was virtual with many gathered at the Ball Headquarters in West Chicago, with hundreds more from their locations around the world.

The request was (1) to give a brief overview of what The Group does, (2) to provide highlights of how the 2024 year is shaping up, and (3) any possible glimpse into 2025.

Connecting - with Heart

by Danny Summers

If you have been in The Group Experience for some time now, you know how much we have talked about the dynamic shift needed in the way our Centers connect to your audience. While there were some changes identified and discussed pre-COVID, beginning in the spring of 2020, the need for shifting seemed to get kicked into overdrive.

Let's back up a minute here... Our founder, Robert Hendrickson, was way ahead of the curve, as far back as the beginning of The Group itself. Everyone remembers how much Robert pushed you to "tell your story." He pushed to shift from a promotional message (plants or products with a price) to a connection to an experience. The was the first push The Group had to make an emotional connection.

Team Learning = Success!

by Danny Summers

When I first started working with The Group in 2012, I remember hearing from a number of our Owners this comment, "I just can't take on anything new. My plate is full."

It didn't take long for me to realize these were the same Owners who only had one person connected to all of The Group programs. You probably already know where I am headed with this...

Valuable GROUP Insights

by Danny Summers

If you have been into the flow of information within The Group this year, you know, overall sales year-to-date have been tracking about -5% down from 2023. While early weeks teased us with solid increases, some of the biggest spring weeks just did not keep pace with those same weeks of 2023, and that created the overall deficit we see today. By the way, those same big spring weeks where we fell short, we saw our Weather Rating reflecting downturns. Remember, we have always blamed the weather, but with our new Weather Rating we now have actual data to back it up.

But the sales at -5% is Total Group Average. All the Group Centers that participate in the Weekly Department Review (WDR) can login to The Group WebSystem and begin to explore in greater detail how the average develops, and much more importantly, who is well above the average!