Supporting Shelburne Farms

by Danny Summers

A New Event Idea - Annual Poultry Pageant?

[Last week Danny and Robert received this from Harold Dambly]

"We had our 1st Annual Poultry Pageant today, We had 31 Hen enter the pageant, it turned out to be an awesome event. (Weren't sure how many were going to show up.)  All ages from 5-6 years old to 75 or 80 year old. We also had many visitors to see the pageant. I have attached  some of the pictures, check out our Facebook page for more.

We judge them in 3 categories, Miss Congeniality, Best Feathers and Talent. with best score was crown MISS HEN of Camden County, there was also a runner up. We also award 1st , 2nd, and 3rd Places in each category. All winner are on our Facebook page.  All winner won prizes."

Why KidsGardening - Why Now

Getting the Next Generation Engaged in Gardening is More Important Than Ever

Since 1982, when KidsGardening launched the first school gardening grant, their driving mission at KidsGardening is the idea that every child deserves the opportunity to learn through the garden.

Today, many educators have shifted to place-based education - of which garden-based learning is a part. Place-based education is hands-on, real world learning that uses the local environment to help kids understand the natural world around them and their place in it.  And we know there’s no better place to do that than in a garden.

The Retailer of the Future will likely be a Retailer of the Past — just the most efficient version therein.

by Sid Raisch

As you know, there is a lot of noise in the media these days. It’s nothing new really. There’s always been a lot of noise. But it is noisier when it directly affects you. I’m talking about business noise, I mean news, in this instance.

There is a considerable amount of business news about happenings with retail chains, possibly because it is the most visible business segment, and at the top of the supply chain of other segments such as manufacturing of the things sold at retail.

A Hefty Dose of Reality

by Robert Hendrickson

One of the coolest outcomes of my career is meeting some of the smartest people on the planet. While the list continues to grow as a result of knowing someone who knows someone who introduces me to the next big brain person I meet, David Wolfe remains the one person that impresses me most with his knowledge and insight, especially when it comes to marketing. David sent me what I consider to be one of the top three business books ever written, Ageless Marketing (it so happens David’s other book Firms of Endearment is also one of my top three.) After reading his two books my approach to marketing has remained forever unwavering.

Over the last several years David and I worked together several times, at The Group’s 2007 Fall Event then at other workshop sessions where I invited him to speak. David died of cancer this past February. His perspective and straight forward approach to marketing and consumer insight will be sorely missed.

Let's Review and It's Time to Focus on Fall Customer Service!

by Danny Summers

Now is the BEST TIME to make sure your customer service will be the best it can be in the coming weeks. Each year a larger percentage of Mystery Shops are performed in the spring and summer weeks. While we still have four and a half months to go, we can take a look at YTD performance compared to Group Averages. Now is also a great time to order shops at your center for preparing for the Fall Season (if you don't already have them scheduled). So, first, let's take a look at how we did so far this year.

The following chart shows us The Group Total Score YTD for each major area of shop reporting compared to the same period in 2016 and the 15 year average (2002-2016). This includes shops performed through August 11th in both 2016 and 2017.

Sharing Spring 2017 Results

Danny Summers... with lots of help from my friends!

On July 17th Steve Bailey released our Mid-Year Weekly Department Review (WDR) to those participating. While not all 102 centers participating in the 2017 program were able to report, it still provides a good view of how Spring from each region. Steve featured some of the graphs on the cover page and there were some real differences (ups and downs).

Overall, The Group is showing a modest increase in sales and average sale year to date with a slight negative on transaction counts. But there are a number of very strong positives. There's lots of great things to share around each center's successes and we hope the comments offered below by these Group members will help to give you ideas. We started this process looking at figures reported in the MidYear WDR, however many centers have continued to add to their positive numbers in July so the following figures shared are from Week 29 of the WDR.

Retailers' Choice Awards™ at Cultivate'17

by Danny Summers

A Millennial’s Garden Comes Into Its Own - Part 2

by Tom Kegley

In an ongoing saga, the journey into gardening for the intrepid millennial has hit stride. Now 8+ weeks into the season, Lee’s garden is blooming with the delight to be expected if you’ve been around the track, as all in our circle have. Not without a few stumbles in the beginning, natural and otherwise, all in all, a well-placed source reports pleasure and bounty from efforts to date!

As a reminder of scope, this first-time gardener resurrected the former house owner’s dilapidated raised bed garden consisting of 6 - 4’x7’ beds. He filled it with a host of veggies and herbs well suited for the city garden– tomatoes (6 varieties), cucumber, squash, zucchini, peppers (banana, jalapeño, bell), and a range of herbs, including parsley, sage, basil, oregano, mint, and eucalyptus.

Native Plant Disconnect - let us hear from you!

by Robert Hendrickson

[a continued discussion from week of 6/19 on the GroupEs Listserve]

GroupE’s, Timely topic. The issue of natives/pollinators.

Denial is Under-Rated?

by Sid Raisch

She actually said this? I could hardly believe my ears, and had to ask, “would you please repeat what you just said?”

She said it again, “Yes - denial is under-rated as a coping mechanism.” Having just met her for the first time, I was both aghast, and willing to give her the benefit of doubt. Maybe she had it backward in her mind? Sadly, the further the conversation went, the clearer it was that she actually believed herself – that denial is a good coping mechanism. But of course, she’s dead wrong.

Revitalizing Reviews

by Jean L. Seawright, CMC

There’s no question that employees are more effective when working in an environment that promotes regular communication about expectations and results. The reality is that people want to know where they stand—even if it isn’t good. A performance review is one important tool that can help address this need by answering the burning question every employee has: “How am I doing?”  

Unfortunately, in many organizations, performance reviews have gone by the wayside, even though the younger generation of workers—the Millennials—are known for their need to receive regular feedback (and praise!) from management.

Every Strategy Matters

by John Kennedy

As we near the end of the magic “100 days of Spring”  in our garden center industry, the three short months of “driving dough”, or as the Stones kinda sang “I see a red ledger and I want to paint it black”, it’s a good time to sharpen your strategic tools and deliver every revenue-generating opportunity you possibly can.  

When 60-70% of your revenue is generated in such an abbreviated amount of time, every activity, every step, every touch, every strategy matters.

Let The Battle Begin


by Robert Hendrickson

I knew exactly what to expect. In fact I could have scripted the entire meeting word for word before we started. I've been asked numerous times by garden center owners to play good cop/bad cop with them and their ad agency. No surprise which cop I play. Even after garden center owners finally realize they've been wasting money, losing momentum and being misled by their ad agency representatives, they still want someone else to do the dirty work. Telling an agency they're no longer needed isn't that difficult. I've done it dozens of times. You send a letter to the CEO and simply say their services are no longer required. But for some reason these same garden center owners feel obligated to schedule a face to face meeting with the agency to share the bad news.

Big mistake.

A Millennial’s Journey to His Garden of Eden - Part 1

by Tom Kegley

News Flash:  After 9 years of a somewhat nomadic existence across two states and three cities, Millennial Son Lee Kegley is now the happy owner of a lovely and renovated 1940’s vintage colonial in the quaint Forest Hills section of Richmond, VA. He intends to stay for the foreseeable future, well entrenched in residential sales with the company he’s worked for since college, Ferguson Enterprises. Ferguson is the nation’s largest wholesale distributor of commercial and residential plumbing supplies, pipe, valves, fittings, waterworks, and HVAC/R products. Recently he attended a National Association of Home Builders conference where the keynote speaker shared insights on the dynamics of millennial home buying these days. Lee’s report to me on that coinciding with his April home purchase was revealing.

In GroupTalk issues to come, I hope to share Lee’s unfolding endeavors in his new residence pertaining to an amazing transformation (for him at least)– he’s become an enthusiastic home gardener!

The 2016 P&L Study – Let’s Talk Actual Numbers

by Steve Bailey

A few weeks back, we looked at the basic Profit & Loss Study, how it is constructed, and using your results to improve your Center’s performance.

Within the P&L Study, there are different subsets of Centers, most notably Retailers and Retailer/Growers. Also within the Study are subsets of Regional groups. Both are important as some results and ratios are more relevant to a mode of operation, others are tied more closely to a region of the country.

GrowIt! - Growth & NWF Effort

by Danny Summers

This week GrowIt! guru, Seth Reed shared details of their app usage growth last month. Here's the details on the app user growth.

April was our best month EVER!
We saw over 90,000 people log in to GrowIt! to find great plants, have plants identified, ask questions, and connect with other people that love plants. That brings our total member base to over 340,000. Engagement is high right now, this is the best time join our Garden Shop Program on GrowIt!. Spending as little as 15 minutes a week adding plants or answering questions can keep your content fresh and help you connect with the next generation of gardeners.
 
Crushing the Google Play Store
This week we became the 5th most popular app on Google Play's "House and Home" list. We even beat out Houzz! This is where people are going to find gardening help. Isn't it exciting that the only gardening app representing IGC's is this popular?

We are the only gardening app garnering this level of attention from consumers. Your customers and community are looking for apps like GrowIt! to find great plants to buy and grow. Join our Garden Shop Program and let GrowIt! promote you.

On the one hand, the Administration is committed to easing the regulatory burden for employers. On the other hand, government officials have made it abundantly clear that tougher enforcement of immigration laws is a priority, leaving employers who depend on immigrant workers uneasy.

New Form I-9 and Increased Penalties - Raise the Stakes for Immigration Noncompliance