The Colors of Spinach?

by Danny Summers

This message is not to introduce us to some new hybrid of our favorite leafy greens. But the idea for this came to me a week or so ago when I read a story by Stanberry Research of Dr. Harry Mitchell Sherman "The Colors of Healing."

Dr. Sherman was an accomplished surgeon in San Francisco in the early 1900s and in 1904, his observations set a new trend in operating rooms and hospitals across the country. Dr. Sherman realized how strained and tired his eyes became while doing surgery in a bright white environment. The white rooms and white cloth were popular back then and reflected the bright lights of the operating room. So he decided to swap out white surgical drapes for black ones, reducing the glare and making it easier to focus on the surgical procedure.

It Begins in Cincinnati

by Danny Summers

The year is 1837 and it was a time of economic hardships in the country. Two brothers-in-law, one a candle maker and the other a soap maker, were inspired by their father-in-law to bring their two crafts together into one business.

We take things like candles and soap for granted these days. But back in the 1800s, candles were essential for light, and the availability of hygiene products was extremely limited.

Timing Can Be Everything!

by Danny Summers

This story begins in the late 1920s with John Josiah Emery Jr., the son of a successful Cincinnati business family who made a fortune in Cincinnati’s rugged stockyards. The Emery family's success began in Cincinnati as early as 1840 when Emery's grandfather developed a successful lamp oil business which lead to candle making and continues even today as Oleo Chemicals. It is known for its best-in-class natural-based chemical solutions.

Emery dreamed of constructing the tallest building west of the Alleghenies. He hoped that his novel building would function as a “city within a city,” in which everything from boutique shops to office space could be found inside. He even planned on opening a luxurious new hotel within the structure that would rival the Waldorf Astoria.

Eureka!

by Danny Summers

At first glance, you might think of the word Eureka as referring to a city or town. There are 4 or more in the US alone. But this message is intended to challenge you to think about the word as an exclamation:

2022 P&L Study Review & Awards - Part C

by Tim Quebedeaux

Part C – “Best Practices Standards” – Inventory Turns, GMROII, and Balance Sheet

The last parts of the Study: Turns, GMROII & Balance Sheet, are only available to the participants who report through parts 4 and 5 of the P&L Study. They can compare how they performed as compared to their different sectors – Region, Mode of Operation, Sales Levels, and then Total Group and Best of the Best. They get to compare these metrics down to the category level! The level of detail here is where they have the information to win the game!

The Power of C

by Danny Summers

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. Though it may not be the cure for the common cold, the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, and many more.

But this message is not about vitamin C or oranges... at all.

Unreasonable!

by Sid Raisch

This spring has a lot of people scratching their heads as some pretty interesting things you could also call unreasonable have been going on.

• Introduction of Artificial Intelligence via Chat GPT, for FREE. 
• Consumers paying prices that were unimaginable in 2019-2020, (and plants are included).
• An elusive recession has economists stumped.

Building Bridges

by Danny Summers

This is a message for the future with observations and inspiration from the past.

The idea for this message came to me as we began to study Cincinnati as the site for The Fall Event 2023. There are five main bridges connecting Cincinnati to Kentucky just across the Ohio River. The oldest, and most stunning, is the one pictured here... now known as the John A. Roebling Bridge. Its story is both amazing and inspirational. This is a story of ground-breaking design that led the way for other bridges around the world, including a very famous one (more on that a little later).

2022 P&L Study Review & Awards - Part B

by Tim Quebedeaux

After recognizing the Winners of the Game – in P&L Study 2022 – Part A, we begin to look at what standards they set. Besides the big KPI’s reported in the first part of the study, we now look into the next few KPI’s measured in the study.

Your Physical Facility is an important part of your business and ultimately your profitability. Besides being a leading factor in which products you prominently present to your customers, it also gives you an allowance to charge what you need to so that you are profitable. Let’s dive into some Physical Facility Standards or benchmarks. We measure 3 major ratios: Revenues per Parking Space, Revenues per Acre, and Revenues per POS Terminal. By measuring these key ratios, we compare against the benchmarks as an alarm bell. If you are generating more than the standard in any of these metrics, you should be alarmed not into action but into investigation. For example, if you are generating more than one million per POS terminal, then you want to look at your busiest weekend to determine if you need to increase the number of terminals to handle peak business. From there take action as needed.

Reaching Your Audience

by Danny Summers

Reaching Your Audience has changed... a lot! If we could turn back time about 20 years, we would see Garden Centers reaching their audience in almost completely different ways... such as through direct mail, newspaper ads, a local radio stations, and email was becoming more widely used.

Fast-forward to today and the list has changed... almost completely. There is very limited direct mail being used today, and most of those are postcards and Every Door Delivery (EDD). A few Centers are still using local radio but streaming services such as Spotify and SiriusXM is attracting larger audiences. And a number of social platforms have reached new heights of influence.

2022 P&L Study Review & Awards - Part A

by Tim Quebedeaux

Congrats to all the Garden Group Centers that reported in the 2022 P&L Study! To be able to even think about changing your business for the better, you need to be able to measure what you are going to change. Being able to report to The Garden Center Group Annual P&L Study is a great start! Once you have that accountability in the numbers, the all-important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), you can begin to hold your business accountable for its profitability!

The P&L Study measures many different KPI0s. It starts with the big one, Revenue by category or department. Then it measures the next three as a percentage of those revenues, Cost of Goods Sold (and the reciprocal, Margin), Operating Expenses, Wage & Wage Benefits. Leaving us with the most important measurement that we all depend on, Profitability.

For Busy Times – New WDR Online Quick Views

By Danny Summers

The Weekly Department Review, known by all of The Group as WDR, has seen great change and development over the 20+ years since its beginning. First beginning as a fax-based composite report, then moving to an email and spreadsheet-based program, it has become a unique tool for knowing the pulse of business activity. It began with only a handful of Centers participating to well over a hundred reporting today and has seen much growth, further development, and acceptance through the years. Since its beginning, the WDR's most unique feature is that it is fully open (not blind) and you can see each Center's name.

Just as the jump from fax to email meant a major milestone, so has another been set beginning this year as the WDR moved to a web-based system. This move has changed the WDR from a static report, a snapshot at a particular point in time, to a position of LIVE DATA with tremendous data mining capabilities. In January, as we introduced the new WDR Online, we did so with over 9 different views for comparing, filtering, and analyzing many points of data. And now we have added even more.

Save More Now, So You Can Spend More Later

by Sid Raisch

The best time to save money is to reduce spending precisely when and where we are spending the most.

There is never a time that we spend more than right now in the peak of spring in this business. Reducing spending by a small percentage now yields greater dollars of savings than saving a big percentage, but a small amount in July, August, January, or February. Let’s spend less all the time.

Riding the Wave

by Danny Summers

We have talked before about the trend of seeing Plants and the activity of Gardening being leveraged while promoting non-related products or services. This is Riding the Wave of the growing popularity of what your Center offers... every day. Here's another example...

I was standing in the checkout line last week at our neighborhood Publix grocery store. I glanced at the magazines on display as I waited my turn. One publication slapped me in the face instantly. The title:

Talent Development is All Math!

by John Kennedy

As we see the initial signs of the 2023 economy play themselves out in April’s numbers, and forecast for May, June and July are just around the corner, we should never underestimate the investment in your people.

One of the Centers within The Garden Center Group has committed to a “People First” vision for 2023. Another has committed to “Build the Bench!” in 2023, and both are poised to propel themselves into the future of their businesses by focusing on the soft skills just as much as the hard goods of their retail operation.

The Group Knowledge Experience

by Danny Summers

The power of The Group comes in many forms and functions but behind each is hundreds of talented professionals who have a common purpose... to be the best Garden Retailer in their community. They also share a common bond through The Group and are willing to share openly with peer Centers to help others reach higher.

This was in full display last week as the April GROUPtalk LIVE Series was being held. Above is an image of some of those participating as we spotlighted four Centers across the Southern Regions to hear their experience so far this season.

A Fresh Air Store?

by Danny Summers

You may remember a few weeks ago, I shared a message titled "A Nature Store?" The overall idea was how much Garden Centers should position themselves as a vital part of nature and their audience should think of the Garden Center, their own garden, and the activity of gardening as an important part of their own health and wellness.

Coming out of winter, it is easy to attract your audience who have the internal human need for spring, its fresh new growth, its plants, flowers, and everything in the garden. Just the promise of spring helps to bridge the gap caused by "winter blues." And it is easy to recognize your Center is needed at this time of year. What I am sharing today may help you more at other times of the year. This past week I ran across a story titled:

Visions of Spring

by Danny Summers

How big will the Spring Season be in 2023? That's a common question we all consider for months. It began last fall or even earlier. But here we are the first week of April and while most central to northern locations are just getting started, we have the benefit of seeing what's happening at The Group Centers in more southern regions.

We have been watching intently, every week when we get our WDR Reporting. And so far what we see is pretty encouraging. We all remember how 2022 gave us higher Average Sales but lower Transaction Counts. And most recognize that was a result of a compressed season last year (late Spring and early Summer).

Collaborate

by Danny Summers

Collaborate seems like a pretty lite word to describe what we do here in The Group. A quick synonym search for alternatives finds: Cooperate, Unite, Join, Team-Up, Pull Together, Hang Together, and many more. All of these combined much better describe what we know today as The Group.

In the coming weeks and months you will see us having more sessions to bring The Group together... to Collaborate!

Survival, Success, and Significance: Phases of Spring

by Sid Raisch

Have you noticed the Phases of Spring that occur as we approach, endure, and emerge from the annual 100 Days of Horticulture Hell crisis?

There is a naturally occurring progression of events and associated emotions during the early spring through until the summer seasons.