Plants R Us!

by Danny Summers

Not even unpacked yet and they have a plant in the room!

Does this title seem familiar? I first related it to Toys R Us. It came to mind when I was working on a presentation to share at Farwest 2022 a few weeks ago. I was looking for a graphic that represented new first-time young home buyers. Just the weekend before we had been helping our great nephew, Zac, and his wife, paint at their new home they recently purchased. They had not yet moved any furniture in but just inside the front door, next to a window, they already had a new tropical plant sitting there.

More... What's New!

by Danny Summers

This past week the Farwest 2022 Show was held in Portland and we had a great group of Retail Judges working the show on the first day to nominate plants and products for the Retailers' Choice Awards™. Even if you were not with us, you can see all of the "what's new" that received the awards... right here!

First, let me say it was great to be in Portland and to experience the Farwest 2022. The city looked great and since my last visit, a new Hyatt has been added directly across the street from the Oregon Convention Center. That coupled with the Max Lite-Rail system directly between the two made it was super easy to navigate to and from Portland International Airport (PDX). The show looked fantastic and all of the wonderful products we expect from the Northwest region were on full display!

Continual Learning

by Danny Summers

Don't you just love this photo? I do. Our wish for everyone should be to have a real passion for learning throughout life. In many ways, I believe it may be one of the very best ways to stay young. Many of us were fortunate enough to know Ernest Wertheim and even in his 90's he was asking many questions and had a passion for learning and encouraged everyone around him to do the same. He is an example of why we should have a passion for learning!

The idea of this message came to me as I was thinking back on where we have been the past two and a half years. We have certainly learned a lot in that period of time.

What If…

By Danny Summers

What If... someday you are busy with your normal routine and... something really magical happens.

Sometimes new ideas that are real innovations come when you least expect them. And maybe even when you're not really even paying attention. Can you imagine having such a new idea that is so innovative that it creates a whole new business or product line? That is exactly what this story is about. And it is TRUE.

Beyond the Boundaries Thinking

by Danny Summers

Have you seen all of The Fall Event Session Titles and Descriptions?
If not be sure to click on the program image below - only after you read this complete GROUPtalk!

If you have seen them you will quickly recognize my ideas here. If you have not, let me set the stage for what you will experience and the opportunities ahead.

The Search for NEW and DIFFERENT - Parts 1 & 2

by Danny Summers

The Search for what's New and Different can be exciting. It brings with it a level of anticipation and intrigue. You never know what you will find and while most of the time the "finds" are of minor gains or impact, sometimes they are big gains. And in the plant world in which we live, new plants can create some of the most excitement for us.

This past week, many of us experienced Cultivate'22 along with thousands of other industry participants. This year, international participation was back strong and overall Cultivate'22 was extremely busy. We had a great group of Retailers who worked the show to nominate and vote on our Retailers' Choice Awards™ (a special Thank You to all of you who did).

Polishing Details

by Danny Summers

As Group Centers are closing the books on Spring 2022 and the first half of the year, this is the perfect time to not only review the results but also begin to set in motion your plans for Polishing Details for the second half of the year and even 2023.

We have just received details from Tim Quebedeaux for The Group's Mid-Year Weekly Department Review (WDR) and we can now see individual category performances compared to previous years.

Shopping Habits of 2022

By Danny Summers

ATTENTION: You have an assignment!

As I share this message with you this week, Tim Quebedeaux is finalizing our Mid-Year Weekly Department Review (WDR) and this is always an exciting time to see how the balance of sale by-category (department) compares to previous years. While we have the Year-to-Date tracking each week for what we call "The Big Three"... Sales, Average Sale, and Transaction Count, we can only see sales (and margin) by category for each particular week. As we wait eagerly on the Mid-Year WDR details, there is something I would like for you to consider.

Setting the stage for my challenge this week for each Center, let me first provide a refresher that we all know well from the previous two years and compared against our YTD numbers from Week 26. (Note: These figures are comparing the WDR – Week 26 for 2020, 2021 and 2022.)

Search for the Best!

by Danny Summers

New Plants and New Products create excitement. The combination of anticipation, expectations, and optimism drives the powerful will to explore. Just ask Indiana Jones – although he wasn't searching for what's new.

The interest in what's new is certainly true in our industry and two weeks from now, many of us will be at Cultivate'22 in Columbus, Ohio. While its roots have been in floriculture production, today Cultivate includes all segments of the industry and covers all five of what I call our standard greengoods categories: Annuals, Herbs/Veggies, Perennials, Shrubs and Trees – and even a few Tropicals.

Bring Your Best

by Danny Sumnmers

At first glance at this title, you might think it could be encouraging you to "Bring Your Best" to work every day. Or it could be an over-arching goal for everything you do. And both should be a goal. But this title is directed toward all of the combined knowledge, experience, and perspectives we will have as we meet at The Fall Event 2022. If we visualize all of the people sitting in the opening session, many are seasoned Garden Retailers, some are new to their positions, and some are the very best suppliers we have in our industry. Then if you add all our team of Group Service Providers we have even more combined experience. But it's not just the most experienced people that add so much – it's also the newcomers to the business. The younger generation comes from other backgrounds and has new and fresh perspectives and ideas.

The Power of Connection!

by Danny Summers

I believe the Power of Connection can mean everything! We saw first-hand what all of us being connected through The Group meant during the turbulent weeks in the spring of 2020. And even since then the Power of Connection has shown us much more. It enabled us to quickly pivot to react to the changing retail environment and needs of your Guests. It also provided results from these positive management changes through our Annual P&L Studies for both 2020 and 2021. The fact is your Power of Connection with 130+ peer Centers through The Group offers the unique resources many other Centers do not have.

The Power of Connection could also describe what we have witnessed over the past two years with so many people being drawn to the activity of gardening and having plants in their lives. Last year at The Fall Event 2021 we experienced The Nature Fix story by Florence Williams and why we all need more nature in our lives. This has not changed in 2022, even though sometimes weather restricts our opportunities. The Power of Connection with gardening and plants and their positive benefits should remain one of our primary focuses to share with everyone.

Service Please!

by Danny Summers

Sir Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."

This simply yet powerful statement emphasizes the importance of serving. Whether serving our family, our faith, our community, our country, or each and every person we see each day, the act of serving has great value. This also relates to every Guest that enters your Center. On May 2 of this year you may remember a message I shared titled "At Your Service". In that message, I said there is one thing you and your Team can do to begin... (Ok, actually 3 things)

The Final Stretch

by Danny Summers

With a quick glance at the calendar and the Weekly Department Review (WDR) it is easy to see we are in "The Final Stretch" the spark for this blog post title. This has certainly been a different season, a late-arriving spring almost everywhere and when comparing numbers from the previous two years which both arrived earlier (and maybe stayed longer), we have had some year-to-date deficits to overcome this season.

I must admit I normally don't follow horse racing and normally don't watch the major races. We have enjoyed being with close friends who live in the Lexington and Louisville Kentucky areas in past years and have actually been to both Churchill Downs and Keeneland (just not on the big race days). Our friends Louis and Betsy Hillenmeyer have taken us to several of the farms around Lexington and we have marveled at the wonderful horses we saw there. But a few weeks ago when hearing the news following this year's Kentucky Derby, I realized there could be a correlation between the story of this year's Kentucky Derby unlikely winner and our Garden Retailing efforts this year. Here's just a little of the story of Rich Strike, the 1st Place Winner of the 148th running of The Kentucky Derby...

Beyond the Boundaries!

by Danny Summers

This week begins our roll-out of plans for The Fall Event 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. Let me start by saying I am confident this will rival the very best in The Group's history. Just think about the very best Fall Event you have experienced and know this will be even better!

It's all coming together in Kansas City... the location with so many wonderful things to do, our hotel and its character and location - just a block from dozens of great restaurants and shops, plus amazing Garden Centers to explore on Tour Day. Kansas City has it all and September 19-22 will be a wonderful time for all of us to share, learn and grow!

What Matters the Most

by Danny Summers

This past week, I ran across a short story that I had seen and enjoyed before. I have seen it titled several different ways and always its author is listed as "unknown." It's Week 21 and this is some of the busiest times for you and your Center. It's Week 21 and this is some of the busiest times for you and your Center, but I hope you will take a few minutes to read (or re-read) this story of making time for what matters most...

When things in our lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

Report Card Grade: Not Yet!

by Danny Summers

At first glance, you might think I am referring to Spring 2022 performance numbers and this title very well could be used to describe the late spring arrival and the numbers we are seeing in the Weekly Department Review (WDR). But I want to first ask the question... Have you ever heard of a Report Card Grade of "Not Yet"? I hadn't until a few weeks ago when I found a quote by Dr. Carol Dweck to use in the April 25th edition of GROUPtalk for the Quote of the Week. The quote is:

“The hallmark of successful people is that they are always stretching themselves to learn new things."  ~ Dr. Carol S. Dweck

Dr. Dweck is a renowned psychologist who introduced the world to the term “growth mindset”. She is the author of Mindset, a book that introduced the differences between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset. As I read more and even watched several presentations of Dr. Dweck's work and her research on having a growth mindset, I realized this is not just for children and their development. It applies to all of us.

Hot Water in the Bathtub

by Danny Summers

I know what you're thinking... What does this have to do with Garden Retailing?

This is a visual illustration of a concept I learned a long time ago. It relates to both balance of sale as well as ways to raise your overall margin percentages.

At Your Service!

by Danny Summers

The Spring Season is now in full swing across the country. I saw this first hand this past week as I visited many of the Garden Centers in the Kansas City area while making preparations for The Fall Event 2022. It is an exciting time!

To behold a Garden Center in its greatest glory, all decked out and busting at the seams in all of nature's beauty, and to see the excitement in every Guest's eyes and the expressions on their faces when they catch a glimpse of it... it's like a kid on Christmas morning.

The Gold Standard - Gold, Hallmark & GMROII

by Danny Summers

Gold has been a highly-valued precious metal throughout recorded history. Gold hallmarks originated to show the purity of gold in a piece of gold jewelry and included the mark of the certifying office that guaranteed the purity as well as the fineness or caratage of the gold. Later, trademarks that showed which goldsmith had manufactured the product were added.

Hallmarking gold jewelry was Europe's earliest form of consumer protection, dating back to King Louis IX of France and Edward I of England in the 1200s. As craft guilds sprung up in these two dominant markets during the Middle Ages in Europe, state-appointed assayers examined precious metal goods. Their prescribed mark, and subsequently marks for individual goldsmiths and production dates, became a pre-requisite for gold items offered for public sale.

The POWER of Water!

by Danny Summers

We know the amazing Power of Plants. We have known this instinctively for decades and we have also seen direct evidence first-hand over the last several years. At the same time, we also know water is one of the most essential resources for all living things.

In fact, our bodies are made up of at least 60% water. Do you know our brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water? The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are composed of 79%, and even the bones are watery at 31%. (READ MORE HERE).