When I first thought of this message, I asked myself... "Where do I begin?"
Even if you cannot be with us at The Fall Event 2026... this can be of real interest to you. And if you will be with us, this is a preview of what to see, who to connect with and what to dive into learning more about. Back to where to begin...
New for The Fall Event 2026 is on Monday morning, September 28th...
The spark of The Group's beginnings came from a small group of Garden Retailers talking through "what if" ideas. At its core, it centered on learning from each other.
In the early days, most of that sharing and learning happened at the owner level –– peer-to-peer, but the peers were owners.
As a follow-up to last week's message, there is growing evidence in the media today that large companies that cut their workforce and replaced workers with AI-based systems are starting to put things in REVERSE. Here's just one news report I have seen over the last few weeks...
It's an Inc Magazine article. The author notes that most businesses today say they use some form of AI in their operations. It then mentions firms that simultaneously downsize their workforce.
A recent order inside the E-Commerce Connect network made us stop and think. The order totaled $1,900—all placed in a single transaction with larger quantities of plants. When we first saw it, our initial thought was simple: maybe it’s a homeowner tackling a major landscape project. That certainly happens. Many passionate gardeners will invest heavily when redesigning a yard or installing new beds.
But it also raised a bigger question - Who is the real customer of your garden center’s online store?
The ability to read your audience (and market) is probably one of the most important roles in managing any business today. I sometimes call this "reading the tea leaves."
I wonder if anyone truly has all the secrets for doing so. But establishing a culture or practice for you and your team to monitor trends and understand your audience on an ongoing basis is essential. With this in mind, I want to challenge you to develop a regular schedule for discussing this topic as a team. Maybe call it "Trend Watch" or perhaps even... Reading the Tea Leaves. (just kidding)
The Fall Event 2025 set new records for The Group. Obviously, the easiest one to recognize is overall participation. It was the largest attendance since The Fall Event began in 2001.
But if you were with us, there are several other areas that are easily recognized as gaining momentum... Peer-Sharing and Use of Technologies.
In this second installment of a two-part series on the E-Commerce movement, John shares “The What & The How” of the E-Commerce Connect program and invites Group Members to enjoy the benefits of the additional revenue while reducing your inventory and labor costs. There will also be a panel discussion at The Fall Event discussing the E-Commerce Connect Program.
Two years ago, this past May, I was invited to write an article about the growing trend of independent garden centers looking to increase their revenue and relevance within the convenience economy space of e-commerce. The link to the initial article can be found HERE. And the Part 1 of this message is in my Group Blog HERE.
In this first installment of a two-part series on the E-Commerce movement, John explains “The Why” regarding IGC’s leveraging technology to reduce the impact of weather from their foot traffic and expand your customer experience into a 24/7 model.
Two years ago, this past May, I was invited to write an article about the growing trend of independent garden centers looking to increase their revenue and relevance within the convenience economy space of e-commerce. The link to the initial article can be found HERE.
One area I am always watching as I receive many of your enews is new ideas or topics for workshops or events. Our Centers are creating some amazing events these days. I wish you would share more across The Group. We should develop a regular sharing in our Marketing eList for each of your unique events... SO PLEASE SHARE!
Here's one topic I bet you don't have on your list (except for Down to Earth)... many of you have Pumpkin Carving events... but how about:
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.
You may remember in the July 8th GROUPtalk; I shared a message titled...
Drilling Down for Higher Performance
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.
A few years ago, a grower client was trying to come up with new ideas to improve and innovate the customer experience within their business model. My suggestion set off a chain reaction of ideas and improvements by the simple (yet somewhat complex) approach—why don’t we ask the customer?
Note: Don’t ask a question if you’re not prepared to hear the answer!
Being connected can be one of the most beneficial assets for each of us. And when you consider how we are connected here through The Group and what a tremendous bank of knowledge and resources we have collectively, the idea of Connections means even more.
When I see the image above and the hand touching the surface of the water and in doing so creating a ripple effect, this is symbolic of one person here in The Group, reaching out and starting a conversation. For instance, by sending a single email through one of our eLists – we'll use GroupEs as an example. This one email, almost instantly, is delivered to over 700 mailboxes! This is when the conversation with connections begins and the knowledge and experience are shared.
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.