The Art of Refining Numbers

by Danny Summers

As of last week, "the number" is 864,936.

At this point, I hope I have your attention, and your curiosity is fully engaged.

The Group collects, organizes, and shares lots of numbers. We have been doing so since the year 2000. Yes, this is the 26th year since its beginning and the 25th anniversary of the first Fall Event in 2001.

The level of numbers and the way they are collected, analyzed, and shared have evolved significantly since then, both in the Weekly Department Review (WDR) and the Annual P&L Study, which began in 2004.

Back to "the number"... 864,936.

In Week 1 of 2023, the WDR took a big leap forward when we moved it from an emailed spreadsheet system to an online, cloud-based system. At that point, it became an interactive, searchable resource of numbers, with each week's additions, adding to the many weeks of data already in place. This is in stark contrast to the single snapshot of numbers, locked in time, for one week only in the old format.

Since Week 1 in 2023, through Week 16 of this year, there have been 12,013 weekly uploads.

Each upload a Group Center completes contains 72 different data points. This includes sales and margin % for 27 Group Categories, plus tracking of Bonus Bucks and Gift Card sales. Then we add 16 other data points for Total Sales by week and year-to-date, Average Sale, Transaction Counts, and item count per transaction, along with 3 weather-related stats, and then Labor-to-Sales ratio and Inventory.

When we take the 12,013 weekly uploads and multiply by 72 different data points, it results in... 12,013 x 72 = 864,936

It is not an overstatement to say... it's a lot of numbers!

Because of this, we have been working on updating our reporting and filtering of certain areas, especially for Category Reports. The goal is to allow for this huge amount of data to be available for drilling down and creating many ways to analyze this mountain of data.

And so this week, we introduce you to our new updated reports for the Categories. Tim Quebedeaux, our "Cajun Numbers Cruncher," said when introducing these new reports...

For Group Centers who are reporting, following login, you will go to the WDR menu in the big blue menu bar, hovering over WDR, they will see WDR Dashboard, WDR UpLoad, and WDR Training, all as before.

By scrolling down and hovering over you then see 2 submenus, WDR Resources and WDR Category Reports. The WDR Resources takes you to an index page showing 8 different report options for Sales, Average Sale and Transaction Counts reporting, each for total Group, Regional and individual Centers.

The other submenu option is WDR Category Reports. There you will see this new index page.

The first report option is By Region - % of Revenue by Category. This report includes % of Sales each category represents in each region. You can also change the date range for a different weeks as well as individual Garden Centers. These are fast filters when you use each pull down and make selections for filtering.

The second report is the Category Sales Breakout - Top Sellers. This totally new view shows the Top 6 selling categories each week in column format. Here you can see the progression of each key category each week. And, of course, you can filter on any Category up to 6 at a time), any Region, or any single Center. This too is fast filtering and very responsive!

The third report is Category by Garden Center. This report shows actual Sales Dollars for all categories. You can also filter by Region and see all Centers in that Region. This page scrolls left to right, showing all Centers' column of all Categories. I'm not showing this page sample as it shows actual reporting Centers' numbers. You need to login and see it for yourself!

The fourth Report is Category Sales Trend. This report defaults to total sales and shows each week's sales on a bar graph. Here, you can filter on any one Category, any groups of Categories combined (such as all greengoods), and then any Region or individual Center.

Both the Category Sales Breakout - Top Sellers and the Category Sales Trend track each week in a column so as the season or year progresses, you will see all the weeks shown on one graph. Just like the 3 KPIs WTD Summary report on the WDR Dashboard page... having the trend for each week in one graph tells a big story and features last year's sales as comparison. Here's that report below.

Four Quarts in a Two Quart Jar!
That's how I often describe the WDR when talking with new Centers. Compiling so much data, with the ability to filter and view in so many ways, can be more than you can absorb or take in at any one time. But one thing is clear...

Participating each week and reviewing your Center's numbers, compared to others in your Region or across the country, and seeing what other Centers who might be in an area ahead of your season, can offer something so very important... a finger on the pulse!

I am excited about the work that Tim Quebedeaux and Souny Kennedy have done in these new Category Reports, making them so fast and responsive. They are truly artists in The Art of Refining Numbers. Thank you, Tim and Souny!

These new Category Reports, added to the other reports, both the Dashboard quick-view report options and the WDR Resource Report options, all create an exclusive view for what's happening and real comparisons to help you make solid management decisions.

A special Thank You to every Center that is reporting each week. You are part of a caring, sharing, and resourceful Group! We hope you will explore these new reports and let us know what you think.

And, of course, if you have ideas on how we can improve any of them, we are here and ready!

Danny Summers
[email protected]
Tel: 678-909-7770
Cell: 678-761-7145

REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, John Kennedy, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!