What Did You Miss?

by Danny Summers

Three weeks ago, in the February 02 GROUPtalk, the title of my message was: "February - Loaded with Opportunities." It highlighted the many things scheduled that you could be a part of this month, including the three GROUPtalk LIVE sessions.

It's unusual for us to have three scheduled in one month, but we wanted to cover these topics before you get too busy with spring. If you missed any one or more, here's a recap plus more details.

On Tuesday, February 10th, Rachel Reynolds, presented...

But is it Shoppable? Creating Displays that Customers Actually Buy From

It was a busy 70-minute session on Visual Merchandising during our regular GROUPtalk LIVE with tons of Rachel's creative ideas plus a lively Q&A following. This entire program is now available to watch in The Group's WebSystem... simply navigate after login to: CLIENTS-ONLY menu and then to TRAINING: GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2026.

This session was just a sample of what Rachel is creating in a new online educational series... Displaying Confidence! Here's a "sneak peek" of the upcoming program:


A Visual Merchandising Program for Independent Garden Centers
Displaying Confidence is a visual merchandising training + community experience designed specifically for independent garden centers that want their store to feel more inspiring and more shoppable, and be more profitable. Your staff will learn foundational merchandising skills and how to cultivate self leadership in a high-profile role. 

Created by Rachel Reynolds of Birds Eye Visual Merchandising (former garden center employee + seasoned nursery visual merchandiser), this program teaches garden center owners and staff how to create intentional, beautiful, high-converting displays that help customers buy more, feel more confident, and stay longer in the store.

This is not just a course: it’s an interactive, supportive community with ongoing support, monthly live calls, and real-world merchandising strategy that can be applied immediately on the sales floor. 

What’s Included:

• 10 modules, 20 videos covering topics ranging from color theory, consumer psychology, pottery, add-on sales and communication in a self-paced, easily digestible format
• Monthly live coaching calls

• A supportive community space to post displays and receive personalized feedback from Rachel
• Access to the garden center display photo archive with examples that inspire and illustrate visual merchandising techniques

Who It’s For... It's Perfect for: Independent Garden Center Owners, Store Managers, Visual Merchandisers / Retail Leads, and Staff who build displays, set tables, or manage plant zones! It's especially helpful for teams who know their product is amazing but the store feels “random”
and want clear framework and actionable steps to creating profitable displays.

Rachel created the following quick video introduction to the program for you. 

Watch for more details, special offer for Group Centers & signup...coming soon!

Last week, we also had two Special GROUPtalk LIVES.

On Tuesday, February 17th, Tim Quebedeaux and Souny and John Kennedy presented...

Pricing for Profit & Marketing for Momentum in the New Frontier of E-Commerce Drop-Shipping

The work that John and Souny have done through BoomerWrangle in crafting Drop-Ship options for Garden Centers is creating a growing interest. How Group Centers handle drop-shipping is what Tim Quebedeaux shared during this session. He offered ideas for practical pricing for drop-shipping products alongside your in-store inventory—without margin erosion or customer confusion.

Then Souny and John Kennedy shared how Canva marketing templates make it easy to promote drop-shipped items consistently and quickly while also navigating new programs and partnerships within the E-Commerce Connect Platform. This was one of The Group's largest attended sessions so it substantiates the growing interest to learn more. This entire program is now available to watch in The Group's WebSystem... simply navigate after login to: CLIENTS-ONLY menu and then to TRAINING: GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2026.

Then on Thursday, February 19th, Sam Kirkland, National Accounts Manager and Annie Schneider, Senior Director of Product Marketing, at Epicor Retail presented...

Drive Garden Center Operational Efficiency with Smart Technology & AI

I introduced this session by saying:

This is NOT simply a promotion for Epicor. The idea of this session came when Tim Quebedeaux and I visited with Sam Kirkland at MANTS 2026. The conversation lead to discussing AI and how Retailers are getting more comfortable it utilizing it. Sam shared some of the details on how Epicor is building AI into their systems to help with OPERATIONS. 

Since using it for OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES was relatively a new area, we thought this would be a good message to share. We hope it can provide ideas on how to leverage AI in your operations, not just marketing efforts. Sam also shared with us concerns Epicor has in simply using public AI tools and how it can expose your information to outside sources.

This entire program is now available to watch in The Group's WebSystem... simply navigate after login to: CLIENTS-ONLY menu and then to TRAINING: GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2026.

So... What did You Miss? You can see there's a lot to catch up on (thinking you may have only seen one of these). You probably also have staff that could benefit from seeing one or more of them. If you or they need help logging in, send me a text or call. We are here to help you make the most out of each session and, of course, everything The Group offers.

And finally, I know Tim Quebedeaux is collecting a few last minute additions to the 2025 P&L Study. He said it looks like we will have a large number participating in this year's study. And why not... it's your customized report and it's included with your retainer!

I can't wait to see the results on Match 10th during our March GROUPtalk LIVE session! More details are below. Have a great week!

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, John Kennedy, Seawright & Associates, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!