Jul 8, 2015
Columbus BoundBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Hopefully a strong spring is behind you and you can get a little breathing room because it’s trade show season! The first stop on my summer trade show circuit is Columbus for Cultivate’15, starting Saturday.

The agenda is jam-packed with a lot of great events, education sessions and time to check out new products on the show floor.

Are you heading to Cultivate’15? Stop by the Retail District at 2 p.m. Sunday to cheer on your fellow retailers in the Minute to Win It – Retail Challenge. And come say hi to the team from Lawn & Garden Retailer and GPN in booth #1501. We can’t wait to see you!

Ready to Read

The July issue is hot off the presses, and this one is like a trade show in print. Open the issue to find merchandising ideas from some top Michigan garden centers, trends in green goods, marketing ideas to beat the big boxes, plenty of new products and even some trade show strategies.

What’s Your Mission?

While on the GCA Summer Tour, we stopped at Ebert’s Greenhouse Village in Ixonia, Wisconsin. Front and center before even walking through the doors was the retailer’s mission statement.

I then saw this article, “Is Your Mission Strange,” which talkes about the difference between an economic and ecological approach for a mission statement.

I’d love to know … Does your garden center have a mission statement? What is it? How much does it guide your business? Do you share it with your customers? Shoot me a message at [email protected].

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Abby (Kleckler) McGarry is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].