May 27, 2015
The Great Lake StateBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

What better way to spend some time between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day than checking out garden centers? Editorial Director Tim Hodson and I rented a clown car – also referred to as a tiny Fiat – and up to Michigan we drove.

I posted some highlights from the seven garden centers along the journey on the Lawn & Garden Retailer Facebook page. If you haven’t already, we’d love if you “like” our page for great IGC merchandising ideas and garden center tour photo galleries.

Who’s Your Customer?

Our first stop on the trip, Sawyer Garden Center in – you guessed it – Sawyer, Michigan, got me thinking a lot about customer base.

The Village of Sawyer is small, made up of around 1,300 people if you include the surrounding communities. With the garden center situated right off the highway, owner Linda Patejdl says many customers are traveling from Illinois or Indiana on the weekends.

For this reason, Sawyer has everything: grocery items, housewares, apparel, toys, gifts and of course everything for the garden.

How does your unique customer base drive your store in unexpected ways? Does it change the events you offer? How about the products you carry? Tell me about it at [email protected].

Time’s Running Out

There’s no other way to say it: You have less than three weeks to enter L&GR’s Merchandiser of the Year Competition.

This year’s winner will receive a $500 Wholesale Gift Credit and a 15% discount for the Braun Horticulture 2015 Catalog offering (1 time) and one Dramm 60410 Display (MSRP $2,869).

Click here to find out how easy it is to participate or shoot me an email.

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

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