Minnesota IGC Adds Retail Building Anchored by Wine and Spirits Seller

Lotus Lawn & Garden, Chanhassen, MI, is adding an 8,000-square-foot retail building - anchored by a wine and spirits store. Owner Jay Kronick told the Star Tribune there’s a “certain affinity between gardening and wine drinking – both are leisure activities that people really enjoy.” The wine and spirits seller will occupy about 5,000 square feet of the new development; a pair of tenants are being sought for the remaining space.

IGC Show Keynote Josh Viertel Honored by World Economic Forum

IGC Show Keynote Speaker Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food USA, has been named among the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders, a prestigious honor bestowed each year to outstanding young leaders for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. Viertel is among 197 young leaders honored this year, selected by committee from a pool of close to 5,000 candidates. His organization, Slow Food USA, is a grassroots movement with more than 200 chapters nationwide that promote sustainability and biodiversity and connect farmers, cooks, educators, students and others who care about their food and the environment. Viertel’s IGC Show keynote, “The Fastest Growing Trend in Gardening – Food,” takes the stage at Chicago’s Navy Pier August 18, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. For more information about the show and to register, visit IGCShow.com.

Southern Living Plant Collection Expands Distribution with Added Growers

PDSI is expanding the distribution of the Southern Living Plant Collection by adding seven wholesalers to the licensed grower group: Carolina Nurseries, SC, Country Pines Nursery, LA, Greenforest Nursery, MS, Harrell’s Nursery, FL, Magnolia Gardens Nursery, TX, Parson’s Nursery, SC, and Transplant Nursery, GA.

Burpee Home Gardens Gets Ad Push in Consumer Magazines

IGCs selling Burpee Home Gardens garden-ready vegetable and herb plants will see an advertising push in big-name consumer magazines this spring. Beginning in April, Burpee Home Gardens will run full-page ads in home and lifestyle titles Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Health and Parents, as well as special interest titles Food Network Magazine, Vegetarian Times and Urban Farm. A total of 14 ad pages are planned for a target 19 million impressions. The Burpee branded program is a joint launch from Ball Horticultural Company and W. Atlee Burpee Company.

Encore Azalea Expands Grower Group

Encore Azalea has expanded its licensed grower group with the addition of five wholesalers: Bracy’s Nursery, LA, Carolina Nurseries, SC, Hackney Nursery Company, FL, Hines Nurseries, AZ, CA, TX and OR, and Windmill Nursery, LA. The additions will increase the availability of Encore Azaleas in current distribution areas and provide “much-needed” increased distribution in California, according to Kip McConnell, Director of PDSI, the grower and plant breeder of Encore Azalea.

PDSI Adds Carolina Nurseries to Growers

Plant Development Services, Inc. (PDSI), the grower and plant brander of Encore Azalea and the Southern Living Plant Collection, has added Carolina Nurseries to its group of growers. The move will bring more plant varieties to the Southern Living Plant Collection, according to Carolina Nurseries Owners J. and Linda Guy, who also head up the Novalis plant program. “With Novalis, we are a nationwide distribution center, so to speak, but only 40 percent of our growers are in the Deep South. We have some wonderful Southern plants that really need to be brought to gardeners throughout the region. That’s why we’re so excited about this Southern Living line because it gives greater distribution in a very focused channel,” Linda says.

Urban Outfitters’ Terrain Posts 23 Percent Increase for Q4, 11 Percent Increase for Year

Urban Outfitters, parent company of Terrain at Styer’s garden center, reported record sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31. Total company sales for the fourth quarter reached $589 million, an increase of 16 percent over the same quarter last year. Sales for the year increased 6 percent to a record $1.9 billion. Terrain posted a fourth quarter increase of 23 percent with $1.4 million in sales; its year-end sales rose 11 percent to $6.3 million.

Kansas IGC to Open Ninth Location

Stutzman’s Greenhouse and Garden Center, with eight locations in Kansas, is building a new store in Great Bend, KS, scheduled to open in April. Owner Ben Miller told local news outlet KSN.com that the business is thriving as people look to gardening as an inexpensive hobby. “Probably more than anything, just the passion of getting back to the basics that are important and doing things together as a family, and we have really enjoyed being a part of that,” he says.

Bachman’s New Store-Within-a-Store Spotlights Eclectic ‘Gift and Home’

Bachman’s will unveil a new store-within-a-store concept focused on eclectic gift and home on March 20 at three of its Minneapolis stores, with the concept carried through to all six garden center locations by late August. The new section will feature vintage finds, repurposed artifacts and artisan-made decor. The IGC is developing the concept with Ki Nassauer, author, vintage collector and founder of JunkRevolution.com. Bachman’s Director of Merchandising Larry Pfarr tells The Star Tribune that scavenging trips have already been made to Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. “There are items we are having made for us, new items that have a vintage feel. We might take a vintage item and pass it on to a welder, who puts it together with another piece,” he says. Signs will explain each item’s sourcing. “We’re going to tell a lot of stories,” Nassauer told the newspaper. “This vase is not just a vase, it was a vintage bath fixture.” Many items will be priced under $50, some under $10; one-of-a-kind pieces have not yet been priced. The store-within-a-store will be grouped into sections such as Euro, Modern Country, Cottage, City/Loft and Kids. The concept will first appear this spring in the IGC’s Lyndale, Plymouth and Eden Prairie stores, followed by Apple Valley, Maplewood and Fridley this summer. Some items will be available at the retailer’s website as well. Bachman’s ranks No. 15 in Nursery Retailer’s IGC 100 report with $28.7 million in annual sales.

Washington IGC Adds 10,000-Square-Foot Greenhouse as Part of ‘Local’ Focus

Beaver Bark Gift and Garden Center will finish construction on a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse at its Richland, WA, location in about a month. The Cravo structure, a $500,000 addition, will be used to grow plants, flowers and vegetables sold at the garden center. Co-owner Renae Bobbett says the on-site production is an eco-friendly move with a focus on “local” that will eliminate the need to bring in nursery stock from Seattle, Salem or California, reports The News Tribune. The greenhouse, positioned adjacent to the IGC’s 17,000-square-foot store, will feature a retractable roof and sides. For an in-depth look at how garden centers across the country are marketing their businesses as “locally owned” for profit, see the March issue of Garden Chic magazine, mailing soon.

Border Concepts Names New National Sales Manager

Border Concepts announced Robert Gordon has joined the company as National Sales Manager, leading the retail product sales team. He brings 30 years of experience in the building supply industry, where he served in retail as well as wholesale capacities. Border Concepts is a green industry manufacturer, importer and distributor. Founded in 1990 in Charlotte, NC, it built on its reputation as reliable steel edging manufacturer to now include 13 sales lines comprised of thousands of products. Its divisions include Wrought Iron Collections, The International Pottery Alliance and Holiday Concepts.

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