HGTV HOME Plant Collection Debuts for Mother’s Day

Just in time for Mother’s Day, HGTV and Agricola Management Group will launch the HGTV HOME Plant Collection in stores starting on May 6. Initially, the collection will be available to a select group of the nation’s top retailers and independent garden centers located in key geographic areas, including the West Coast, the Midwest, New England, New York and the Mid-Atlantic. New markets will be added to the collections’ distribution through 2013.

Retailers and growers can preview the 2012 plant selections at the HGTV HOME Plant Collection location at Edna Valley Vineyard in San Luis Obispo, CA, during the Spring Trials from March 25-29. The launch will feature select annuals, annual mixed containers and hanging baskets. The collection will be supported by a media campaign that will include on-air and digital support. It also will become a part of the larger marketing efforts for the current HGTV HOME branded products, which include paint, bedding, furniture, flooring, lighting and design software.

According to a recent study among panel members of Under One Roof, a Scripps Network’s proprietary consumer panel, 95 percent of home and garden enthusiasts recognize the HGTV brand. The study concludes that consumers expect HGTV branded products to distinguish themselves from competitive offerings in three ways: by providing useful tips and information, by representing good value for the price and by delivering a high-quality product.

Outdoor Rooms Top List of Remodeling Projects for Homeowners Staying Put

Even as the housing market shows signs of improvement, many homeowners are staying put instead of selling - and outdoor rooms are topping their lists of remodeling projects, according to a report from U.S. News. Remodeling industry sentiment reached a five-year high in the fourth quarter, tracked by the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index. IGC retailers are ready to tap the demand as spring fast approaches. The report goes on to state: "Booming economic times led to luxury outdoor living - pricy natural stone hardscapes, gourmet grilling kitchens and major electrical upgrades. The recession may have dinged this corner of the remodeling industry, but the concept survives. In fact, investing in outdoor living spaces (and installing additional windows and doors for better inside-to-outside flow) has been a major part of even budget-minded upgrades within existing home footprints. Consumers may be scaling back their wish list, but they’re not cutting back on outdoor entertaining and family time. After all, if families are traveling less, they’re playing more at home."

Christmas Tree Sales Skyrocket, Wisconsin IGCs Report

Christmas tree sales are hot this year, according to garden centers in Southeastern Wisconsin. Following nearly $1 billion in holiday tree sales for 2010, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, this year brings word of dramatic sales increases, Milwaukee’s local Fox News affiliate reports. Christmas tree officials attribute the increase in sales this year to positive signs in the economy and milder weather this winter. "This year, the Christmas tree sales have been fantastic," Hawks Nursery Owner Joe Kresl told Fox News. "We brought in the same number of trees as last year, and last year we had 103 left, and today we’re down to two. We’re such a seasonal business that when the weather is nice, people come out and shop." The garden center, ranked No. 75 in IGC Retailer’s IGC 100 report with $6.6 million in sales, has also seen a spike in artificial tree sales. "On our interior trees, sales are up 30 percent for the artificial pre-lit Christmas trees this year," Kresl says, "so Christmas definitely came early here at Hawks."

Proven Winners Adds Content to Blog by Partnering with Regional Bloggers

Proven Winners is partnering with eight regional bloggers for fresh content at its social media outlets. Each of the Proven Winners Gardening Gurus will contribute monthly, so that the content at Proven Winners’ blog is updated twice a week. "We’ll continue to monitor this activity – but it’s a great way to employ these writers who have lost their newspaper and magazine mediums, yet are filled with a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise," says Marshall Dirks, Director of Marketing for Proven Winners.

Earl May to Open Second Store in Sioux City

Earl May Seed & Nursery is adding a second Sioux City, IA, location with the takeover of Mosher’s Greenhouses & Landscaping. Beginning in the first quarter of 2012, Earl May will lease the complex, which includes a 9,800-square-foot showroom, greenhouses and 3.5 acres of shrubs, trees and other nursery products. Earl May ranks No. 10 in IGC Retailer’s IGC 100 report, generating $34.5 million from 34 stores in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

Industry Mourns John A. A. Thomson, Inventor of SUPERthrive

It is with sadness that we report the passing of Dr. John A. A. Thomson, inventor of SUPERthrive, five days following his 100th birthday. Thomson developed the SUPERthrive formula in 1939 and founded Vitamin Institute to market and sell the product. Seventy-two years later, he was still active in company operations. Thomson has been honored with numerous awards for his lifetime of work. In 1940, SUPERthrive received the Science & Industry Gold Medal at The Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. In 2006, Thomson was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lawn & Garden Marketing and Distribution Association, and in 2009, the Sustainable Environmental Education’s Environmental Awareness Award. "John will be remembered as a pioneer of innovation in horticulture by the independent garden center community," says Jeff Morey, Co-founder of the IGC Show and Publisher of IGC Retailer magazine. "I had the privilege of knowing him personally, as he was a close friend of my late father, Dick Morey. John was known to say, ’My whole idea is to try to leave the world better off for wherever I touch it.’ And he did just that."

Culver’s Opens Shop Dedicated to Birding

Culver’s Garden Center & Greenhouse is opening a specialty shop at its Marion, IA, store dedicated to birding. The Bird House will stock a selection of gourmet bird foods, high-end feeders and unique accessories, with an expanded product line planned for spring.

Scotts Partners with Marrone Bio Innovations to Develop New Naturals for Consumer Market

Scotts Miracle-Gro announced it is partnering with Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), a global provider of natural products for pest management in the agricultural and water treatment industries, in an exclusive research and development agreement designed to introduce new natural plant protection products to the consumer market. Under the deal, Scotts will have access to MBI’s complete portfolio of biopesticides for the development of new products. The two companies will collaborate on research and development efforts, and MBI will manufacture and supply the resulting products while Scotts maintains worldwide marketing rights. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Armstrong, Pike Support Organization for At-Risk Youth with Pumpkin Sales

Armstrong Garden Centers & Pike Nurseries is extending their support of Boys Republic, a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian school and treatment community for at-risk youth, by selling boxes of the group’s pumpkins, grown and harvested by the boys, at each of Armstrong’s 31 stores in California. The IGC retailer has supported the Boys Republic Golf Program for 11 years, and landscaped the organization’s patio, island BBQ and fountain next to the Steve McQueen Recreation Center in Chino, CA.

Jamie Durie Brings Star Power, Design Inspiration to Monrovia-Ferti-lome Joint Venture

Gardening celebrity Jamie Durie, host of HGTV’s primetime hit The Outdoor Room, has signed on to the Distinctively Better Partners joint branding venture initiated by Ferti-lome and Monrovia earlier this year. With the addition of Durie, the program turns the focus on encouraging consumers, especially younger shoppers, to go to their local independent garden center, where the award-winning landscape designer’s concepts will inspire them to view gardening as "hip" and "stylish." As part of the program, outdoor room displays designed by Durie will feature Monrovia plants and Ferti-lome plant health care products, and will be stocked with Jamie Durie-Monrovia branded outdoor furniture and garden accessories. Marketing support will include a national media campaign (TV, radio, magazines, social media), in-store merchandising (posters, handouts), and a new Garden Design with Jamie Durie mobile app that allows users to select plants and design their outdoor living areas. Durie will also be available for select speaking engagements and book signings at IGCs across the country. The outdoor room display design concept will be showcased at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show February 8-12 in Seattle, where Durie is a keynote speaker. Durie first grabbed the attention of independents as a keynote speaker at IGC 2010, and has contributed articles to IGC Retailer’s sister publication, Garden Chic magazine.

New Gulf Coast IGC Opens with Eco-Friendly Focus

A new eco-friendly IGC retailer is opening on the Gulf Coast. Ross’ Garden Shop in Ocean Springs, MS, features plant sales covering more than 3,000 square feet, including 20’x30’ dedicated to regional flowers, tropical plants, shrubs, vegetables and trees. A botanical reference library and a custom potting station help distinguish its offerings from the boxes. Future plans include a training center, where customers will learn about organic gardening, composting, rain barrels and flower arranging.

Hastings to Launch ’New Retail Concept’ with Construction Outside Atlanta

Hastings Nature & Garden Center has started construction on a store to launch what it calls a "new retail concept." The business is relocating about 15 minutes north of its Atlanta Brookhaven store, now closed, to Peachtree Corners in Norcross, GA. "We’ve come up with a new retail concept, and we’re building it from scratch," Kate Gunderson, Hastings Vice President of Retail Operations and Sales, told Patch.com. She declined to share further details, saying, "We’re not letting out any details until we announce the grand opening." She did confirm the new store will carry on the former store’s family friendly features, including the train garden, ponds and popcorn. The company is not releasing the projected opening date, but posted a photo of the construction at its Facebook page last week with the comment, "Photo taken a few weeks ago … still a long way to go."

IGC 2011 Wraps To Rave Reviews, Strong Attendance

IGC 2011 wrapped to rave reviews from both retailers and suppliers following its fifth anniversary year at Navy Pier in Chicago. The buzz was optimistic and upbeat, despite the disappointing weather this spring.

Total verified attendance this year came in at 6,488. All 50 states were represented, as well as 24 countries, including an IGCer from faraway Wellington, New Zealand. "IGC is not only the largest gathering of garden centers in America, it is the largest in the world," says IGC Show Co-founder and IGC Retailer Publisher Jeff Morey. "IGC has clearly established itself as the must-attend event among garden centers," says IGC Co-founder and Garden Chic Publisher Cheryl Morey.

Retailers were busy all week, starting on Monday with the Wisconsin garden center and Chicago botanical garden tours. IGC University opened Tuesday morning with two-hour workshops. The new "professor-driven" tracks proved popular with the "students," who received diplomas upon completing the program. The 1,000-plus-booth trade show floor was packed from start to finish, as independent retailers scouted the latest trends in garden selling.

IGC’s three spotlight keynotes were especially well-received this year, drawing record attendance. P. Allen Smith from NBC’s Today Show encouraged garden centers to stop whining and start selling. TV star, best-selling author and life coach Larry Winget’s inspiring "just do it!" message is being called the most popular IGC keynote to date. Retail guru Paco Underhill made the strong point that garden centers must be more in tune with their primary customer base: women.

IGC 2012 returns to Chicago’s Navy Pier August 21-23, 2012. Dennis DeYoung – star of mega-group Styx – has been signed as the free IGC Show Classic Rock Concert.

Armstrong Store Threatened by Brush Fire, Spared Damage

A suspicious overnight brush fire threatened the Armstrong Garden Centers store in Bay Park, San Diego early Thursday morning, NBC San Diego reports. It took about a half-hour for more than a dozen firefighters to put out the fire, which burned about a quarter of an acre. The main objective, fire crews said, was to protect the garden center, which is bordered by railroad tracks and interstate off-ramps. When crews first arrived, there was a good flame front moving, but with adequate water supply, crews were able to attack both sides of the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Armstrong Garden Centers/Pike Nurseries ranks No. 1 in IGC Retailer’s IGC 100 report with $120.1 million in sales.

Bailey Nurseries, Conard-Pyle, PDSI Form Joint Brand Coalition

Bailey Nurseries, The Conard-Pyle Co. and Plant Development Services, Inc. (PDSI) are working together in a joint brand coalition to enhance communication with growers, collaborate on marketing ideas and reduce material costs to help growers in the increasingly competitive economy.

“We are working together on manufacturing input costs, like containers and tags, which account for a large part of our growers’ input costs. Marketing ideas are also being looked at, from media production and placement to a joint booth at the IGC show in Chicago this summer,” says Steven Hutton, President of Conard-Pyle.

The first grower meeting will focus on The Knock Out Family of Roses, The Endless Summer Collection and Encore Azaleas, with each brand presenting its latest marketing programs and strategies and future plant introductions to a network of more than 50 growers across North America.

In addition to detailed information about each brand, the meeting will feature a presentation by Jonathan Pedersen, Bailey Nurseries Brand & Business Development Manager, who will report on the company’s latest consumer research from Kip Creel of StandPoint Marketing. In addition, Charlie Hall from Texas A&M University, a nationally recognized expert in production and marketing of green industry crops, will speak at the opening reception and dinner.

The meeting will conclude with tours of two of the biggest production facilities in the industry, Tri-B Nursery and Greenleaf Nursery, where attendees will see how they work with branded plants, from prop to dock.

1 - 15 of 18, total 2 page(s)

1 2