Check Out The World's Largest Sock Monkey In Atlanta

Gift and decor supplier Midwest is taking its popular sock monkeys to new heights (literally), introducing the world's biggest Genuine Monkeez sock monkey at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market, which runs Jan. 6-14.

At 8 feet tall, Super Sammy is really more of a sock gorilla. Larger than life, he'll be on display in Midwest's AmericasMart showroom in Building One/Merchandise Mart, Suite 16A7, and he'll also be the star of Midwest's Go Bananas event on Friday, Jan. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. Independent retailers are invited to attend the event, get their photos taken with Super Sammy and receive complimentary Genuine Monkeez gifts, as well as free freight on all Genuine Monkeez orders of $500 or more with immediate shipping.

If you don't have a chance to meet Super Sammy in Atlanta, he'll be making appearances in Midwest's showrooms in Dallas, New York and Las Vegas, too.

Programs For Kids

I’m going through the Revolutionary 100 surveys now to write up details for our web coverage, and noticed a couple of garden centers focusing activities toward kids this year. I wanted to post a link to a program that I think is really beneficial and might help some retailers in their efforts to reach kids. It’s a program called Veggie U, and the link is www.veggieu.com.

This program is a non-profit created by The Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio. It’s a farm dedicated to growing specialty herbs, veggies and microgreens sustainably, and supplies chefs all over the country. The idea came about when the owners were sitting with some chefs talking about the lack of nutrition education for kids. They came up with the program, which involves sending vegetable seeds and soil packets to classrooms across the country, along with a curriculum designed to teach kids in a fun and enjoyable way about vegetables and nutrition.

I don’t know if there are partnership opportunities with this program for garden centers, but it seems like it would be a great way to tie together nutrition and gardening.

ANLA Blog Fest Today!

Want to find some good ideas fast? Check out the 2009 ANLA Management Clinic blog, which is being updated Thursday, Dec. 18 every hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with all sorts of ideas you can take to the bank.
The blog’s focus is Managing Through Tough Times, and our own Group Editor Richard Jones will be one of the featured bloggers, along with Dale Deppe of Spring Meadow Nursery, Ken Long, president of Garden Centers of America and co-owner of L.A. Reynolds Home & Garden Showplace, and many others.
Find it all at www.managementclinic.org/blog/index.cfm.

Think Local, Not Independent

I was going through my notes from the trip and realized I left out one of the most important parts of the GCA Holiday Tour. I left out Lloyd Traven's opening-night talk. Lloyd spoke to a full and just-arrived room of tour members about being local, getting rid of your "crap" and being green. He's from Peace Tree Farm, and is currently in the process of getting certified organic through the State of California.

He made too many good points, there was no way I could leave any of it out. (And sorry for the picture, I was just starting to get a handle on the camera.) That's Lloyd in the yellow shirt. The following is a quick synapse on some of the points he touched on:

What's Independent?: Quit with the Independent Garden Center talk. What does it really mean. From now on, try saying "locally owned" instead. That's something people can connect with and something they can understand. "We are local, this is what people want," said Traven.

"Differentiate or Die!" was the first slide of his presentation, which is pretty self-explanatory.

Stop Pack-Ratting: "If you sell what you've always sold, you'll get what you've always got," he said. Quit being that person who says they'll buy new stock once the old stuff is gone. "There's a reason people aren't buying that crap." And it's taking up valuable space.

Timing: Work with your growers. Strenghten your relationship and get a sense of timing down with them.

seXY Tip: Generations X and Y love taking home tip sheets. Continue to teach them even when they've left your store.

A Green Sense: Of course going green makes environmental sense, but make sure it makes economical sense for your garden center first. And if you sell it, "You must also tell it." What's the point of selling organic plants if your customer then goes home and douses it with Sevin or Peters. You need to teach them. Explain to them the significance of going organic and why some things may cost more than others.

A Dream Teamer

Remember the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and the USA Dream Team? At the time, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley showed the world just how far ahead the U.S. was in the realm of basketball. If there was a garden center dream team, Homestead Gardens would be in the starting five and in line for a gold medal.

The size of Homestead is one thing, but it's what they're doing under their roofs that's something worthy of it's own HGTV show.

When you walk through the front doors, the first thing you notice is a runway of main-aisle that gives you an unobstructed view all the way to the back door. Dave Hanger, Homestead Gardens General Manager, said it gives the retail space a racetrack layout, which leads shoppers to everypart of the interior property. He compared it to Target's main, 15 foot aisle that runs throughout the store.

The space at Homestead Gardens is second to none and makes for a breatheable experience. And that space doesn't interrupt their holiday offerings.

Scott Daley is the resident creative genius. Hanger said that Scott is just "unbelievable with some of the things he's doing around here." A great example of this is the half taxi cab. Found in the Department 56 section, some Homestead workers went down to a junk yard and found this car. They had them cut it in half before they hauled it back to the store. A fresh coat of paint and voila...an instant display fixture meets conversation piece. Vintage chairs, freezers, tables and ovens can also be found in their displays.

Besides everything else going on during the holiday, Homestead's toy train track is a big ticket. With a full-time conductor on hand, "On weekends it's sometimes three deep in here (around the track)," says Hanger. "Sometimes you'll see three generations come in to watch the train."

Baby Vegas

Our final day on the road toured us to the crabcake state, Maryland. First stop: Valley View Farms in Cockeysville.

It may have been the cloudy day. It may have also been the “getting ready” transition between seasons, but Valley View Farms looked a little bare from the outside, which ill-prepared me for my first couple steps into the store.


It was like Clark Griswold’s house inside-out.


Ceilings were lit from corner to corner. And the rotating artificial trees decked in an assortment of ornaments and lights were an added touch that didn't/won't go unnoticed.


I’d be interested to see what it would look like if they turned down the normal house lighting a little. I bet the Christmas lights would pop even more, and save on the electric bill along the way.

The Little Things

Don’t let the title fool you, Bucks County’s Bucks Country Gardens does Christmas big, but they also do a lot of the little things. Not to mention, their barn turned retail center is a perfect place not to get lost.

Sometimes you want your customers to get sucked in at your store, it’s a testament to the experience you’re providing. But those who wander at Bucks are definitely not lost. Their centrally located customer service desk (I highlighted it in the photo) gives shoppers a great reference point. Think library, it’s kind of like that.

If you ever visit Bucks and you’re around the customer service center, be sure to look up. They make hanging banners easy. Bucks utilizes a pulley system to swap out the signs that hang high from the barn’s rafters. It cuts down on labor and from having to drag out the ladder.

And if your garden center sells Christmas trees and offers a delivery service, maybe you should think about getting your tree team a box of hospital booties. They can be used to slip on over their boots when entering a customer’s home, says Donna Denter, Bucks lifestyle/home décor manager. No more tracking mud and now into homes and no more having to take shoes off.