Schedule of Events

 

Your customers certainly aren’t the same as they used to be. Since 2019, change has been happening faster than ever with customers shifting to more online, personalized, experience-based shopping preferences. But your competition isn’t other independent garden centers; it’s the big-box stores and e-commerce platforms that are not only underselling on price, but challenging the idea that buying plants is more than a transaction — it’s an experience.

Our industry needs to evolve to meet the new normal quickly, and the good news is that we’re in the perfect place to take advantage of this shopping evolution. Join Rob as he discusses how to draw in the millennial and Gen Z crowd, give customers the meaningful shopping experience they want and increase sales at your garden center.

 

Join Russell Gullo, who has worked at Gullo’s since the day it opened in 1994, as he shares what he’s learned taking the IGC from an outdoor tent in its first year to the powerhouse it is today. He’ll share what he’s learned from his experience, what fueled the growth and need for expansion, the internal business and family discussions they went through and all of the planning that went into both prior and current expansions. Bring your questions to join the conversation and learn from the Top 100 garden center’s experiences with expanding their footprint to better serve their customers and grow their own plant material.

Growth is exciting, but it can also be an intimidating endeavor. As your operation matures, what do you do when your needs outgrow your current footprint? Learn how Gullo’s Garden Center has managed three expansions as the 27-year-old garden center undergoes its fourth buildout.

 

Transitioning ownership of your IGC can be stressful, complicated and downright daunting. Learn from those who have gone through the process of transitioning ownership, set your business up for a successful sale or ownership transition and ask your burning questions about planning for the future.

When it comes to keeping up with trends, are you in the driver’s seat or a passenger hanging on for dear life? Keeping up with trends in the marketplace can feel like riding a roller coaster. By the time you react and start to tap into a new gardening or houseplant trend, your customers may already be moving on. Would you rather let social media influencers determine what you need to sell then chase down that product…or would you rather control that conversation from the start? As new and inexperienced gardeners search for guidance and inspiration, now is the time to take charge and lead from the front. Leslie will dig deeper into this idea and inspire you to quit chasing trends, and take the wheel as trend setters.

Come enjoy cocktails and light hors d'oeuvres on the expo show floor and join us in celebrating the 2021 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers.

Join John Kennedy as he delivers this fast-paced approach to “moving mountains” through vision, values and volition. John’s “pebbles, rocks and boulders” program will deliver you a structured and strategic plan to help you navigate your garden center in 2022 and beyond. Learn how to set your compass to “true north” and establish an entrepreneurial operating system (EOS) to drive traction to your team and traffic to your business.

Your team has talents and skills that can help move your business forward, but how do you help them be the best they can be? Find out how to identify rockstar employees, cultivate their skills and give them the agency to do more at your garden center.

 

More than 50% of consumers factor values into their purchase choices. Garden centers have a great opportunity to connect with these consumers by showcasing environmental, community and small business practices. From donations to civic groups to community outreach to job training programs, the things you value matter to your customers too. Learn how we can all impact the world for the better while shoring up the bottom line.

With the soaring popularity of houseplants, more and more people are bringing these living things into their homes but confused about exactly how to care for them. Googling for plant care advice tends to leave people with more questions than answers because that advice has been recycled from decades past when houseplants were treated as mere decor. Darryl brings a fresh perspective to an old hobby. His science-based, practical approach has helped thousands understand the essentials of houseplant care to become confident plant parents. Success propagates success: confident plant parents become repeat customers; plant advice that works and makes sense attracts new customers.

And how can we keep them coming back to the garden center? How do we better connect with a broader audience around houseplants? This session will also discuss the role of social media, how to use it effectively, and how to keep the interest in houseplants alive.

 

The expertise of your staff is what sets your garden centers apart from the big-box stores and keeps customers coming back for more. Learn how to build your reputation as the plant experts in your community, get the word out about your garden center and further your reputation with education that’s right for your market.

There are five things that motivate employees ... and the funny thing is they have been the top five things for 50 years! Join John as he addresses the importance of one single word: Engagement! Learn how to turn your workplace culture into a property where your employees “want” to work and not “have” to work. Discover the value of a consistent on-boarding process, the continued success of The Great Game of Business, and the one value that employees look for out of a manager and leader.

 

From "casting" to scripting to setting the stage, retail and theater have more in common than you might expect. Join Liz, a garden center Managing Director who came to her role with fifteen years experience in the performing arts, to learn how she translates the principles used to create captivating performances for the stage into unforgettable experiences in a retail environment. From communicating your IGC’s unique story and marketing with meaning to creating an environment your customers will want to visit again and again, you’ll learn how to engage your core audience in a way that will have them giving you a standing ovation.

Can you really market "from the couch" and recruit 5,000 new customers? Is it possible for your garden center have such raving fans that you need to develop your own line of merchandise? Will your customers do your marketing for you? Yes, yes and yes! It's time to tie everything together that you've learned throughout the conference education sessions and create a three-point plan to implement when you return home. Learn what your cohorts and colleagues are doing to create simple experiences that draw raving fans. Then collaborate with fellow attendees to develop your own easy plan.

Join our panel for a discussion about the challenges and opportunities that come with opening a new location. Learn what kind of research you should do before you build or buy a new location, how to scout the market, ways to keep your brand consistent and integrating new staff into your existing team. Bring your questions for the panel! There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Consumers have a lot on their mind and aren’t always rational. In this session, Bridget will share some current research-based information about how consumers think and shop. Pricing, pollinators, micromarketing, the environment and several more topics will be discussed and their influence on plant purchases.

Garden center operators have faced a litany of challenges over the last year, but there's great opportunity on the horizon. In this interactive workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned during the conference to their businesses and discuss strategies with other leaders. Attendees will gather in roundtables to share possible solutions to the following topics:

• Repeat business: How can you improve your customers' experience to keep them coming back to your store again and again?
• The benefits of plants: How are you communicating what plants can do for your customers and the environment?
• Driving trends: How do you inspire your customers and lead customers?
• Education: How can you support customers and help them succeed, especially as so many new gardeners come to your IGC?
• Facilitators will summarize roundtable discussions and share strategies with all attendees.