Trends: Tools of the trade
Raking in the dough... Face it: Where selling tools is concerned, today's independent garden center is at a distinct disadvantage when it competes with The Big Box and its reduced pricing measures. Well, you are — unless you find a distinctive niche, such as specialty tools or ergonomically sound tools or "whatever kind of tool you have that nobody else carries."

Here's another idea you might consider to improve the sale of tools: Drive online business to your store's selection. I recently ran across this link on E-How.com. Basically, it's a "plain English starter kit" for gardeners looking for the proper equipment. As I read the page, I began to wonder, "what if garden centers set up such a guide on their own Web sites?"

Certainly, you do this with the plants you sell to — and the gardens you grow for — your customers. Why not expand your realm of expertise to include whatever it is at which your store is "The Ultimate Authority"? You could prepare a guide that lists the essential elements, and then remind your customers that you carry just such utensils. If your store specializes in certain plants that require certain tools, make sure, too, that you include this information on your Web site.

Lest you wonder, your competition is already doing this — or, at least, one competitor is marketing its tool selection. Lowe's has a link on its Web site devoted to the topic. However, because Lowe's does gardening only as a sidelight, tools are but a peripheral extension of the store's goods and services. It's doubtful that customers searching for "gardening things" will immediately turn to Lowe's for answers. You, on the other hand, are the primary resource for many customers, and you can use a link to your tool section to fortify this distinction.

Speaking of useful tools, we at Branch-Smith Publishing have created a "new and improved" blog we like to call the "Open Register." We like to call it that because that's its name. It includes contributions from staff members, guests and, hopefully, you. Go to http://www.branchsmith.typepad.com/ to check it out. If you find a topic that interests you, by all means tell us why.

Puzzling pictures
Mixin' & matchin'... One of the pictures below is a puzzle. Find the correct one and then piece the product together again. If you do it correctly, congratulations are in order. What? You expected a cash prize? Like, whatever!

"Phat finds at the winter markets"
Check the *BLOG*

Pick 'n Click
Chic seek... Do you need quick access to garden or gift items? These suppliers are on virtual call, ready to send you the information you seek. Click the company for e-reader service.

Achla Designs Advanced Water Gardens Allsop, Inc. Alpine Corporation ATLAS Glove Consumer Products, a Div. of LFS, Inc. Bamboo Accents Bartlett Bench & Wire, Inc. Benchmaster by Structural Plastics Best 1 Hummingbird Feeders Bio Organics Black River Nursery Braun Horticulture Carruth Studio, Inc. Charlie Cook Associates, Inc. Chicagoland Grows Clean Air Gardening Collier Metal Specialties, Inc. Country Originals, Inc. d'barro Pottery Danove Corporation DeWitt Co., Inc. Discount Pond Supplies, Inc. Dorothy Biddle Service Echo Valley Ecological Laboratories, Inc. Fabriscape Fafard Featherock, Inc. Garden Works Gardenware Gifts That Bloom

Good Directions, Inc. H. Potter Horticopia, Inc. Keystone Wholesale Little's Good Gloves Magnet Works Middle Tennessee Nurserymen's Association National Lawn & Garden Show New Creative Enterprises Novelty Manufacturing Co. Par A Sol Perfectly Natural Solutions Pioneer Plants, LLC Poly-Tex, Inc. Principle Plastics Red Carpet Studios Retail Service Company Riverside Enterprises Ruibal's Topiary Systems & Ironworks Savio Engineering, Inc. Stoney Creek Sunlight Supply, Inc. Tierra-Derco International Trevco Home and Garden Tula Hats WeatherPORT Global Shelters West County Gardener Winston Company Zoe's Tropicals ZooBox International LLC

 

"Phat finds at the winter markets"
Check the *BLOG*

Oh, yeah, the riddle answer...
The man did exactly as he said he would and wrote, "your exact weight" on the paper.

 
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