DeWayne's wins Innovator Award
Congratulations to DeWayne's Home & Garden Showplace, Selma, N.C., the winner of the 2006 Innovator Award. DeWayne Lee opened the store 15 years ago with a $500 loan from his mother and used his Camaro to deliver product from the wholesale market. In 2005, DeWayne and wife Tina sold $4.1 million of product. The award is sponsored by Garden Market Expo.

Late Easter boosts April sales
Retail sales for April rose 6.9% over last year, according to Nat'l. Retail Federation. "Thanks in part to a late Easter holiday, consumers were out shopping for a variety of merchandise, including spring apparel," said NRF chief economist Rosalind Wells. "Although sales in the first half of the year have been stronger than expected, NRF will continue to monitor energy costs and the housing market to determine their impact on spending in the second half." April retail sales released by the U.S. Commerce Dept. show that total retail sales increased 0.5% seasonally adjusted from March and increased 6.6% year over year.

Deadline nears for PW's Destination Contest
Garden centers can share how they're merchandising Proven Winners and Proven Selections plants for the chance to win $1,000. Retailers must submit registration forms and photos by June 15. Four garden centers will receive a $1,000 award. Entrants will receive a $25 gift certificate.

Retailers expect high sales, lackluster margins
A study of projections for the 2006 holiday season reveals retailers predict strong sales growth over last year. The study was conducted by Oracle, an enterprise software company, and shows that the majority of respondents project solid sales growth (between 5%-9%) or exceptional growth (more than 10%) over last holiday season. At the same time, nearly 90% of retailers surveyed predict flat or declining margins over last year, largely due to rising energy costs. These findings indicate that retailers plan to continue absorbing increased transportation costs, instead of passing them along to consumers.

Scotts Miracle-Gro expands organic line
Scotts Miracle-Gro has added blood meal and bone meal to its Organic Choice product line. The products use pork-derived materials, rather than typical bovine sources. "Our proactive decision to use a non-bovine source for our blood and bone meal helps assure consumers they are receiving the safest and highest quality ingredients in our products," said Mark Cushman, North America research and development for Scotts Miracle-Gro. Suggested retail prices are $5.49 for blood meal and $4.99 for bone meal.

Worth a visit
Retail consultant Ian Baldwin believes that the next 10 years will open doors for this industry that we could only dream of previously. Only on GreenBeam.com.