Greenhouse Grower RETAILING Will Offer Ideas And Advice For Grower-Retailers
October 20, 2015 
Any publication worth its salt keeps its focus on the audience. Smart editors and writers spend more time listening to those they are writing about than they do tapping out stories on a keyboard.
And because we’ve been doing that for years, we know garden retail has changed, so it’s time for us to change, too.
We at Meister Media Worldwide are launching two new retail brands, and one of those two will address the needs of grower-retailers in the greenhouse market. As a result, after 11 years, we are closing Today’s Garden Center, Greenhouse Grower’s sister publication, but we are starting a new media offering called Greenhouse Grower RETAILING.
Look At How We’ve Changed
The primary driver of how garden retail is transforming is consumers. The difference in how today’s younger generation shops and buys is more profound than any prior shift since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.
Each of us feels our parents’ generation was so very different from ours. And that may be true about what is accepted socially, in fashion and in politics, but the way we bought things during the ’80s and ’90s was almost identical to how previous generations shopped during the ’20s,’50s and ’70s. We’d go to a store, look at the offerings and purchase them. There really weren’t proven alternatives.
Now we have millions of books at our fingertips, downloaded to readers with one click. We venture to stores for food, anything we want to see and test in person, and yes, plants.
Just a few years ago, big box competition would have been blamed for all of the changes in the local garden center industry. It’s true they’ve had an undeniable impact. Having rivals with such deep pockets hurt local retailers.
Yet take a look at who’s still standing after 30 years of selling the same categories. Paint stores are few and far between. Urban lumber yards are almost extinct. And hardware stores survive by participating in nationally recognized co-ops.
Garden centers have stood firm.
Consumers Will Take Plants And Produce To Unseen Heights
I strongly believe local garden retailers will have a customer base for a long time — a love of plants is growing, not waning. That said, what, where and how those under 50 grow are all in flux.
I think we’re just beginning to see the upswing on food gardening’s popularity, despite the astronomical growth that has already happened. Every food safety scare, every new convert to fine cooking and eating drives interest in farm to table, especially when the “farm” can be on a kitchen window sill or patio.
And most retailers are beginning to grow their own plants again. Perhaps not 100 percent of their plants, but a good portion. There was a time when the retail industry was swinging away from having a growing division, but the pendulum is on the return trajectory now.
What We’re Doing About It
The result of all this change? What defines a local garden business has blurred. Garden retail rarely stands alone today. Most stores also grow or own farmers’ markets or have landscape divisions or another business that balances the costs and seasons of retail.
The one thing they have in common is that they are local businesses selling plants.
As a result, I will be heading up a big shift in how we support plant retailers. And I will also continue writing a column in Greenhouse Grower.
In addition to launching Greenhouse Grower RETAILING, we will also publish a brand that covers growers retailing produce, from on-farm markets to wineries to farmers’ markets. In keeping with what is happening throughout retail, the two new brands will focus more on grower-retailers for plants and produce.
These new brands from the editors of Greenhouse Grower, American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower, American Vegetable Grower and Florida Grower will deliver information and ideas to help grower-retailers raise their game. In addition to print and web content, we’ll offer opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions, online classes, original articles sent via email and other offerings.
Our print editions will be included with Greenhouse Grower for greenhouse retailers and American Fruit Grower® and Western Fruit Grower®, American Vegetable Grower® and Florida Grower® for produce retailers.
I would love to hear from those of you who are grower-retailers. I want to hear which issues you struggle with, then create projects and series to help you grow as a local plant seller.
So it’s farewell to Today’s Garden Center, but we’re looking forward to pursuing a new adventure in modern plant retail. I hope you’ll follow along with us! We look forward to serving you through Greenhouse Grower RETAILING.
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