From the country, to the garden home

Larry Grossman is a rarity in the garden center world—a first generation business owner who has built his store from the ground up. Recently, Grossman decided to shift the store’s brand message. What used to be “Grossmans Country Nursery” is now “Grossmans Garden & Home.”

“‘Country and Nursery’ were words that identified where we were years ago,” Grossman said. “We’re no longer in the country, as development has grown around us. And we’ve expanded our product lines to create a blur—what can be used to decorate the garden can also be used to decorate the home. The shift came when we realized our design/build and retail clients wanted our assistance accessorizing their exterior and interior landscapes with furniture, pottery, garden art and even jewelry. The theme evokes the ‘Garden Home.’”

GARDEN CENTER: Out of all the improvements you’ve made to your store, is there a "favorite" area or project that sticks out in your mind?
LARRY GROSSMAN: We have had the pleasure and pain to be a first generation business. Out of a corn field grew our nursery! Wait; I mean “garden center.” Sometimes I still think of us as a nursery, since we produce field-grown balled-and-burlapped trees, along with annuals and hanging baskets. But today “garden center” seems to be the phrase that the public understands best.
 
We’ve made enough mistakes to know that there are things we don’t know. And, fortunately, there are many people in our industry who have helped guide us. So when we had to take one step back to go two forward, there wasn’t as much pain in the process.

What stands out is the major build we did in 2004. We built new production greenhouses, garden store, checkout area, covered walks and an addition to our house.

There are many areas that stand out: our gardens around the house (in the back of the nursery) where I can enjoy gardening as a passion; the field trees where I admire rows of perfect identically grown trees; greenhouses where the smell of plants warms any winter day; and a store that looks more like our home.

My favorite “area” is the group of talented individuals we work with everyday. They’ve allowed me to fly at 40,000 feet and dream the “What If’s.” Of them, most important is my “best” half, Frances, who bridges the space between my high-altitude dreams and the ground below me. She has an uncanny ability to ground me ever so softly.

GC: Tell us about your “Gardening Today” TV segments. How did those get started?
LG: “Gardening Today” evolved from the seven years we entertained people on the radio every Saturday morning. Our local NBC affiliate wanted garden content that was fun and easy to understand. They knew of my banter with Frances on the radio and wanted to do the same on TV.

Today our segments are produced in three 30-second bits. Two segments run during our local news before the “Today” show, and the third segment summarizes the topic airing just after Matt Lauer finishes his first segment. It gets us exposure to those that want both the local and national news. We then have the three segments stitched together as one how-to video. The videos are then uploaded to our Web site, YouTube and Facebook pages.

GC: What kind of trends/requests are you seeing emerge from your landscape design sessions with customers?
LG: We handle all requests and have a “Never Say No” policy. If we don’t handle a certain type of project (such as lawn cutting) we connect the customer to someone that does. And most important, we follow up to make sure they’re receiving the level of service we would provide them. Otherwise we help them connect to someone else. As for what we do: one project at a time; one client at a time; one detail at a time. We do more work for fewer clients. It has been my philosophy from the beginning.

GC: What are you most looking forward to in spring 2010?
LG: I’m most looking forward to my son’s graduation from Carnegie Mellon this May. Seeing him grow into a man is very rewarding, and watching him become a best friend (while enjoying a cold one) is heartwarming. But helping him move to New York City to start his new career is priceless! Now Frances and I have a reason to visit family more often in the Big Apple. Most of my family is from down-state where I grew up and there is nothing like “the city.”

GC: You do a lot of your own growing. What’s the process for choosing the plants you produce?
LG: We grow anything that is not grown by or for the mass merchants. We would be called a boutique grower and I’m very fortunate to have a head grower who loves to mix it up. Color is key, and performance in the garden is a must.

Commodity annuals, such as flats, are brought in and moved out the door quickly with increased turns and perhaps slightly lower margins. High-margin producing plants are grown on site to maximize the revenue per square-foot of bench space, along with margin dollars. All plants are assigned an expiration date, which helps to signal which marketing plan needs to be implemented in order to move the product out the door.

GC: What would you say is the most exciting “recent development” at your store?
LG: Exciting developments are taking place throughout our industry especially in the realm of social media. It’s very exciting to see customers talk to other customers and share their excitement about purchases they have made. We still talk to them, but it’s great to be able to see what they are saying about you. Good, bad and ugly; we can actually measure the results of our actions and change course quickly.

Though this is exciting, keep in mind it’s not the only layer of a marketing program. All other efforts need continued evaluation and tweaking as well. Remember, I like to fly at 40,000 feet. So the newest gadget in marketing is always the most exciting for me.

GC: Can you describe the dynamic of working closely with your spouse? Do you find yourselves “talking shop” most of the time?
LG: “Dynamic relationship” is a nice way to say “Keep it balanced.” I’m not as good as Frances is about that. Who said it best?—“She completes me.”

We have cues that we use to let the other person know “who” we want to talk to. Like, “Can I talk to my business partner?” or “Have you seen my husband?” Then there’s my favorite: “Can I ask you a question?... That depends who you want to talk to.”

GC: What will we find you doing during your time off?
LG: Sailing is a must anytime I’m near the water. Otherwise, reading a good book, road biking or spinning, walking the dogs, and yes, I love to garden, too. Being in the garden gives me a moment of peace. Having my crew help with major tasks gives me peace of mind.

GC: What are your plans for 2010?
LG: We are consolidating some areas of the nursery, which will increase parking while creating better cross merchandising of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. The goal is to make the nursery easier to shop and more efficient for the staff to sell.