Garden Center web news and social media highlights from December 2017

Multimedia | Podcast

Inside the Village Nurseries/TreeTown USA Deal

When one wholesale grower purchases another, the resulting acquisition process can be a gauntlet of issues; including personnel, licensing, production and other concerns. When TreeTown USA, a nursery with seven growing locations throughout Texas and Florida, announced a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Village Nurseries, a California-based specialty grower for landscape professionals, re-wholesalers and retailers, for an undisclosed amount in September, it marked one of the largest strategic nursery acquisitions in recent history. Matt McClellan, managing editor of sister publication Nursery Management magazine, recently spoke with TreeTown USA CEO Jonathan Saperstein about the deal in a Hort Report podcast.

Listen here: bit.ly/2ADINoa

What’s trending on Facebook

Each year, garden center owners and others in the industry travel from across Europe and beyond to attend spoga + gafa, the horticulture trade show hosted in Cologne, Germany. Industry professionals from Europe and beyond use this show as an opportunity to share ideas and present the latest trends in garden and home retail. Garden Center magazine was fortunate enough to attend this year and bring back photos and impressions from the show floor, including cutting-edge design sensibilities like multifunctional furniture and ground-breaking products like smart irrigation systems. Highlights from spoga + gafa were featured in the October issue of Garden Center and later shared on our Facebook page, garnering interest from followers in the latest news from the European garden center market.

See it here: bit.ly/2zL7cXv

Your Turn

Each month, we ask readers a different question about their retail operations, inviting them to answer via email or social media. You can send your answers to associate editor Conner Howard at choward@gie.net.

THIS MONTH’S QUESTION:
“What little (or big) things do you do to show your employees that they matter?”
Answers to this question will be published in a future issue of Garden Center.

5 stories in brief

Top industry news from our websites

Dümmen Orange Acquisition

The Netherlands-based flower breeder and producer has acquired McHutchison and Vaughan’s Horticulture, two U.S.-based wholesale plant brokerage firms.
bit.ly/2AdSc5h

A Century-plus of Service

Gateway Garden & Home Center, a fourth-generation IGC in Loveland, Colo., is closing down after 131 years in business.
bit.ly/2z8p16H

Top Product Picks

Cool Product Awards at The Landscape Show 2017 were presented to 12 firms, representing 14 popular products.
bit.ly/2zDd5K3

Counting Blessings

9 reasons to be thankful for plants and all the benefits they bring.
bit.ly/2AbhIe5

Save The Date

Registration has opened for the Green & Growin’ 2018 trade show in Greensboro, N.C., scheduled for Jan. 15-19.
bit.ly/2ASVoa2