Market Buzz

Monrovia to debut ecommerce website in early 2014

Monrovia Nursery will launch an ecommerce website in early 2014, and consumers will be able to buy plants directly from the company. But Monrovia won’t ship the purchased plants to gardeners’ homes. Instead, the nursery, headquartered in California, will deliver the plants to participating independent garden centers, which will then distribute them to customers.

David Kirby, vice president of sales at Monrovia, says the idea came about for a few reasons.

“We have a department established that assists those consumers in finding plants in the marketplace in their regional market, and oftentimes we find that the plants they are looking for just aren’t available in their area or they have a difficult time securing orders in their garden center,” Kirby says. “Some expressed frustration with finding plants and had a desire to buy directly from Monrovia.”

Monrovia is redesigning its website as well, so adding an ecommerce portion now made sense. But they aren’t acting independently of their IGC customers, he says.

“Some other national plant brands sell direct to consumers and they do deliver to homes, and that’s not at all what we intend to do and not how this program was established,” Kirby says. “We know that success in gardening occurs locally, and that knowledge is really with the local independent garden centers.”

Monrovia works with 2,000 independent garden centers, and they have the option to participate in the program. The plants will be delivered directly to the stores, and the garden centers will receive a retail markup from the sale, Kirby says. Once consumers purchase the plants, they’ll receive a message indicating that Monrovia will ship them to the local IGC once they have finished growing and are in “prime condition,” Kirby says. The plants will be delivered between March and May, have a label with the gardener’s name, a thank you tag and a fresh, clean container.

“There’s been a question about the retail price of the plant, and we will have an appropriate retail price,” he says. “The intent is to not be cheaper than our garden centers.”

Kirby says that consumers who participate in the program and buy online will be entered into Monrovia’s “Plant Savvy” club, the name of the monthly online newsletter which has 30,000 to 40,000 subscribers.

They’ll be able to purchase plants based on Monrovia’s current availability of unsold product, so the plants offered will change.

“There’s a concern that we’ll be selling plants that our garden centers have pre-booked or committed to, but that’s inaccurate,” Kirby says.

Monrovia will offer garden centers in-store marketing materials and push information out on its social media pages and e-newsletter to spread word about ecommerce offer, Kirby says.

“We’ll be able to communicate and have a deeper relationship with these consumers,” he says. “We’ll have the history of what they purchased, ask them for photos and updates on how their plants are doing in the garden.”

If the program goes well, Monrovia will extend it through the summer, and the West Coast will have an opportunity to offer plants year round, he says.

Kirby says the program will benefit independent garden centers because people who purchase plants online now usually don’t shop at their local IGC.

“[Some consumers] like to buy plants online, and they buy roses and they buy 1-800-Flowers and try perennials and starter plants that are found online,” he says. “So we see this as a benefit to send new customers to the IGC.”
 

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Garden Center announces winners from holiday display photo contest

Independent garden centers around the country adorn their stores with stunning holiday displays and decorations each year, and to showcase some of that great work, Garden Center magazine hosted a holiday display photo contest on Facebook in December. We received more than 40 creative, beautiful and even humorous entries from businesses big and small in Washington, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, Missouri, Florida, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Massachusetts.

We shared the photos in an album where Facebook fans had the opportunity to “like” some of their favorites and sway the panel of seven judges from Garden Center magazine and its sister publications from GIE Media. Here are the results:
 

All garden center photos courtesy of the individual businesses
 

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Garden Center wins top honors at Eddie & Ozzie awards

On Dec. 5 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, media and magazine professionals gathered for FOLIO’s Eddie & Ozzie Awards Breakfast. More than 150 awards were handed out to consumer, b-to-b, regional and association magazines.

Garden Center magazine won in the Eddie’s Business to Business, Retail, Single Article category for editor Karen E. Varga’s “Branch into berries” article, which was published in the November/December 2012 issue.

The Eddies specifically recognize and highlight editorial excellence in both consumer and trade magazines, while the Ozzies showcase design.

There were more than 2,300 entries in this year’s contest, and judges narrowed submissions down to about 500 finalists.

For more, visit www.folioawards.com/finalists-2/
 

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From Twitter

Kevin Waters @GardenWorksKev
BBC News - Viewpoint: Why do people hate the word ‘chemicals’? http://bbc.in/1bmspZ1 Doesn’t this apply to garden products too?

A Garden Life @agardenlife
Moon-to-table: the next big trend in edibles? http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/03/248373683/moon-turnips-nasa-takes-gardening-to-new-heights via @nprnews

Chicago Flower @ChicagoFlower
5 Facts about hydroponics from @SMicrofarms: http://sharpexblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/5-Hydroponic-Fun-Facts-and-Figures-Infographic.jpg #infographic #dogreendogood #gardening
 

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Researchers say fragrance may be key quality consumers look for when selecting flowers

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) and researchers from the University of Florida (UF) present compelling evidence about just how enticing and alluring flower fragrance is to consumers, among other scintillating findings, in three new consumer preference studies:

• Identifying Consumer Preferences for Essential Elements of a Flower Product, Report #453
• Consumer Analysis of Mixed Containers for Indoor Use, Report #455
• Identifying Consumer Preferences for Cut Rose Fragrances, Report #456

In report #453, researchers aim for a better understanding of what flower buyers really want — color, shape, size, fragrance, etc.— to better meet consumer demands and increase sales, and the results show consumers overwhelmingly desire fragrance.

“This study allows the industry to gain a better understanding of what consumers value in a floral product and thereby provides the tools necessary to effectively target consumer demands,” said David Clark, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Horticulture and Director of the Plant Innovation Program at UF. “The industry needs to offer a product consumers want to increase consumer purchases and sales.”

The researchers examined two study groups: (1) a group of 295 subjects of mixed genders and four ethnicities, most age 40 or older and (2) a UF undergraduate introduction to plants class with 336 students, the majority of whom were white females age 18 to 24.

Both groups agreed they find fragrance of top importance when purchasing flowers. However, the first group was most specifically interested in “the subtle fragrance of a traditional rose,” while the student group preferred flowers that smell “fresh with a hint of citrus.”

Flower color was second most important to both groups, and both preferred “explosive, vibrant red petals” and showed the least interest in pastels.

Both expressed overall low interest about where they specifically purchased flowers, with the exception of the student group who gave a high ranking to flowers “picked fresh from a local garden.”

Clark believes that input from consumers is vital if the industry is to stay abreast of an ever-changing consumer base.

He proposes that marketing a new “fragrant flower line” may attract more customers and be the key for increasing sales and profit.

For more, www.endowment.org
 

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2014 California Spring Trials central reservation website now open

Columbus, Ohio – The official central reservation website for the 2014 California Spring Trials is now open, and attendees can begin to make reservations at AmericanHort.org/springtrials. The California Spring Trials will be held on April 5-10, 2014 in the central and northern regions of California.

This year more than 30 companies are exhibiting at 18 locations. Attendees can arrange appointments through the website to create personalized itineraries, which can be printed or viewed via a mobile site. There is no fee for attendees to use the service or attend the various events.

The website was developed by OFA/AmericanHort and Clarity Connect, a provider of technology and marketing solutions.

The California Spring Trials is an annual weeklong event held at various locations throughout the state. The event is a launching ground for some of the newest plant varieties, signage and packaging products, and merchandising programs and concepts. In addition, many locations include plant growth regulation experiments, outdoor trialing, and technical information and help.

The event includes many of the leading plant breeders, growers, and suppliers showcasing their plant varieties and new products. Formerly known as the “Pack Trials,” attendees use the occasion to get an early look at products, and to learn directly from producers the recommended growing and retail strategies.
 

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Pantone names Radiant Orchid 2014 color of the year

Pantone has named Radiant Orchid its Color of the Year for 2014, and calls the hue "a captivating, magical, enigmatic purple."

The color "permeated the runways" during the spring preview fashion shows, Pantone said in its press release, indicating the shade may be picked up in fashion, retail and design.

“As adaptable as it is beautiful, Radiant Orchid complements olive and deeper hunter greens, and offers a gorgeous combination when paired with turquoise, teal and even light yellows," the press release stated.
 

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Armitage to consult for Nature’s Source

Sherman, Texas – Chance Finch, General Manager for Ball DPF, LLC announced Dr. Allan Armitage, Professor Emeritus Horticulture, University of Georgia, has accepted a marketing consulting position with the company.

Dr. Armitage is a renowned horticulturist, traveler and author. He will represent Nature’s Source Plant Food as he travels the globe during the coming year.

“It’s easy to recommend a product I’ve used and trusted for many years in both my home garden and plant research trials,” Armitage said. “Nature’s Source is the plant food I believe more growers and gardeners should know about and use.”

The foundation of Nature’s Source Plant Food products — professional and retail — is oilseed extract, a renewable source of plant nutrition that can be used on a multitude of crops, flowers and vegetables.

For more, visit www.naturessourceplantfood.com.