A familial endeavor

Chris Campbell of Campbell's Nurseries and Garden Centers

Chris Campbell represents the fourth generation to work in her family’s business: Campbell’s Nurseries and Garden Centers, with two locations in Lincoln, Neb. The entire clan is passionate about the business. And their enthusiasm can’t be confined to the walls of the store.

“We always laugh when we talk about family gatherings,” Campbell said. “Our goal is to NOT talk about the business, but that usually last about three seconds into dinner and we are back talking shop.”

GARDEN CENTER MAGAZINE: What’s the biggest plus or benefit that comes with working in the family business?

CHRIS CAMPBELL: Having the ability to bring new ideas or concerns straight to the board of directors, which consists of my father, two uncles and an aunt. You know they will hear you out, give you honest feedback and offer you a little more freedom to try a new idea. And regardless of the outcome, you know you have the support you need to continue on. I also thoroughly enjoy working with my parents on a daily basis.

GCM: In the past, you’ve said that garden trends take a while to reach your customer base. They originate on the East or West Coast and slowly work their way inward. How does that impact your buying strategies for the garden centers?

CC: We always try to stay up on the latest trends, even if it is slow to get to us. We attend the Atlanta gift market and look for new, different and unique items. I think that is one thing we are known for.
Sometimes a new “trendy” product will move slowly the first year, but fly out the door a year later. We are just starting to get into organics here in Nebraska. For the first time, I have pulled all of our “All Natural” products together in one area and marketed them as such. This has never been a huge category for us.

The timing of trends reaching Nebraska is getting better with all the magazines pushing these new products. It seems Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, Garden Gate, etc., are exposing our customers to the national trends sooner than in years past.

GCM: What would you say is your most effective marketing/sales promotion strategy?

CC: Direct mail. It’s the best way to get your message out to a targeted audience, and its effectiveness can easily be tracked.

GCM: Is there a marketing tactic you’ve tried that you felt was a bust?

CC: We did an ad in the movie theatres for two years. The ad was run before the movie began; we had a captive audience and told them to bring their ticket stub in for a discount on their next purchase. The first year we ran this, it paid for itself several times over. The second year we tried the same promotion, I think we had a handful of tickets returned for about $400 in sales. Not enough for what it cost to have the ad up for an entire year!

GCM: Do you think the recession will have a big impact on your customers this spring? Have you made some changes to compensate for this?

CC: I don’t think the recession has hit Nebraska as hard as other parts of the country, but we are still concerned about what is to come. We have definitely looked at our buying habits and number of SKUs in our inventory. Over the winter my father and I re-priced a majority of products we sell, attempting to make a better margin in the areas we felt we were missing out.

GCM: This past winter, you said you wanted to redesign the layout of the garden center. Is this something you were able to do? Are you pleased with the results?

CC: I did layout one of our garden centers differently this year. I didn’t change anything structurally, but the placement and ways products were displayed. I'm pleased with the results; we’ll see how well it improves sales this [year]!

GCM: When you get away from the store, what do you like to do?

CC: I love to work in my own yard or just be outside—bike, roller blade, and play tennis. I’m an avid water skier. Unfortunately, I don’t get to do much skiing in Nebraska. But I enjoy spending time at our cabin on the lake in northern Minnesota during the summer.

GCM: Do you have a favorite among your two store locations? Is there a place in each that you think is particularly beautiful—or an area you especially like?

CC: I personally like our 40th Street and Normal location—the original store which I manage—the best. Probably because I have put a lot of time, sweat and tears into this store. It’s smaller than our other store and in a more established neighborhood, but people shop here because it is very quaint. One thing I do love about our other store is that we have landscaped waterfalls and ponds that are incredible.

GCM: What are you favorite “garden info” resources? Do you tend to go online to get this information?

CC: I read the industry magazines and other publications. I do tend to go online to find information regarding a certain product or plant. I also like to keep up on what the consumer gardening magazines are saying or promoting.