What to know about this season’s biggest industry events
Dates, details and sneak peeks at Cultivate’19, the Garden Centers of America Summer Tour and more.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL HARDWARE SHOW
Published April 11, 2019
National Hardware Show
Jim RobischJohn Hartmann
The first keynote on the schedule at NHS 2019 is: “Unlocking True Value,” by John Hartmann, True Value Co. president and CEO. Jim Robisch, senior partner at The Farnsworth Group, will deliver a second keynote speech.
COURTESY OF NATIONAL HARDWARE SHOW
Martin’s Home & Garden in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, No. 78 on Garden Center magazine’s 2018 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers List, is one of the featured stops for the 2019 GCA Tour in Nashville.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN'S HOME & GARDEN
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN'S HOME & GARDEN
Garden Centers of America Summer Tour
For the past 16 years, the GCA Summer Tour has offered attendees the opportunity to visit garden centers across the country. This year, the tour will include stops in Nashville, Tennessee, and surrounding areas. Organizers have announced 11 stops. This year, the GCA Summer Tour will also feature question-and-answer sessions at the end of each visit with the company’s leadership team. “Shop Talk Retail Discussions,” informal, facilitated conversations first launched at the IGC Show, will also be included in the tour, giving garden centers time to share ideas and network. Sharon Hadden, who runs the container design department at Allisonville Home & Nursery in Fishers, Indiana, will also provide daily demos on her favorite recipes for grab-and-go containers.
Kevin Brown
PHOTO COURTESY OF CULTIVATE
Cultivate
Retailers, greenhouse growers and nursery professionals alike can all find something to learn or discover at AmericanHort’s annual industry-wide trade show. Cultivate offers rows of vendor booths, an extensive array of educational workshops and invigorating morning keynote sessions.
Keynote
After a career in franchising that spanned 30 years, Kevin Brown decided to retire from corporate America and bring “The Hero Effect” message to as many people and organizations as possible. Attendees will learn how heroes create exceptional experiences, serving others with an authentic passion that turns everyday moments into superhuman experiences.
PHOTO BY MATT MCCLELLAN
PHOTO BY MATT MCCLELLAN
PHOTO BY MATT MCCLELLAN
IGC Show
PHOTO COURTESY OF IGC SHOW
IGC Show moves to McCormick, launches home improvement show in conjunction with NHS
For the past 12 years, IGC Show organizers have hosted hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees at Navy Pier in Chicago, Ill., for its annual trade show that features new products, keynote and education sessions and networking opportunities. Jeff Morey, who together with his wife, Cheryl, founded the independent garden center trade show in 2007, announced that the IGC Show would mark its 13th year with a move to McCormick Place Lakeside Center.
Mark Belling
PHOTO COURTESY OF IGC SHOW
Jeff Baxter
PHOTO COURTESY OF IGC SHOW
Dr. Bridget Behe
PHOTO COURTESY OF IGC SHOW
The 2019 event will also feature the premiere of the Independent Home Improvement Show – Powered by NHS, which will showcase hardware and tools, homeware and BBQ products, electrical needs and more. All attendees of the IGC Show will be able to access the Independent Home Improvement Show (IHIS), which will be located adjacent to the IGC Show floor and was launched in partnership with the National Hardware Show. IHIS attendees also receive full access to the IGC Show.
Keynotes:
Horticultural marketing researcher Dr. Bridget Behe of Michigan State University will be the first of three keynotes and will present “Through Your Customers’ Eyes: What Science Shows They See (And Ignore!) While Shopping Your Store,” at 11 a.m. Aug. 13, on the IGC Center Stage, located at the show entrance. Dr. Behe, who has conducted more than 100 consumer research projects on horticultural products and has written more than 500 publications in the trade press and peer-reviewed journals, has examined consumers’ willingness to purchase in several studies during the past few years to discover what factors motivate people to buy.
To measure what influences people to purchase plants specifically, in addition to surveys, she’s used eye-tracking technology to try and determine what point-of-sale and display attributes appeal to subjects most by capturing what they focus on. She will share insights from this research and more with attendees at the show.
The second day of the show will begin at 9 a.m. with a keynote from Jeff Baxter, rock musician and consultant to U.S. Department of Defense, who will present “What Can a Classic Rock Star Do To Help You & Your Garden Centers? PLENTY!” Mark Belling, radio talk show host and award-winning commentator, will kick off the final day of the show with a talk titled “Cracking the Millennial Code: A Look at the Generation Who at Times Makes Us Laugh … And Tear Our Hair Out!”
Farwest
PHOTO COURTESY OF FARWEST
Dr. Charlie Hall, professor & Ellison Chair in International Floriculture, Texas A&M University, will give the keynote presentation, Wednesday Aug. 21 at 11 a.m. Dr. Hall will discuss the performance across the green industry to date in 2019 and will set the stage for the fall season and 2020. The economy and several crosscutting issues (e.g. labor, demographics, freight costs, housing) are certain to affect every green industry business, and Charlie will discuss how these impacts will impact green industry firms and, more importantly, how to position your business for the next economic downturn.
