9/30/2014
Cheap Tricks: Making it Easy
Jennifer Polanz
It’s a garden center’s dream—60,000 residents within a 3-mile radius. But that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels and Greenstreet Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia, most certainly does not. The store we visited in August on the IGC East Garden Center Tour through the Washington, D.C. area, is the second of three locations for Greenstreet Gardens and a much smaller one than its original location. In fact, they added the store to the Greenstreet name in 2012 and have since updated the facility. The site does $4.2 million in annual sales on an acre of property located at a busy corner. Average ticket is $48 and trending upward.
Amazing Endcaps
Greenstreet Gardens knows how to make a customer stop in their tracks and this endcap is only one example. The colors and textures look great and set each other off perfectly, as well as highlight the beauty of the (running) fountain.
Already Ready
Greenstreet gets creative with its already planted offerings, including items like a firepit planted up (pictured), moss covered high-heeled shoes sporting succulents and some wacky, unusual containers. They know many of their customers are urban, so the selections are tailored to smaller spaces and range in styles to satisfy all tastes.
Dollars Per Square Foot
We talk about miniature gardening quite a bit and for good reason. Customers who are space challenged can still enjoy a beautiful miniature garden. And retailers who are space challenged can make a nice profit per square foot with smaller products that bring in a higher margin. For example, 2-in. specialty miniatures priced at $3.99. There’s $32 worth of product in this small, plastic saucer. And Greenstreet takes a wide variety of containers and plants them up with miniatures for grab-and-go items.
Enticing Signage
Customers don’t have to wonder, “Now what would I do with this plant?” Greenstreet has suggestions for usage on signage, as well as some highlights, like “staff favorite,” “fragrant” and “blooms all summer.” Greenstreet also offers multiple sizes of annuals, like 8-in. for a larger display or 4.5-in. for value.
GP