Oct 14, 2015

Circle These Dates By Tim Hodson

I wanted to remind you about a couple of important dates that are coming up next week.

The early bird deadline to sign up for GPN’s Plant Health Management conference in Springfield, Massachusetts is next Monday, Oct. 19. The conference will take place Oct. 27, at the Springfield Marriott.

The early bird registration rate is $89 and includes the conference, continental breakfast and lunch. Additional registrants from your company are just $75 each. After Oct. 19, the registration fee is $99.

We have a full day of plant health education lined up with our faculty of top experts including Jim Barrett, Raymond Cloyd, Paul Fisher, Paul Pilon and Robert Wick. There will be tabletop exhibits featuring some of the industry’s leading suppliers, and attendees also will be eligible to earn pesticide recertification credits.

Click here for more information on the program or to register now.

Another Date to Circle

Also, the deadline for college students to apply for the 17th GPN/Nexus 2016 Intern of the Year scholarship is next Wednesday, Oct. 21.

If you know a college student that completed a horticulture-related internship this year, you should let them know about this scholarship.

The 2016 GPN/Nexus Intern of the Year will receive a check for $3,000; be featured in an article and on the cover of the January 2016 issue of GPN; receive travel and hotel expenses to Cultivate’16 in Columbus, Ohio, next July; as well as a full Cultivate’16 registration.

To learn more about the scholarship program and how to apply for the scholarship, click here.

Next week is a busy week, make sure you have Oct. 19 and 21 circled on your calendar.

– Tim

Sam’s Club Plans New Merchandising Strategy

Sam’s Club recently conducted “an in-depth analysis of its business” to map out a new merchandising strategy. According to Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer the key elements to the new strategy include : increasing the number of higher household income members and four high-value business segments; carrying relevant merchandise and delivering better value for club member; acquiring and keeping key member groups; and transforming the club experience online.

Lowe’s Expanding in Canada?

Lowe’s executives plan to meet with suppliers in Quebec, Canada, next month fueling speculation the company is growing its expansion plans north of the border. Lowe’s is currently planning to add 14 new stores in Canada over the next two years (12 of them in former Target locations) but the November meeting has some analysts predicting an even larger expansion in Quebec to compete with rival Canadian home improvement retailer Rona.

Wal-Mart Names News Execs

Wal-Mart continues to make changes as it looks for new ways to boost sales. Among those moves, the company recently announced several changes in its executive offices. Chief financial officer Charles Holley announced plans to retire at the end of the year and Brett Biggs, currently CFO of Wal-Mart International, has been named as his successor. And Steve Bratspies has been named Wal-Mart’s chief merchandising officer for its U.S. stores. He is responsible for overseeing all merchandise categories in all 4,500 Wal-Mart stores in the United States.