Reaching the Finish Line
The team from GPN and Lawn & Garden Retailer will be wrapping up our colorful California Spring Trials excursion today.
We have spent the past week touring from the northern end of the Golden State starting in Gilroy down south to Santa Paula to see the latest new varieties that the breeding companies plan to debut in 2018.
It’s been an incredibly busy week as we’ve logged a lot of miles and traveled to the 15 locations that are hosting more than 65 companies this year. The weather has been just about perfect — and it’s always fascinating to see the latest and greatest new intros, catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
GPN’s managing editor, Jasmina Dolce, and Lawn & Garden Retailer’s managing editor, Abby Kleckler, have been providing regular updates on the new introductions as well as some of the latest merchandising ideas that retailers might just want to implement in their stores. You can read Jasmina’s reports by clicking here. And Abby’s reports from California can be found here.
Have you been following our travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week? If you haven’t, be sure to check them out. We’ve posted a lot of videos and photos that we shot during the week, so if you are not already following us on social media, there’s no time like the present to start.
It’s been an exhausting but educational adventure but it is also a lot of fun to see what kind of creative new products are in store for our industry.
I think you are going to like what they have planned for the next year and you’ll have an opportunity to learn about many of the trends and new introductions in GPN and on www.gpnmag.com.
New Lowe’s App Uses Augmented Reality to Enhance Shopping Experience
Last month, Lowe’s announced the launch of its Lowe’s Vision: In-Store Navigation app, the first retail application of indoor mapping using augmented reality. Leveraging Google’s augmented reality technology, the app is designed to simplify the shopping experience. Starting this month, customers visiting stores in Sunnyvale, California and Lynwood, Washington can use their smartphones to easily search for products, add them to a shopping list and locate the product within the store using augmented reality.
Wal-Mart Revamps Employment Website
Wal-Mart recently overhauled its website for job seekers, walmart.careers.com, to help educate individuals who are looking to find new employment opportunities about the company. The retailer currently employs more than 1.5 million people and continues to grow. Each month, the employment website has more than 1.6 million visitors. The company uses the website for recruiting workers for a wide variety of positions — from hourly store employees to software engineers to pharmacists to pilots and so much more.
Wegman’s Names New CEO
Colleen Wegman, has been named president and CEO of Wegmans Food Markets in Rochester, New York. She replaces her father, Danny Wegman, who will assume the title of chairman of the 92-store grocery chain. The company has stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. Colleen Wegman joined Wegmans in 1991 and was named president in 2005 by the late Robert B. Wegman, her grandfather.
Video Library 
