M&M Wintergreens Inc.

One Season...One Source...

One Simple Christmas Solution.

 

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Tuesday March 2, 2010
lion or lamb?
     Even though a lot of us are still buried under snow, there is something about flipping the calendar to March that is exciting. Each day it stays lighter a little longer and I'm sure most of you are gearing up for Spring right now. March may come in like a lion and go out like a lamb...only time will tell. I'm hoping this industry has a lion of a spring with "roaring" sales. We know we all need it. 
     Remember that some "Christmas" items can be sold other times of the year too. Easels are Memorial Day staples, Wreath Hangers work great for other seasonal decorations, and Porch Pots are definitely multi-seasonal. The list goes on and on! Have extra carryover? Dust it off and get it out there! Need something for spring? Give us a call or send us an email. We can work with you and supply you with some of our excellent nonperishable inventory items during other seasons too. Even though our office hours vary, we are still around and are happy to help you.
          Here's an innovative reminder.....amidst all the hustle and bustle of the Spring season, don't forget to throw in a little signage reminding your customers to visit not only in the spring, but in the summer, fall and winter too! You have a captive audience, take advantage of that and entice them to return to you during other seasons, especially Christmas! That will help keep sales "roaring" along (we don't want the tiny bleating of a lamb....we want the ROAR!) 
          As for me, I am working on 2010 pricing and am deep in the process of developing our new items for 2010! We have some fun new fresh wreaths to look forward too, as well as many other things! Stay tuned....and remember to ROAR!
Monday February 1, 2010
love is in the air.
      Maybe it is the clean white blanket of snow that causes this but by February I am ready for a bit of color! I'm a visual person so researching color trends for Christmas 2010 is one of the more enjoyable tasks that I do this time of year. We just about have our 2010 themes selected but we aren't quite ready to announce them just yet. I just have to say I am in LOVE with the color schemes I am seeing for this year!
     So....stay tuned! The colors are fresh and fun and exciting and when the timing is right, we will happily announce them... probably adding a bit of fanfare to get you excited too!  
     I'm really enjoying this new electronic medium too....the emailing and blogging allows me to stay connected with each of you a little bit more throughout the year. I
LOVE it!
   It really is true that we work on Christmas all year long. Most of January was spent finishing out 2009 and starting on 2010 and that will continue. I will keep blogging and emailing when we have something really important to share. So stay connected with us......Christmas will be here again before we know it! In the meantime, we
LOVE Christmas and LOVE planning fun products for our customers. We hope you are finding something to LOVE about this wonderful industry that we share too! Happy February!
Sunday January 3, 2010
a new year...a new season.
     I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I also hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday selling season in 2009. In our area, the weather was about as perfect as you could get....a bit on the warm side but that made it all the more conducive to outdoor decorating! After the bustling season, I will be honest.....I have allowed myself to take a much needed break from work a bit lately and now feel refreshed and renewed and ready to return and finish out 2009 details and also look to 2010 with exciting new ideas and plans. 
   There is just something so new and exciting about a new year....like a clean slate waiting to be embraced and written upon with fabulous, out-of-the-box ideas. Stay tuned. I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a GREAT NEW YEAR!

Monday October 19, 2009
it's magical really.

     Christmas truly is a magical holiday. Now, before you think I have sniffed too much of the evergreens already, hear me out. I agree that for those of us in this industry the holidays lose a little luster in the day-to-day process of running our businesses. I certainly have moments where I get bogged down, tired, and downright Grinch-like and I am sure most of you do too. But then something will happen. Maybe it's something as simple as a special telephone conversation with a customer but it makes me realize that what we do for a living shares the magic with the world......one person at a time. Think about it. From the careful pruning of the trees to the person hanging the fresh wreath on their home all of us have worked together...bonded really....to make an already magical holiday all the more special.
       As the season is just beginning I wanted to just take a moment and say thank you. Thank you for sharing in the magic. I'm looking forward to the holidays and hope you are too. After all, it's Tis the Season Time and what can be more magical than that?
    I will attempt to blog periodically but if I don't, know that it is because I am fully absorbing myself into the magic of the season and I hope that you join me. Here's to sharing the magic! 
  

 


Friday August 21, 2009
fresh, new, and exciting.
     That is the only way I can describe our new items for 2009. To make the 2009 items easier to find on this ever-expanding website, go to the current news page by clicking HERE. There you will find a list of the new items for this year. By clicking on the new items, it will take you to the right page where you can find them. 
     My advice to you? Don't be afraid to try something new. Remember, we have no minimums! We do this so you can try and test new items without a huge risk. The key is ordering early. I can't tell you how many times I hear, "just duplicate my order from last year". While this is a good strategy for covering your basics, don't let your inventory become stagnant and repetitive by not taking a few moments to add something fresh and new. Trust me, you will be glad that you did!
Tuesday August 18, 2009
101_6257.JPG (954392 bytes) the power of a porch pot.
     One of the amazing things about this industry is the willingness I see in my customers to share ideas with their "competition". I can't tell you how many times I heard things like "what works for me is...." and "you should try....." spoken from the owner of one garden center to the owner of another garden center. (Feel free to substitute "garden center" with "greenhouse", "Christmas Tree Farm", or any other industry retail establishment because I have heard them ALL be helpful to each other).
         One such idea I have heard shared numerous times is the "Returning Customer" tip. This tip involves the many ways you can get a single consumer to return during each season.....spring, summer, fall, and winter. New for 2009, we have our own products and tips to help with that challenge....the Porch Pot.
       Don't let the name fool you, it's not only for porches. This item makes an excellent memorial item as well. It's very sturdy with drain holes in the bottom and it will easily hold your 10" pot. 
     And the "Returning Customer Tip"? Decorate and sell this wonderful item for Christmas.....with a program in place to have them bring back their Porch Pot. You can plant it up for them in the spring, maybe plant it again in the summer, plant it in the fall with Autumn-inspired colors, and of course, redecorate it for Winter with Christmas Greens again.  With the sale of one porch pot you have the added bonus of creating a program to guarantee plant sales in the other seasons too! It's a win for both you and your customer too!

Click HERE to go to the Porch Pot page of our website!
     
Thursday August 13, 2009
CD tips & candleberry details
     It's come to my attention that some helpful hints and tips about our price list CD might be a good thing. This is a relatively new concept and I apologize if our efforts to be more "green" and simplify things actually makes it more difficult. I think once everyone is comfortable with this new tool, they will find it so much easier to use.
        First, on the CD are 3 different types of files which I will break down into 2 categories. Those file types are Word documents, Excel files, and PDF files. The neat thing about the Word and Excel files is that you can type right into the fields on those files. You can then save a copy for your own records and print and fax or even simply email back the file to us as your 2009 order. You can fill out the forms that are in Word by typing in the appropriate areas....then save a copy for your records and email (or print and fax) the forms to us. The catch is you have to have Word and Excel (which is part of Microsoft Office) in order to use these files. 
       Since we know not everyone has Word and Excel, we have also saved all of the information as a PDF file. This file can be read, but not modified so you can't type in the fields with the PDF files. However, you can view the files and if you don't already have Adobe PDF viewer on your computer, you can download it for free at www.adobe.com. Simply click on "Get Adobe Reader" and it will take you to the page where you can download it.
    Back to the Excel files......in terms of the multi-page lists (such as Regular Price List and Direct Ship List), you will see little tabs at the bottom of the screen that say "Page 1", "Page 2" and so on. You need to click each "worksheet" as they call those tabs in Excel in order to view, modify, print that particular page. Our Regular Price List has 22 pages (including the cover sheet) and the Direct Ship has 5 pages (including the cover sheet). 
    As for the Candleberry details.......I had a customer just today point out to me (and if you are reading this blog, you know who you are....thank you for the feedback) that the wording on our price list is a bit confusing as 12" shows up near both the Candleberry Wreaths. On Page 2 of our Regular Price List, the Candleberry is a 12" ring.....and that is the new wreath for 2009. On Page 3 of our Regular Price List the Candleberry has 12" OD in the description but that OD means "outside diameter". The ring size of that wreath is a 7" ring. That is the Candleberry wreath we have had for many years. I hope this helps clarify things.
     As I mentioned, I want this blog to be helpful and informative. Please let me know if I can answer questions, or if there is some other information that I can share that might be helpful to everyone. 
     Happy Thursday Everyone! (P.S.....the deadline for the PreSeason Sale is only 19 days away! Don't forget....it's September 1st!)


Wednesday August 12, 2009
the beginnings of a blog...and a ticking clock.
     Welcome to our blog! Although we haven't yet joined the Twitter and Facebook bandwagon, we felt it was time to create a blog on this website, with the intention of sharing information and other fun and useful tips. Hopefully you will enjoy your time visiting our blog and it will become a place you frequent often!

     Tick-Tock....Tick-Tock.....the countdown is on. Not just for back to school but for the deadline to lock in pricing for our two fabulous sales....the PreSeason Sale and the Swag Stimulus Sale. Take just a minute.........find a pen, pencil, crayon....whatever it takes....and mark your calendar now with the deadline of September 1st!
     Okay, now that we got that important task out of the way, let's chat about the upcoming Christmas season. Last month we were exhibitors at the OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio. I will be honest,  I didn't know quite what type of "mood" attendees would be in. We all know the economy hasn't been the best (to put it mildly) and I wasn't sure how the spring season had gone for everyone in terms of sales. I was cautiously optimistic going into the show....and I was pleasantly surprised! The majority of the people that we spoke with had decent to better-than-normal spring sales. They had also done very well with our product during Christmas 2008. And....they were EXCITED about Christmas and ENTHUSIASTIC about planning and ordering for the upcoming holiday season.
     There are many things to be positive about and the economy is slowly improving. Christmas is a time of family....and of hope....and that "staycation" trend from this summer will continue during the Christmas season too. Look to the spring sales as an indicator.....home gardening was big. People stayed home and planted gardens. They are also going to stay home over the holidays and "plant memories". Our product is at the root of those memories......the fragrance of our fresh greens is such an integral part of Christmas...it's a natural fit. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that can be a substitute for that.
     A lot of time and thought went into our "new" items this year. We wanted to make sure we had a variety of pricing points to allow for the possibility that consumers might still be watching their pennies. We have found solutions for that.....such as in our new 12" Candleberry Wreath. It's the same design as our ever-favored Candleberry, but in a new door-size and at an excellent price too. It has quality, distinction, and value.
     Candleberry_Wreath.jpg (28481 bytes) It is very important that blogs cater to their readers. So please tell me what you want to hear about. How can our blog be enjoyable and educational? Send your thoughts to me at shannon@wintergreens.com. I can't promise how often this blog will be updated, but I will do everything I can to make this new blog something you want to frequent.

 

 

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