The complete package

Kris ShepardKris Shepard, president of Alsip Home & Nursery, oversees operations at the business’ two locations in Frankfort, Ill., and St. John, Ind. Over the past decade, Alsip’s retail focus has broadened to include pet, toy and home décor merchandise. Both stores enjoy a solid customer base.

“The two locations aren’t much different,” Shepard said. “They have the same product mix essentially. The St. John store is slightly smaller in indoor-retail square footage, but has a larger selection of bulk materials since we have several more acres of outdoor selling space at this location.

“The demographics are similar in both stores. We did our homework in advance of opening the second location [in 1994] to make sure the demographics fit our business model. The town of St. John is in the top 2 percent of the entire state in median income.”

GARDEN CENTER: Do you still consider Alsip a “garden center”?
KRIS SHEPARD: While the business has evolved to offer many product categories, we still consider our store first and foremost a “garden center” in every sense; it is the heart of the business. We work hard to offer the best quality and selection of plant material, hard goods and expert service that our customers would expect to find at a garden center. We don’t want to give them a reason to go somewhere else to complete their project. People garden for many reasons—to beautify and add value to their home, to grow food, etc. But no matter what the reason, we find our customers are passionate about what they’re doing. Our other product categories are the same, especially our pet department. People are passionate about their pets. So, we do our best to hire employees that share those passions.

GC: Your Web site has an e-commerce section. Is this an area you expect to develop more in the future?
KS: We’ve only dabbled in the realm of e-commerce so far. I don’t think that you can ignore it. I strongly believe the public perception is that if your business doesn’t have a Web site it loses some of its legitimacy. The site’s appearance and content reflects on your business the same way your storefront does—it must be professional.
While we have plans on slowly growing the e-commerce segment of the business, we know that our greatest strength will always be the one-on-one with customers face-to-face. We will commit our resources accordingly.

GC: Tell us about your commercial nursery division. What type of customers do you primarily serve?
KS: We target primarily the small- to medium-size landscaper. We can be a total one-stop shop for this size operation. In our area, the larger guys bring in their own orders of nursery stock or bulk goods directly into their own operation. 
 
We may see some more of the larger landscapers in our stores going forward. As credit lines have tightened up for a lot of small businesses, I suspect some of them won’t have the cash flow to hold as much inventory as they have in the past.


GC: Tell us about your gift-card fundraising program.
KS: We’ve been using our current gift-card fundraiser for three years now. The organization or club will pre-sell our gift cards for us and collect the cash at full face value. When the organization comes in, we give them a 15-percent discount. So for every hundred dollars they sell, they get $15 in profit. It’s very common for us to have an organization come in with gift card sales of $1,500 or more.

We feel this is a good way to give back to the community—and the organization may be selling our gift card to a person who might be going somewhere else for their gardening needs. If we get a new customer through the door—and they see what we have to offer—we will more often than not turn them into a regular customer.

GC: How did you get involved with Garden Centers of America?
KS: I’m currently in my third year with GCA. The first two years I served as a director on the board, and this year I am serving as treasurer. It’s a great organization that’s an asset to the independent garden center owner. The project keeping us busy lately is preparing for the Summer Tour in Orlando, Fla., (June 27-30). We know it’s going to be a great one since home base is in Walt Disney World and our itinerary includes a visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Johnson Space Center.

GC: When you get the day off, what would we find you doing?
KS: On my rare time off I spend it with my family. I have four children and a great wife who I’m lucky understands the commitment it takes to stay on top of everything involved in our business—especially in spring when it is seven days a week for a few months. We enjoy traveling together most of all. I would love the chance to golf and fish, but I’ll have time for those things when my children are older. My family is the priority now.

GC: What’s your favorite thing about working in retail?
KS: It’s always evolving and challenging to stay up with all the changes. There are always new products coming out, new technology, higher customer expectations, and innovative ideas on how to set yourself apart from your competition. Being a successful retailer today takes a lot of work, a great team of people around you (which includes your staff, your vendors and your peers), and a cup that is always half full.