The National Lawn & Garden Show gets down to business today in Colorado Springs, as 108 vendors and 64 buyers will play pitch and catch with some of the market's newest and hottest products. This is the 16th NLGS, the industry's unique, appointment-driven conference that will run through Thursday.
NLGS President Bob Mikulas officially welcomed show-goers during a reception Monday night, noting that "new" will be a major player this year. "We have quite a few new vendors and buyers who have never been part of the show before," he said. "That should ensure some promising business opportunities for everyone."
The show's format works like this:
Vendors of gardening products, and buyers (largely garden center operators and distributors) receive a pre-determined schedule of appointments prior to the event, a sort of "matchmaker" list that links product types with needs and desires noted by buyers in pre-conference correspondence. The 64 buyer companies have representatives sitting at tables in a ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. When the appointment signal sounds, a vendor goes to the table of the buyer with which he/she has a meeting and will have 10 minutes to market his/her company's products. After 10 minutes a signal sounds, and vendors move to another buyer table for the next appointment or retire to a retreat area to gear for an upcoming appointment.
This goes on all day for two and a half days, with breaks for lunch and dinner. All the meals, likewise, offer an opportunity to network, making for an excellent opportunity for vendors to get the word out about what they offer and buyers to find what they need for the upcoming selling season.
It's an intense way to conduct business and it was conceived to help the two parties ensure that they have quality "face" time during the event. Mikulas has rotated the conference among various spots in the country. The move to Colorado Springs represents a return to the site of the original NLGS, which then was called the National Lawn & Garden Controlled Marketing Conference.
Garden Center magazine will cover the NLGS until its conclusion Thursday, with updates on hot new products or developments shaping the market. Please check our website daily for the reports.