Forging big-box relationships

When Jennifer Kurtz of Kurtz Farms in Cheshire, Conn., came to work for the family business in 1996, she was given the task to "do something" with the Home Depot account. It was a nebulous request, and she turned it into a profitable venture for the greenhouse.

In the 1990s, Kurtz Farms was a Home Depot vendor, but never really cultivated the relationship. When Jennifer began exploring the options, she saw a huge opportunity.

"I looked at it from the perspective of how can we capture the attention of so many people coming into one place? What intrigued me was the sheer amount of people walking through the doors," she said. "I had to figure out how to get the attention of someone who was coming in for paint to see our products. I saw it as an opportunity to bring gardening to another group of consumers who may not have considered gardening."

One way to reach the Home Depot customers is with display upkeep and an inviting, cohesive look on the front pads.

"We do everything we can to get that plant to the register," she said. "We're dealing with a lot of customers that normally wouldn't gravitate to the garden center. They are there for something else, but they see the plants and they look good. It's a perceived value and they're willing to give it a try."

Jennifer knew chains like Home Depot were a bit more of a risk taker, so she saw the chance to sell new products in those stores.

In 2005, Jennifer created the Urban Gardener program, which was initially designed for people who don't have time or the space to do traditional gardening. The first product in the program was a vegetable cage that allowed people to garden with 1 square-foot of space. She offered the program to both independent garden centers and Home Depot. It's now a national program for the big-box retailer and includes pots and plants for all seasons.

"When I set up a new SKU with Home Depot, they let me set the price," she said. "They have allowed me to try out the pots and plants in the stores I service to see how they will work. Then they have the choice to try something regionally or nationally."

Jennifer also works with at least 30 other annual growers that service Home Depot stores throughout the country.

"We sit down as a group of growers and work together so there is a consistent look from store to store," she said. "We get together to select programs and bounce ideas off of each other. It's a great relationship.