 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Independent Garden Center Show (IGC Show) is held every year since 2007 in Chicago, IL, in the United States.
The IGC Show was created by Jeff and Cheryl Morey, co-directors of Garden Centers of America (GCA) [1] and publishers of IGC Magazine. [2] The first IGC Show was held in 2007, at Chicago's Navy Pier. [2]
In 2014, IGC East convened at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. [3] In 2015, IGC East relocated to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. [4] In 2016, the East Coast event relocated to the Valley Forge Casino Resort. [5] [6]
IGC Show 2018 reconvened at Chicago's Navy Pier. [7] In 2019, citing ongoing construction at the Navy Pier, the show was moved to McCormick Place. [8] [9]
IGC Show 2019 was hosted in the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place. [10]
The IGC Show is one of the largest shows for independent garden center owners, managers and buyers. The show is not open to large retail chain competitors or the general public. [2]
The IGC Show presents garden center products available at wholesale. It is a juried show so every exhibiting company has been screened to ensure the products offered for sale are relevant to independent garden centers. [2]
In addition to the trade show, the IGC Show hosts an educational conference on topics relevant to garden centers, such as customer service, inventory, signage, social media, store design, advertising, and more. Each day before the trade show opens, a keynote speaker starts the day. [2]
The IGC Show provides a networking area. "Shop Talk" Retail Discussions, facilitated by a moderator, provide discussion on topics including marketing strategies, minimum wage increases, and younger customers . [11]
IGC show provides a special area of vendor exhibits for companies that are new to the IGC Show and garden center industry. The New Product Zone features new products and plants submitted by vendors all across the show's exhibit space.
The 2019 show unveiled the IGC Retail Lab, a retail symposium and interactive design forum. It is designed to help IGC owners turn their stores into gathering spaces that capitalize on the most popular consumer trends. [12]
In 2017, the Best New Product and the Best New Plant awards contest was started. Garden center retailers voted for their favorite new products and plants. [13]
Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot-long (1,010 m) pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over 50 acres (20 ha) of shops, restaurants, live theaters, family attractions, parks, gardens, and exhibition facilities and is one of the top destinations in the Midwestern United States, drawing over nine million visitors annually. It is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and is Chicago's second-most visited tourist attraction.
Nordstrom, Inc. is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a second Nordstrom's shoe store opened in 1923. The growing Nordstrom Best chain began selling clothing in 1963, and became the Nordstrom full-line retailer that presently exists by 1971. The company founded its off-price Nordstrom Rack division in 1973, and grew both full-line and off-price divisions throughout the United States in the following years. The full-line division competes with department stores including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue, while the off-price division competes with retailers including the TJX Companies and Ross Stores. Previous expansions beyond the contiguous United States include Puerto Rico (2015–2020) and Canada (2014–2023).
The True Value Company is an American wholesaler with over 4,500 independent retail locations worldwide.
Tractor Supply Company, founded in 1938, is an American retail chain of stores that sells products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care for recreational farmers and ranchers, pet owners, and landowners. The company has 2,000 stores and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. It is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSCO and is a Fortune 500 company.
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies. The five largest hardware retailers in the world are The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kingfisher of the United Kingdom, Obi of Germany, and Leroy Merlin of France.
South Edmonton Common is one of Canada's largest retail power centres, and when it will be completely developed, it will spread over 320 acres (130 ha) and contain some 2,300,000 square feet (210,000 m2) of retail space, making it one of the largest open-air retail developments in North America. The Common is located in south Edmonton, Alberta, extending from 23rd Avenue south to Anthony Henday Drive, and east from Gateway Boulevard to Parsons Road.
Google Store is a hardware retail store operated by Google that sells Google Pixel devices, Google Nest products, Chromecast dongles, Fitbit devices, and accessories such as earbuds, phone cases, chargers, and keyboards. It also sold Nexus, Daydream, Stadia and Cardboard devices until their discontinuations. Google Store sells products made by Google or made in collaboration with that company. It was introduced on March 11, 2015, and replaced the Devices section of Google Play as Google's hardware retailer. It is overseen by Ana Corrales, who is also the COO of Google's Devices & Services division.
Garden Centers of America (GCA) was incorporated in March 1973 as a nonprofit organization of independent garden centers across North America for the purpose of improving conditions in the retail garden center industry.
Tourism in Chicago draws on the city's status as a "world-class destination known for its impressive architecture, first-rate museums, brilliant chefs" and wide variety of neighborhood attractions.
Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of the S&P 500 Index. The company is one of the largest American-owned private employers in the United States.
Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to catch onto a fad or scheduled event.
Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-largest retailing company in the United States in 2015. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, and sold its assets to ESL Investments in 2019. The new owner moved Sears assets to its newly formed subsidiary Transform Holdco LLC and after that, Sears Holdings Corporation was closed.
The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap, is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates four primary divisions: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. Gap Inc. is the largest specialty retailer in the United States, and is 3rd in total international locations, behind Inditex Group and H&M. As of early 2023, Gap employs about 95,000 people.
Retail's Big Show, or the NRF Annual Convention & EXPO, is the flagship industry event of the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. was an American retail company that sold home appliances, lawn and garden equipment, apparel, mattresses, sporting goods, and tools. The company had four subsidiary store formats: Sears Hometown, Sears Outlet, Sears Hardware and Appliance, and Sears Home Appliance Showrooms. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores is based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores was founded in April 2012. The company was a spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012. By May 2019, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores and its independent dealers and independent franchisees operated a total of 639 stores across 49 states as well as in Puerto Rico and Bermuda. On June 3, 2019, it was announced that Transform Holdco would acquire Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores. As per the deal, Sears Hometown needed to divest its Sears Outlet division to gain approval. The company ceased to exist on October 23, 2019, when Franchise Group acquired the Sears Outlet division and Transform Holdco acquired the rest of the company.
Off-price is a trading format based on discount pricing. Off-price retailers are independent of manufacturers and buy large volumes of branded goods directly from them. The off-price retail model relies on the purchase of over-produced, or excess, branded goods at a lower price, thus being able to sell to consumers at a discount compared to other stores which purchased an initial run. Among the largest retailers of this type are TJX Companies and Ross Stores. The model is more common in countries that import fashion-oriented or household goods, as the discount role in producer countries is usually filled by factory outlets or small-scale open-air marketplaces.
The Positec Tool Corporation, or simply Positec, is a manufacturing company that specializes in the production of power tools and lawn and garden equipment. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Suzhou, China and the head of its North American division is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Positec is known for its production of the Rockwell Tools, WORX and Kress brands which can be found in retailers like Lowe's, The Home Depot, Costco, and Walmart.
A vape shop is a retail outlet specializing in the selling of vaping products, though shops selling derived psychoactive cannabis products have increased since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. There are also online vape shops. A vape shop offers a range of vaping products. The majority of vape shops do not sell vaping products that are from "Big Tobacco" companies. In 2013, online search engine searches on vape shops surpassed searches on e-cigarettes. Around a third of all sales of vaping products take place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent vape market is a threat to their interests.
Retail apocalypse refers to the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010 and accelerating due to the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Polk Bros Park is a 13-acre (5.3 ha) park at Chicago's Navy Pier. The park features the Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion, Polk Bros Fountain, and the Polk Bros Performance Lawns, a pair of lawns with stages called City Stage and Lake Stage.
