July 17, 2013, Columbus, OH — Next year’s Ohio Short Course will be 50,000 square feet larger.
July 17, 2013, Columbus, OH — Next year’s Ohio Short Course will be 50,000 square feet larger.
The expanded space will host companies that sell products and services to garden retailers.
“For years, OFA Short Course has been a preferred destination for independent garden retailers, florists, growers and installers,” said Sherry Johnson, OFA’s trade show manager.
“Our seven-acre trade show sells out every year, and it already includes numerous companies that provide products and services to retailers. There is great demand for us to offer more exhibitors and activities for retailers and others.”
Michael Geary, OFA’s and ANLA’s chief executive said that when ANLA and OFA combine, our new organization will become the world’s largest trade association of independent garden retailers. The premier event needs to reflect the make-up of our membership and the industry, and offer one-stop buying and selling for goods and services.”
RETAIL EXHIBITORS AND SEMINARS
The OFA Short Course currently includes exhibitors that provide hard goods, plants, and business services for growers, retailers, and installers, and comprehensive education on business management, marketing, and greenhouse and nursery production.
“The reality is that for most retailers, plants can make up as much as 80 per cent of annual sales,” said Geary.
“At Short Course, attendees can see new varieties and other plants that consumers want to buy. But it’s not plants alone that retailers sell, so we also offer a wide assortment of hard goods and services to round out their inventory.”
IMPROVED NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Improving business management skills and networking with peers is also important, according to Kate Terrell of Wallace’s Garden Centre in Bettendorf, Iowa.
“It’s important that retailers and growers – the entire industry supply chain, in fact – be together under one roof. We can learn from each other and do business. Why segregate ourselves into separate events?”
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