Pleasant View Gardens:

"Proven Winners" in more ways than one!

Continued

Putting the premium to work

The extra revenue generated by premium pricing provides the resources for the Huntingtons (and their Proven Winners partners) to work with breeders, to do extensive research and development and to invest in modern technology. The brand team — with locations in the western, central and eastern United States — also spends more than $3 million annually promoting Proven Winners nationwide.

According to Henry, “The premium price helps us sell more product and, more importantly, helps growers to grow better plants and, in turn, sell more product. The investment will ultimately return to everyone in the chain.”

Always moving forward

Even the most innovative marketers cannot rest on their laurels. As the market evolves, the best entrepreneurs evolve with it, and that is precisely how the Huntingtons and their Proven Winners partners operate.

“In the beginning, it was easy,” Henry related, “because we were the only provider of such a high-quality product with variety. Growers were willing to pay the premium because we had no competition.”

Success breeds imitation, and before long other growers became competitive. “With newly arriving competitors in the market,” Henry added, “some growers don’t realize the value that Proven Winners brings. So we continue to look for more opportunities and strategies to convince them.”

Take, for example, Pleasant View’s annual open house in Loudon. It’s an event that draws more than 900 greenhouse owners and retailers who view new growing methods and discover innovative ways to display the Proven Winners line and other products. The event is immediately followed by a similar event targeted at 400 master gardeners, their ultimate consumers.

Other ways the Huntingtons and their partners promote and grow the Proven Winners brand include:

• Creative packaging and labeling for consumers

• Training programs and seminars for more than 2,000 growers and retailers nationwide

• A retailer certification program. (The idea is that educated employers and employees can better answer consumer questions. In 2004, more than 10,000 garden center employees passed the Proven Winner program to be certified. Certified retailers receive discounts on Proven Winners point-of-purchase displays and have access to the official Proven Winners Web site, which features comprehensive product information and a photo library with hundreds of photos for use in marketing.)

• A multi-million dollar support program, which includes advertisements in trade publications, participation at trade shows and underwriting for a PBS television show. (Proven Winners is the sponsor of a revolutionary new gardening series called “Smart Gardening” that will be broadcast nationwide on public television during the spring of 2005.)

• Branded apparel available exclusively for independent retailers

• Web-based consumer information plus their award-winning Gardener’s Idea Book

The Huntingtons realize that Proven Winners still has a long way to go, but the brothers feel confident that their brand is generating an enormous level of recognition, especially as a way to promote new horticultural genetic practices and to help growers and garden centers increase their margins.

“I think Proven Winners has been a huge influence in horticultural branding,” Henry said. “The whole industry is beginning to focus on bringing more value to the products, and the industry needs to get on board. Otherwise we’re just giving it away in the marketplace, and that’s a shame.We all work way too hard not to be more successful at this.”

Farm Credit plays a role

For close to 25 years, the Huntingtons have worked with First Pioneer’s Bedford, N.H. office for financing, tax services, appraisals and business consulting.

When discussing their achievements, the Huntingtons are quick to credit First Pioneer for contributing to their success. Henry said, “We have been able to grow because we have business partners like Farm Credit. Farm Credit understood and supported our vision because they realize that agriculture is a diverse industry with opportunities beyond production.”

Henry added, “The risk might have been high, but First Pioneer recognized our potential, and loan officers, like Dave Bishop and Bill Martin, taught us everything from how to read a cash flow statement to the crafting of our most recent financing package. They’ve been a great resource for tax and appraisal issues, too. They helped make our growth a reality. Farm Credit is an important business partner that supports our vision.”

Click here to return to Part I of this story.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of Financial Partner magazine. You can receive this FREE publication by clicking here.

Contact us at info@firstpioneer.com for more information.

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