http://www.carlinsales.com

The Weekly Dirt, for 28 Jan. '03
An e-mail newsletter from Garden Center Merchandising & Management
editor Carol Miller

* Emerald Expo, scheduled for July 24-25 in Seattle, has been
cancelled. The trade show sponsored by Wash. State Nursery & Landscape
Assoc., premiered in 2000. 800.672.7711.

* Nat'l. Retail Federation's forecasts predict that 2003 GAFS sales
(general merchandise, apparel, furniture and home furnishings,
electronics and appliances, sporting goods, hobby, books and music)
are estimated to increase 5.6% from last year. According to its Retail
Sales Outlook Report, NRF cites gains in consumer income and low
interest rates as major contributors to growth in 2003. "The economy
has been going through a soft spot in activity which will give way to
accelerated growth this year," said NRF chief economist Rosalind
Wells. "2003 will not be a year of exceptional strength, but rather of
solid advance."

* Scotts Co.'s 1st quarter net sales increased 12% from the same
period last year. The Marysville, Ohio, company reported a quarterly
loss of $46.8 million compared with a loss of $65.4 million for the
same period in 2002. Due to the seasonal nature of the lawn and garden
business, Scotts reports a loss in the 1st quarter of each year. This
year's reduced loss resulted from improved sales and supply chain cost
reductions.

* Do you know any young people who are potential garden center
managers? Why not allow them to spend part of a day with you to see
what it's all about? National Job Shadow Day is Friday, Jan. 31.
National Job Shadowing is a coordinated effort of America's Promise,
Junior Achievement and U.S. Dept. of Labor. The annual initiative
gives students the opportunity to "shadow" a workplace mentor.
http://www.jobshadow.org

* The idea of turning deserts into fertile fields may be emerging from
the realms of science fiction into reality. Stephen Salter, a
respected inventor and engineering professor at Univ. of Edinburgh, is
about to launch the research stage of an outlandish theory. He
proposes using a giant turbine, close to 200 feet in diameter, to toss
tiny droplets of seawater into the air. A small portion of the water
will vaporize, leaving behind any salt content, and -- hopefully --
drift onto land, where it will form rain clouds. Several geographic
features need to be in place for the theory to work, and Salter has
mentioned 2 locations where he may conduct his trials, a site on the
Mediterranean and another on the Red Sea.
http://www.mech.ed.ac.uk/research/wa...aper%20Feb.pdf