History: Since its inception in 2006, the Revolutionary 100 Awards Program has been unique among industry rankings. Rather than base the list on more common metrics such as sales volume or square footage, the Revolutionary 100 Awards focus on recognizing the most innovative retail garden center operations - big and small - for their commitment to creating a customer experience that sets their operation apart from the rest and doing so in a way that helps them to be profitable businesses. It's all about being Revolutionary.

Criteria: This designation is not bestowed upon just any garden center. Participants are required to complete a comprehensive questionnaire, supplying information about marketing strategies, operations management theories and implementation, employee education, customer service programs and community/industry association stewardship. Points are awarded based on the response to each question and the top 100 total scores - regardless of location - are named as Revolutionary 100 Garden Centers. This elite group of 100 becomes a resource for discussing industry trends and benchmarking ideas to share within the industry throughout the year.
The 100 garden centers on each year's list are divided into five geographic regions - Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West - and the top score in each is named as a Regional Winner. The Revolutionary 100 list and profiles of the five regional winners are published annually in the January issue of Today's Garden Center. From the five regional winners, one national winner is chosen and featured on the cover of the February issue. All the winners are honored at a special award dinner held in late February.

Ceremony and Roundtable Event: The 100 Revolutionary Awards Roundtable & Award Ceremony will assemble some of the best and brightest minds in the retail garden center industry for two days of intensive discussion on issues that will impact the industry's future growth and development. The highlight of the event is the Revolutionary 100 Awards Dinner, honoring the National Winner, as well as each of the Regional Winners.

Roundtable Report: The culmination of the roundtable discussions will be the 100 Revolutionary Roundtable Report - a cutting-edge, forward-looking summary of where the retail garden center industry is headed, what challenges and opportunities lay ahead and how independent retailers can map a plan for future success. The report will appear in the July 2008 issue of Today's Garden Center.
Compiled by the award-winning editorial team of Today's Garden Center, the special report will feature in-depth analysis of exclusive industry research, interviews and the proceedings from the 100 Revolutionary Roundtable. This powerful trio will produce a report that every retail garden center owner and manager will want and need to read to stay ahead of the competition.