News

With 2018 just barely in the rearview mirror, the folks at Pleasant View Gardens have quickly strengthened its sales team by adding seasoned professional, Tom Pierro, as a new Territory Manager.

With nearly three decades of sales and management experience under his belt, Pierro brings with him a vast understanding of how to make customers more successful. And he’ll be able to apply that insight as PVG’s Northeast Territory Sales Manager, where his responsibilities include customer sales and presentation of company products and programs within that region, maintaining and developing customer relationships, staying up-to-date with industry trends, participating in new product development and evaluating new market opportunities, as well as performing on-site merchandising setup.

“Tom’s ability to manage complex programs, teamed with his tremendous background in sales made him the perfect fit for us”, exclaims Andy Huntington, Pleasant View’s national sales manager. “His focus on customer satisfaction and success is something that will help us satisfy the expanding needs of the Northeast. We’re looking forward to seeing what he’ll accomplish.”

Pierro’s sales and management background within the New England states makes him uniquely equipped to address the needs of that territory. That experience includes his most recent position as the New England commercial sales manager for Husqvarna, where he successfully managed his territory by building solid relationships and exceeding sales quotas each and every year. Prior to that, Tom was the account manager for The Brickman Group out of Connecticut, where he effectively managed $1.2M in business and successfully renewed 93% of his customers year-to-year. Pierro was also the territory sales rep for 47 Brand based in Massachusetts, VP of operations for LawnTailors in Connecticut, and operations manager for Freshwater Farms in New Hampshire.

Pierro earned his BA from the University of New Hampshire in 1994, and secured his Masters of Business Administration from the New Hampshire Graduate School of Business in 1996.

With the popularity of herbs and vegetables projected to continue again in 2019…and Spring just eight short weeks away…it’s time for retailers to think about how to attract even more customers to the edibles section of their stores. Knowing this, Savor has further expanded its set of retailer support tools to match its distinctive edibles and fragrants offering.

Motivated by the retro-styles so prevalent in today’s world of fashion, music, and even attitudes, Savor has developed a series of beautifully crafted, tin-style point-of-purchase signs with an urban aesthetic. With lines that are light on promotion and heavy on inspiration (“Grow what you eat. Eat what you grow.” and “It doesn’t get any more local than your backyard.”), Savor’s retro-merchandisers also carry an authentic scratch-and-dent façade to complete their appeal. And, as part of a retailer’s overall Savor display, these new signs help engage locavores looking to start their own gardening adventure.

“Given the influx of new and younger gardeners over the past few years,” begins Nathan Keil, Marketing Manager at Pleasant View Gardens (mothership of the Savor brand), we wanted to provide retailers with some fresh new tools that appeal to that audience on a much more basic level. And when you combine our unique product line with our new signs and existing merchandisers, retailers have everything they need to build their customer base bigger than ever.”

Beyond the new retro-signage, Savor has developed several other merchandising tools to help retailers increase consumer traffic, sales and loyalty. These include benchtape and cards, end-cap signs, trolley cart signs, cart shelf strips, and packaging – all the way down to the plant tags, which contain recipes for consumers to try after successfully harvesting their Savor herbs and vegetables.

To learn more about Savor, get Savor in your store, or get your hands on Savor’s new retro-inspired merchandising tools, visit www.growyourownadventure.com, call 603-435-8361, or even message us on Facebook or @savorediblesfragrants.

When it comes to high-performance in the horticultural industry, everyone knows the importance of a healthy and ever-expanding root system. The same thing goes for building a strong company, which is why Pleasant View Gardens (PVG) is excited to announce the addition of industry vet, Paul Hoffman, to its growing team as the company’s new Southern Territory Account Manager.

With nearly two decades of industry experience, Hoffman brings with him keen insight acquired from working closely with small start-ups, as well as established market leaders. All of which will help PVG strengthen its position in the southern markets as one the country’s top-performing wholesale growers of annuals, perennials, and herbs – most notably Proven Winners^® plants.

“Having Paul on board with us is just the shot in the arm we need for our southern region,” states Pleasant View’s National Sales Manager, Andy Huntington. “His experience, combined with a natural passion for top-notch customer service makes him the perfect fit for us as we continue to expand and make our customers successful at every turn.”

Hoffman’s responsibilities with PVG will focus primarily on the management and expansion of its southern territory, but will also include activities related to new product introductions, sales and broker program planning and implementation, as well as nurturing relationships with customers and broker reps. Hoffman will also be actively involved with Proven Winners^® Certified Garden Center training and customer education specific to plant materials, Pleasant View Gardens and Proven Winners^® brands.

Prior to joining PVG, Hoffman was the Territory Manager of Golf Irrigation for Wesco Turf in Northern Florida, where he represented Toro’s irrigation line of products for golf courses in the largest geographic area of the company. It was there where Hoffman earned the prestigious “Toro Rookie of the Year” award. Hoffman is also SMEI Certified and was the past president of the North Florida Chapter of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association.

Hoffman’s past hort experience also includes his time as sales manager for Green Technologies, where he established sales distribution channels for an undeveloped organic-based fertilizer company – selling to garden centers, wholesalers, and golf courses. He was also the regional sales manager at Skinner Nurseries developing an outside sales team that helped catapult the company from a modest $9 million to more than $100 million in annual sales.

Hoffman hails from Iowa’s Ashford University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship.

Even as the end of the 2018 season draws near, things continue to grow at Pleasant View Gardens (PVG) with the addition of its newest Inside Sales Rep, Terasa Asselin.

“We were looking for a polished sales pro who could help us build and maintain strong relationship with our new and long-standing customers”, starts Andy Huntington, Pleasant Views’ National Sales Manager. And Terasa is the perfect fit for our team.”

With a full decade of sales and customer service experience under her belt, Terasa is well equipped to strengthen PVG’s customer relationships and assist those customers in becoming even more successful. As one of a select group of PVG professionals responsible for making sure customers are well taken care of, Terasa will be providing timely product information, quotes, and delivery schedules, while monitoring product performance and ensuring customer expectations are met. All in an effort to help PVG maintain one of the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry. Beyond her inside sales responsibilities, Terasa will also be tasked to work with brokers to ensure their programs, special pricing, and orders are handled seamlessly.

Prior to joining PVG, Asselin worked with Comcast, UniFirst, JC Penney, and New Hampshire Exteriors, helping each improve company performance and customer satisfaction. In addition, she assisted with in-bound sales, business trend analysis, employee training, and furthering the business goals of each organization of which she was a part.

Terasa is a recent graduate of Southern New Hampshire University in 2017, where she received her Bachelor of Marketing degree.