HQ Welcome Feb 2020

Happy February, one and all. It is nothing but a pleasure to be on the other side of winter and all its bone-chilling bleakness. It’s not completely warm yet, especially in the northern half of the continent, but the Winter Solstice is now more than a month behind us, which means that the Sun is climbing a little higher on the horizon each day. Life is returning, slowly but surely. It’s almost time to come out of hibernation.

Not that any of us really got to hibernate; the retail cycle would never allow it. From Christmas rush to inventory to restock and now, straight into trade show season, there’s just no rest for the weary. But hey, at least trade show season means a trip to Vegas, where it’s practically always warm. If you’re heading out to the shows, especially CHAMPS, be sure and pack your orthopedic shoes and be doubly sure to come by the booth and say hi. We’ll be right up in the front as always. And if you’re currently flipping through this issue at the show, please take a moment to visit the booths of all of our wonderful sponsors and tell them we sent you. Meanwhile, wherever you are, we hope you enjoy the contents herein as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Happy Valentines Day, happy Presidents Day and a joyous trade show season to all of you!

Recent Articles

With Halloweentime upon us, ghosts and goblins all around the world are gearing up for the annual celebration of the macabre. Between dressing up in fun costumes and making caramel apples to taking our kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, there’s no shortage of things to do at the end of October; but did you know that some of the earliest traditions revolved around the use of incense and other herbal blends?
When I was in college, my sophomore year roommate, who went by Bear, had a two-foot-tall bong with a name. Green Lucy was a gorgeous emerald-colored masterpiece with thick, bulbous glass at the top, comfortable for ripping huge hits. It was a celebrity on our floor of the creative arts co-op where we lived. People would come from all over the house, and sometimes from other parts of campus, just to hang with Bear and get baked from Green Lucy.
Charlea came into the cannabis space as a journalist, covering Missouri’s fascinating cannabis landscape as it rapidly evolved. While reporting on the state’s medical marijuana vote, Charlea got to know a local physician who was equally passionate about legalizing medical use in the state.
Common business advice tends to view the 80:20 rule simplistically. Focus on the 80% of your store that drives profit, it says. Ignore the rest. That’s fine for the average folks. But what about those who want to boost the other 20%?
Before you've said a word, your shop is selling. The customer hasn’t touched a single product, and your staff hasn't even said hello. Your decor and layout have already done the talking, either pulling people in or pushing them away.
As VP of Operations at ATM Wholesaler and Elite Merchant Services, he’s picked up the baton from his father and CEO, Norman Koza, who passed it to him after founding this successful company over 25 years ago.