Four Star Greenhouse: Gold Key Program

GOLD KEY GROWER

Updated: November 21, 2007

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Gold Key Is Within Your Reach

All you need is 16,500 Square feet inside and /or out to dedicate to the Proven Winners® / Proven Selections® program

Every Proven Winners®, Proven Selections®, Proven Winners® ColorChoice® liner you purchase brings you one step closer to Gold Key Status, and your choice for FREE marketing materials. It only takes 100,000 liners to be a Gold Key Grower! You might say "Only?" as this sounds like a large number...please don't count yourself out. We have examples of Gold Key Growers that have achieved this with just an acre of greenhouse space to growers who have many, many acres. Following we have broken down an example showing how much space it could take to achieve this level, the possibility of Gold Key is within your reach.

How much space is 100,000 liners?

At 4 liners per square feet (based on our 8-count, Proven Winners® / Proven Seletions® 4.50 symetricized container and tray program), 100,000 liners equal about 25,000 square feet of space (approx. 1/2 acre+)

By utilizing our SuperNova® Liners for your 4.50 container, you'll also benefit by having shorter crop times, thus increasing the number of turns you can achieve in that season.

For this example, let's use a very safe number of turns. At 1-1/2 turns of product you only need about 16,500 square feet of greenhouse space for this material.

8 Greenhouses (20 x 100 each) = 16,000 Square Feet
In Which You Can Gross $300,000 to $400,000
And Become a Gold Key Grower

This is all very conservative regarding space, as we have not even taken into consideration, hanging baskets, upright containers, 1.0 GL containers, etc. We have also not taken advantage of outdoor growing space for plants which can tolerate cooler temperatures.

Here is an example of a production plan utilizing these different sizes...

Container Size	# Of Plants	Quantity Of Each Plants	# Of Liners Per Unit	Crop Total	Total # of Liners
4.50 Containers	50	150 Trays	8 Per Tray	7,500 Trays	60,000
1.0 GL Containers	30	150 Containers	3 Per Gallon	4,500 Containers	13,500
Hanging Baskets	12 Combos	200 Baskets	9 Per Basket	2,400 Baskets	21,600
Upright Combo	15 Combos	50 Uprights	7 Per Upright	750 Uprights	5,250
				Total	100,350

There you have it...you just achieved Gold Key! Still intimidated by these numbers? Consider the following...

Four Star Greenhouse offers over 400 plants to include in your selections.
We recommend having staggered plantings, which means that you would plan for fresh production every two weeks.
Programs like Spring Magic®, Summer Celebrations®, & Fall Magic® help to extend your season even further and all count towards your Gold Key volume.
Proven Winners® ColorChoice® also counts towards this volume, these plants open up a whole new world of marketing opportunities and product offerings for growers.
Haven't offered Perennials to your customers, try our SuperNova® 18's which includes a list of the most popular perennial plants which can be grown right alongside your annual production with the same timing.

The bottom line is, we are interested in your success!

Whatever level you are at, or would like to be at, we are committed to helping you achieve these goals. We realize and have seen many great examples of growers who are achieving great profits by embracing the Proven Winners® and Proven Selections® programs and all that it has to offer. We enjoy what we do not only because of our love of plants, but also because of our passion and the rewards of helping others have success. This partnership between Yourself - Proven Winners® - and Four Star is simply a Win-Win-Win environment which we invite you to take full advantage of.

Enjoy All The Benefits..

Personalized Service

Gold Key growers are an elite group, and we believe they deserve extra attention and service. Among those services are: personal visits from Four Star Greenhouse to discuss which products will best meet your needs, ordering and management of your product inventory, and free samples of new introductions for pre-season evaluation. Besides fewer headaches, you'll also have more time for customers and employees. We assign a designated Key Specialist to each Gold Key account, ensuring you receive the personalized attention you deserve as a supporter of the Proven Winner brand.

Ask Us About

Exclusive Gold Key Benefits

Gold Key Customers will enjoy
significant freight savings using our SuperSaver Rates!
Let us tell you about one of the easiest way's to reduce your costs.

Join us at our Annual
Four Star Greenhouse
New Varieties & Programs Open House
Being Held Mid May 2008
or join us to evaluate
our Summer Display Gardens featuring all the new 2009 introductions.

Point Based Benefits

Our point based benefits programs makes it easier to get the rewards that would best benefit your company. With past programs, you automatically received P.O. P. material as this benefit. We have opened the options to provide you with a broader list of options that you feel will have the greatest impact and support you in your growth.

Choose from Benefits like:

Spring Magic®, Summer Celebrations®, Fall Magic® & Proven Winners® ColorChoice® P.O.P. kits and components.
Literature: Proven Winners® Garden Idea Books and/or Proven Winners® Container Design Books
Advertising: Regional Magazine Advertising
Bench Systems Proven Winners® Benching Displays
Container Garden Tags, Proven Winners® Fertilizer Kiosk Packages, Seminars, & More!

(Benefits & Qualifications are subject to change at any time: Visit www.ProvenWinners.com for the latest details)

Base Level Benefits -
Every Gold Key Gets Started On The Right Path

One (1) free educational seminar program
One (1) new plant sample package of the 2009 introductions for your pre-season evaluation.
Option to purchase Infinity New Guinea Impatiens as Un-rooted cuttings.
Invitation to a Key Breakfast at the annual Ohio Short Course, held each July in Columbus Ohio.
Dedicated Gold Key account specialist (see above)
Priority listing in the Wholesale Grower Locator and/or Retailer Locator at provenwinners.com

Becoming a Gold Key Grower

To become a Gold Key Grower, a customer must purchase a minimum of 100,000 young plant units, pre finished units, or a combination of the two. All plants must be purchased from a Proven Winners® licensed propagator. A young plant unit equates to one (1) individual plant. [Example: An 84 count tray equals 84 units]. Un-rooted Infinity New Guinea Impatiens do no count towards achieving Gold Key status, and are considered as a benefit upon reaching the Gold Key volume.
The Gold Key year includes orders shipped from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Products that count towards Gold Key status include: Proven Winners® / Proven Selections® Annuals, Proven Winners® / Proven Selections® Perennials, Proven Winners® ColorChoice®. This includes all programs such as Spring Magic®, Fall Magic®, & Summer Celebrations®.
A point system has been established for the Gold Key Program for the 2007-2008 season (see benefits below). Each liner unit or pre-finished unit equals one (1) point.
Once you reach the 100,000 unit volume level, you will receive 100,000 points to be used to select benefits from a list of "Point Based Benefits" and a set list of "Base Level" rewards.
As your volume exceeds 100,000 liners, you will continue to earn an additional point for each unit ordered, redeemable as they build for additional "Point Based Benefits".

We also offer a stepping stone,
taking you on your Way to Gold Key

We realize that not every grower we sell to will achieve Gold Key level, however consider each and every one or our customers equally important to us. To reward customers who are increasing volumes with us, meaning they have embraced our varieties and programs, we have developed our Silver Key & Bronze Key Programs. Get all the details on this program by click on our Silver Key or Bronze Key menu.

What are Gold Key Growers Saying?

"I have been very successful in raising Proven Winners® and Proven Selections® in combo hanging baskets, planters, and pot crops for the retail garden center market. My success is due in the most part to the excellent service and tech support from Four Star Greenhouse.

La Rosa Greenhouses have been depending on Four Star for their fine products and services for 8 years and have had a very good relationship between propagator and wholesale grower.

Their deliveries are always on time which is very important to me in the critical planting season. Four Star products have long been #1 in quality. I call them 'trophy'.

That is why I am a Four Star Gold Key Grower."

Carmen J. La Rosa
La Rosa Greenhouses
Woodstown, New Jersey

Tom Smith presenting Carmen La Rosa
with a small token of appreciation as a
'Four Star Gold Key Grower' at our
2004 May Open House.