-By Michelle Moran

Store Stats
Number of Stores: 1
Year Opened: 1908 Farm Stand; 1998 Market
Number of Employees: 100
Hours: Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Owner: Bob Sickles
General Manager: Mark Sandstrum
Nature of Business: Third-generation family-owned-and-operated gourmet grocery market, garden center, cut flower and fine home & garden gift departments. Employees provide complimentary consultation and professional guidance in gourmet food market, gift department and garden center. Sickles Market is known for its top-quality products and superior service.
Facility:
• 6-plus acres
• 20,000-square-foot retail facility
• 4 production greenhouses, or a total of 13,000 square feet of greenhouse production
• 140-space parking lot, and additional nearby parking
• Over 10 acres of working farm production, including Sickles' famous raspberries & blackberries
Web Site: www.SicklesMarket.com

If you want to meet a grocer who can talk to you about farm-to-table product, there is no one truer to the mission than Bob Sickles and his family. For 300 years, the Sickles family has farmed the soil of northern New Jersey, producing the best-quality crops to feed the local residents. Bob's father, at 81 years old, continues to grow blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes and other vegetables, as well as purchase from New Jersey farms that the family has dealt with for generations.

Since 1908, Sickles Market customers have come to depend on the Sickles family and their team to provide the absolute best product at a fair price. The market has grown -- and maintained -- its gross sales in spite of increased competition from several mega supermarkets like Whole Foods and Wegmans only minutes away.

Growing a Specialty Store
A former seasonal farm stand, Sickles Market became a year-round specialty food market and garden center in 1998. The market remains located on ancestral property that dates back to a King's Land Grant in the late 1660s. The market has utilized its unique location (off the main road and behind a park) to add to the appeal of its shopping experience. It's in great proximity to New York City and embedded in one of New Jersey's most affluent (and demanding) savvy marketplaces.

When you hear this history, the thing that sticks out most is the Sickles family's longevity. Just as specialty food consumers love the story behind the product they are buying, we love the story behind a long-standing independent retailer.

Bob's father Robert farmed the land surrounding the store through the 1980s. Robert Sickles, now 81, is still farming and comes to the store every day.

"He's probably here more than me. My parents still live on the property. I grew up in the house they live in," Bob Sickles explained. "It's great having their opinions and advice. My dad is probably the one I learned the most from; he and my mom taught me how to treat people and how to run a business. They grew up in the Depression era -- they were from a great generation."

Bob Sickles has his own hands-on, field-to-fork knowledge -- planting, growing and harvesting. This specialized knowledge allows him to carry the best produce year-round. When Sickles says local, it's not a marketing gimmick; it is local. Consumers depend on Sickles for the absolute prime seasonal vegetables and fruits. Throughout its generations, the Sickles family continues to uphold hard work, honesty and compassion.

"I started working when I was 12 in the farm market. When I was 15, Dad and I would go up to Newark market to buy produce. He was farming 150 acres -- 80 acres here and 80 to 100 acres in the general area," Sickles said.

Bob went on to study ornamental horticulture and then came back to the family business after his studies. The Sickles took their work indoors in the '80s, expanding crop growth with greenhouses. The family's joy at growing great product and cooking made an impact on Bob Sickles, so as business began to grow sluggish in the '90s, he began to consider designing a year-round business.

"Honestly, in the '80s, I was lugging peat moss and watering in greenhouses. We grew everything from strawberries to zucchini to peaches. It was very seasonal and that was one of the things that killed me in the early '90s, trying to hang on to really great people when you close for four months. Now, we're open seven days a week, 12 months of the year."

About the time Bob Sickles was envisioning a year-round business, the real estate market presented the family with an opportunity. Robert Sickles became involved in a condominium development project using 50 acres of the then-current farmland. The proceeds of that project went into a family limited partnership that allowed Sickles Market to grow. Through the years, the trust has loaned the business money for additional growth, including a current renovation and capital investment program. So you could say the farmland continues to grow a very special crop.

The Sickles Market of today is comprised of a 20,000-square-foot retail facility (both garden and specialty food), four production greenhouses, or a total of 13,000 square feet of greenhouse production, and more than 15 acres of working farm production, including Sickles' famous raspberries and blackberries.

"Customers shop the store for everything. Some customers might come and shop food first, then come back and shop garden. I like to see people with shopping carts filled with product from both the garden and food areas. It's a great customer who shops everything. There are people who are further out and they will shop the garden center and might look at the food. These customers might come from 15 to 20 miles away," Bob Sickles said. "The garden center is a great business. It's highly seasonal though, so cash flow can be erratic. The food side is much more even in cash flow. It's an eclectic concept. You don't often find stores with the large element of garden and food. It's not a common mix."

But when you speak with Bob Sickles and you hear his vision, the mix seems so simply perfect. It's his passion for product and people -- instilled in him by his parents -- that feeds the store's growth and his team's enthusiasm. The team at Sickles Market is a long-standing group that continues to develop by both growing and attracting the best and brightest in the specialty food world.

"I think I have some really great personnel. Developing people is the best thing you can do and the hardest thing you can do. I don't think anyone would tell you their easiest job is personnel. I would not be where I am today without getting good people. It's always a struggle, but when it works, it's great. It's a great feeling," Sickles revealed. "Have you ever read the book Good to Great? You can get a lot of good out of the book. One of the main tenets is getting the wrong people off the bus and the right people on the bus, and how important that is."

He continued, "We continue to move ahead, and I like the concept of having one store and being really good at it. I've met and hired great managers and people who are still here today. It is about having the right people working for you that allow you to grow."

The Constant Learner
If there is one thing you realize about Bob Sickles when you meet him is his constant desire to learn and share. He epitomizes the American entrepreneur with a thirst for knowledge that is unquenchable.

For every concept Sickles ponders, he reaches out into the industry to find the best and brightest to help make it happen. When he first grew the store from farm stand to specialty marketplace, he brought in Alistair Lorimer from the British design firm Malcolm Scott, which specializes in the redesign of garden centers.

"I have always worked with a consultant to bring in new ideas. It's good to get an outside opinion," Bob Sickles explained. "Consultants help a lot. David Grotenstein in New York City helped me get my start in deciding what I wanted to do from the gourmet food perspective. He is very good with cheese and that is one of our strongest departments. It's been the strength of food that has carried us through this period and will probably carry us through the holidays. The garden center is most vulnerable to downturns in the economy."

Now, Sickles is focusing his efforts on cross-promotion. To meet his goal there, he's consulted with Ian Baldwin from San Francisco, an independent garden center business consultant and expert in merchandising and display in that field.

He even consults with his own team, providing managers and buyers information on financials so that they know when they are doing good and when they are not, and thus have another piece of the puzzle to move forward and grow. In addition to individual consultants, Sickles continues to seek out his peers for networking, brainstorming and sharing ideas.

"I am part of a share group in the garden center industry. We get together as owners to share ideas. We are far enough apart so that we are not competitors," he said. "For me, it's very important that people I work with are ethical and tell the truth; so we have this group of stores and we meet twice a year. I think the best and most creative ideas in the industry come from the independent. There is a purpose for those big box stores, but the best new neat products come from the smaller people."

Tending the Soil
Sickles' dedication to excellence continues to pay off. As he looks for new ways to build his business and keep his customers satisfied and shopping, Sickles is reinvesting in his store in spite of the current economic climate.

"We are doing a lot of capital investment right now. It's a good time to plough ahead," Sickles began.

What Sickles is ploughing these days is the deli line. They're completely replacing the deli line and acquiring a new generator to power the whole store in the event of a blackout, a frequent happening these days. "We've had blackouts over the past few years. We had one in June for two days and we lost a lot of product. We're bringing in a temporary generator so we can remain open during the installation," Sickles said.

"We're also upgrading the garden center with a new doorway to the greenhouse, replacing all the benching inside and outside the greenhouse. We're also redoing the 1-acre nursery area. Mostly it's a color nursery, we're revamping that area to be more appealing. We're also replacing a lot of product, kitchen equipment -- it's been 10 years and things are starting to show wear and tear. Overall investment will be $250,000 over the next couple of years. And we are evaluating profit centers, you have to consider if you are not that good at it, maybe you should not be doing it."

Sickles has also started new programs. A new homemade fudge area is doing well and Sickles believes it will continue to grow as comfort foods are really taking off.

In March, Sickles began a loyalty club program and now has almost 10,000 members. For every $500 club members spend, they get $10 back right off the register.

"We had an e-mail in late October (telling customers) if they spent $20 on a Halloween item, they'd get $10 off. While we were really giving something away for free, it was driving the foot traffic. Since Halloween is a seasonal category, it was a good choice since it's been a weak year. Our customers appreciate a bargain just like anyone else," Sickles said. "You really want to create offers that are easy for your customers to achieve. I think our loyalty club will really work well. We have six months of information and they say you really need a year to properly utilize it, but we have great data already to work with."

Former NASFT president John Roberts is a local and gave Sickles some sage advice.

"He said instead of giving customers an offer for those things you know they purchase, pay attention to what people are not buying," revealed Sickles. "For example, you can send out an offer to people who don't buy chicken and offer it at half price."

"We're very well-known in the area and the neighborhood. I have a PR person on retainer and she's very clued into the editors. It is important; it keeps your name out there. We are relatively recession-proof but current conditions are affecting us, too. We consider ourselves the purveyors of the 'good stuff.' Our job is to edit the product for our customers so that they can come and shop, have a great experience, and love what they are buying," he said. "I think the way forward in this economy is to constantly promote the value that is in the store. Often, we are identified as expensive. We are not. We try to make our store accessible to everybody. We could not be an Aldi or a Wal-Mart, and we are not a Tiffany or a Coach. We want to be well-rounded for all people."

And that goal appears to be working. Sickles Market is seeing a sales increase of 3 percent this year. But Bob Sickles isn't resting on those numbers.

"The strength is in food for now. For the next three to six months, as bad as things look, now I am old enough to know that things recover and turn around and come back," Sickles said. "The important thing for independent retailers to do now is to make it through and hang on to their best people. For other retailers, they need to watch their per capita sales, make sure their customer count is stable or growing. You need to make sure that the food traffic is there. It's way more important and cheaper to hang on to you current customer than it is to lure new people in. If you are ignoring your current customers, that is a mistake."

He continued, "Our challenges over the next five years will be maintaining steady growth in the face of a weak economy, and healthcare is a big issue. It gets more and more difficult. The financial industry is going to take a big hit; and there are a lot of good people who are in the industry who are just doing their jobs and they are going to take a hit. We're going to see a reduction in that workforce and some of them are customers. So it makes me happy that I stuck with the philosophy to be accessible to everyone. You have to maintain a proper mix of product so you appeal to people of all income levels.

"Growth is great and growth is also relentless. It's great to grow but when you stop, well, anyone who says foot traffic is not important is wrong," he said. "Right now, it's harder work for less money. Figure out ways to hang on to your customers. Get out there on the floor and thank them all. It's important to get out there on the floor and I am probably lax as everyone can be. I try to schedule time to be out there to float and talk to employees, say hello and acknowledge them. There are customers who are feeling pain right now. The value of a nice shopping experience is not lost on people. Making that experience good for your customers -- that's what independents do."

GENUINE COMPASSION – Sickles Market also supports the community it serves. An annual fundraiser held in October raised over $300,000 in five years for Holiday Express, a local charity that brings holiday music and the necessities of life to disadvantaged people in institutions and soup kitchens. Sickles also contributes food, garden materials and funds to many other charities throughout the year.

EDUCATION – Sickles continually holds fun and informative events that help educate people of all ages about food and gardening with Back to the Garden, Kids Day, Blues Festival, Cooking Demonstrations, Cookbook Signings, Cheese Tasting Courses and more.

ROLE MODEL – Sickles Market was highlighted in a CNBC business segment about the role independent retail markets play in introducing new products to the market. Bob believes in helping local producers like Long Valley Shepherd cheesemakers and Blackwell's Organic Gelato get their products to the consumers, but the bottom line is that the product must be good enough to be carried by Sickles.

Sickles has received numerous awards, including 2004 Innovator of the Year Award from Garden Center Management & Merchandising Magazine and 2006 Top 100 Revolutionary Garden Centers for 2006 – Today's Garden Center; 2008 Best of Little Silver in Farm Markets category awarded by U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA); "Random Acts of Beauty 2008" by Little Silver Garden Club; and "2007 Outstanding Specialty Food Retailer" by NASFT.


Sickles Market offers:
• Produce – The freshest produce delivered daily. Seasonal locally grown fruit and vegetables, including Sickles' own field-grown raspberries and blackberries.
• Baked goods – Artisan breads from Balthasar Bakery and Featherstone Dist. House-made desserts, fruit tarts and specialties from other bakeries.
• Cheeses – Cut-to-order artisanal cheeses, imported & domestic, including Red Cow Parmigiano Reggiano, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Colston Bassett Stilton, Raw Milk Epoisses, etc.
• Deli – Prepared food, premier brands including Boars Head, Sickles' own top-quality rotisserie meats, and Freebird and Murray's poultry, specialty seafood dishes, homemade salads, sides, entrées and soups.
• Prime dairy items including certified organic milk products, Stonyfield Farm and Total yogurts, European-style butters, crème fraîche and mascarpone.
• Gourmet grocery products, including the finest caviar, olive oils, vinegars, foie gras, D'Artagnan smoked meats, Ducktrap of Maine, and many of the latest gourmet items available.
• Cut flowers, local and sourced from around the world, specializing in local field flowers, Holland tulips, long-stem roses and many exotics.
• Fine Home & Gardening Gifts – Unusual, eclectic, fun, traditional and seasonal.
• Garden accessories – Fine statuary, fountains, pots, tools, urns, furniture, bird feeders and bird houses.
• Garden Center – Featuring over 1,000 beautiful varieties of annuals and 400 perennials; Sickles grows many varieties in their greenhouses; Sickles also sells the well-known and exclusive Garden Splendor trees, shrubs and perennials, www.Gardensplendor.com; 250 varieties of traditional and unusual shrubs and trees, and 200 rose varieties.
• Artistic planted creations for all seasons.

Memberships & Associations:
American Nursery and Landscape Association
NASFT
Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce
National Federation of Independent Businesses
Ohio Florists Association
American Cheese Society
Perennial Plant Association
James Beard Foundation
N.J. Farm Bureau
N.J. Agricultural Society

Awards & Invitational:
2004 Innovator of the Year Award from Garden Center Management & Merchandising Magazine
2004 Community Service Award from The Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 James Beard Foundation Chef's Invitational – Cheese Service
2007 American Cheese Society Conference – Panel Guest, Meghan Mullaney
2006 100 Top Garden Centers – Today Garden Center
2007 Outstanding Retailer – National Association for the Specialty Food Trade

Philanthropic Program:
Many donations in kind to approximately 30 charities; Annual Wine & Cheese Tasting & Benefit for Holiday Express raised $24,000 in 2004; $45,000 in 2005; over $80,000 in 2006; over $100,000 in 2007.

Sickles Stockpiles: A Sampling of What They Carry
Produce
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Driscoll's Berries -- The best berries from California and all over the world
• Red Jacket Orchards -- Cider, apples, juice products from the finger lakes in New York
• Bon Campo packaged produce items like fresh herbs, fingerling potatoes, dried mushrooms and other specialty produce items

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Pomegranates by POM (they developed the Wonderful variety of pomegranates and ignited the craze for everything pomegranate, including their famous juice)
• Red Jacket Orchards' Fuji Apple Juice
• Carnival Squash -- Very decorative yet highly edible like acorn or butternut squash
• Honey Crisp and MaCouns Apples -- The first is red-hot and new, the second is always red, hot and heirloom!

Gourmet Grocery Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Stonewall Kitchen -- Full line of jams, sauces, salsas, etc. from Maine, not available in supermarkets
• Society Hill -- Upscale snacks
• Plocky's -- One of the finest upscale chips of all types

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Salamandra brand Dulce de Leche -- From Argentina, much imitated but still the best
• Ourogal Portuguese olive oil
• Barefoot Contessa lemon curd -- New version of an old standard jazzed up with many slivers of lemon zest

Dairy and Deli Meat Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Fage Greek Yogurt products -- At the forefront of the current craze in cultured milk products that will become a standard in American cuisine
• Nueske's Bacon and other meat products -- Artisanal cured meat and meat products from the middle of America
• Natalie's Orchid Island Fresh Squeezed Juices -- Winner, National Taste Award

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Sabra hummus
• Al Fresco sausages
• North Country bacon

Cheese and Specialties Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Carr Valley, Wisconsin cheesemaker
• Cora, Italian cheesemaker
• Ditty's (Irish Oatcakes)
• D'Artagnan products -- One of the leading purveyors of preserved and fresh meats, poultry, pates and cured meats in the world
• Ducktrap of Maine -- Smoked salmon and associated products

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Didier Goubet Lavender Honey Nougat -- Traditional nougat is fast becoming popular here in the United States. It has been in Europe for centuries. A modern yet very different version would be the inside of a Three Musketeers bar
• Vervacious Cheese Accompaniments -- Sexy, beautiful bottle with gorgeous contents, great with cheeses
• DiBruno Bros. Abbruzze Spread -- Famous Philadelphia specialty grocer's homemade spread

Garden Accessories Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Coles Birdseed -- Excellent blends and specific varieties of the best-quality seed for the birds!
• Droll Yankee Birdfeeders -- One of the best, made to last
• Border Concept Pots and accessories -- Great line, all types of pots

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Meadowbrooke Gourds -- All products made from real gourds. Very cool. Great Web site
• Eco Source Rice Biodegradable Pots -- Very green and hip
• Old World Christmas Ornaments by Merck -- Traditional ornate glass ornaments

Gift Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Mistral Lotion and Soaps -- Excellent line
• Root Candles -- Very popular
• Totally Bamboo -- Cutting boards

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Baggallini Handbags
• Dash and Albert Rugs
• Votivo Candles and Diffusers

Prepared Foods, Meat and Deli Dept.
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Boars Head provisions -- Best in the country
• Murray's Chickens, Freebird rotisserie birds
• Heritage pork

Unusual items carried by Sickles Market
• Flat Iron Steaks
• Shickhaus hot dogs in the summer. Very famous in New Jersey

Annuals, Perennials, Nursery Stock
Product brands carried by Sickles Market
• Proven Winners plant lines -- Annuals and nursery stock
• Garden Splendor plant lines -- Perennials and nursery stock