PROFILE Instore Fall10 Molbaks

8/2/2019 PROFILE Instore Fall10 Molbaks

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I N S T O R E w w w . d a l l a s m a r k e t c e n t e r . c o m22

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Inid h Nohw ooming gadnand hom dinaion ai.

Ph

otos

by

AliHarvey

MolbaksGarden + HoMe

The year was 1950. Exchange student Egon Molbak had recently returned home to Denmark from the United States to

marry his Danish sweetheart, Laina, and take her on a romantic honeymoon in the states. Neither of them could have

guessed that it would be years before they would return home to their native Denmark.

Nearly 60 years into their extended honeymoon, the couple has formed a deep-rooted community in their home-

town of Woodinville, Wash.

Out on their own and armed with their passion for gardening and the dream of starting their own company the

Molbaks started a production and wholesale greenhouse in 1956 under their name. Business was thriving, and Egons

extraordinary green thumb attracted neighbors who tried persuading him to sell some of his plants to add to their

personal gardens. It wasnt until 1967 that Laina was finally able to persuade her husband to open the greenhouse to

by KrIsty Alpert


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retail customers; when he did, the business took off.

With the increased success of the retai l additions, the family, which

by then included four children, decided to keep the store true to itsroots: they used the interconnected weave of repurposed greenhouses

as their cleverly authentic retail front and moved their production farm

10 minutes down the road to a 40-acre facility. Their children loved

running around the 150,000-square-foot store, but it was their son,

Jens, to whom the couple would eventually pass on the torch (or rake,

as the case may be).

When I was a child I was relatively involved in the store until age

11 or 12, says Jens Molbak, current owner of Molbaks Garden + Home.

Mom and dad really encouraged us to get out and work other places. Soafter I turned 16 I didnt work there for a while.

Molbak enjoyed his fair share of adventures on his quest for

employment, working everywhere from a winery to a bank. After busi-

ness school, he used the same

entrepreneurial spirit he learned

from his parents and started his

own company called Coinstar,

which he took public and r an for

12 years.

It was a lot of fun taking my

idea and watching it grow quite

rapidly, Molbak recalls. But I was really looking for a lifestyle change

and I decided Id try to localize. Since the business was in a little bit of

trouble in 2001, I decided to step back in and I bought it right around thetime I turned 40. Ive been running the store for about nine years now.

Aside from keeping the business running smoothly, maintaining

the family values of the store have been of the utmost importance to

Molbak, who still welcomes his fathers feedback when he makes his

weekly appearances at the store to check in on things. One of the things

thats been really enjoyable from a family standpoint has been getting to

know my parents in a way I wouldnt have gotten to know them before,

admits Molbak. There are some things I might do somewhat differ-

ently, but the basics and the foundation have been here for a long time.If anything, Im more surprised how similar things are rather than how

different things are.

Whats fun for me is that Im 48 now, so I get to think about and

experience some of the things he thought about when he was in his 40s.

So its interesting for me to understand his life differently than I would

have if I had not been doing this.

deFiNiNg ANd deSigNiNg The experieNce

The store saw great success once Jens took over as owner, but it wouldnt

have happened without a little innovative thinking.

When I first took over I didnt have a lot of personal background and

Molbak's Garden + Home in

Woodinville, Wash., grew from the

gardening passion of Egon and

Laina Molbak. The business they

started in 1956 has grown from

a wholesale greenhouse into a

popular retail store.


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knowledge of gardening, admits Molbak. I took out a big ad in the

newspaper and I published my e-mail address and told people I was

the new owner of Molbaks. I invited them to e-mail me their t houghts

on what they thought about the store and what theyd like changed or

improved.

After sifting through roughly 500 e-mails f rom customers and gar-

dening fans across the state of Washington, Jens had a complete sense

of who his customers were and exactly what they wanted to see from

his store.

It was really helpful to me to get a sense of how people think. One

of the things that came out of that was we increased our selection of

perennials and now we try to keep a tight link to what the consumer

wants and what we offer.

Owning a store that offers both home and garden supplies and prod-

ucts can seem a little broad, which is why Molbak went to work right

away defining a clear vision of which products make it to his storefront.

Our goal is to create a store that helps people connect with each

other, with the garden, with the environment, and with the world and

community around them, he says. We think a lot about garden and

home because those are very big parts in peoples lives, and we believe

that what you see when you look outside your kitchen window in the

morning makes a difference in what you do during the day.

Its with that mindset that Molbak chooses his products, ranging

everywhere from water-saving mulch to Rosanna dishware. In keep-

ing with their brand identity, Molbaks always strives to incorporateproduct offerings that are hand-crafted, eco-sensitive and that have

co-branding opportunities. Some of the most popular brand names

they carry include Couleur Nature, Caldrea, Jessie Steele, Vance

Kitira, and Tom Douglas.

The stores departments consist of outdoor living, home and gift,

garden gear, custom creations (from custom containers to one-of-a-

kind floral arrangements) and seasonal plants80 percent of which

are grown locally at their production farm down the road. Their plant

selection includes everything f rom geraniums and Black Mondo Grass

to conifers from Iseliincluding the unique Thuja plicata Whipcord

and Tsuga heterophylla Thorsens Weepingand a variety of inter-

esting succulents and cacti. When people come here they have a very

unique experience than what they would have in any other retail envi-

ronment, says Molbak. People

come here and lose themselves

for hours.

The layout of the store organi-

cally flows from one department

to the next. When customers

The unique layout of Molbak's

Garden + Home takes custom-

ers on a journey through several

departments, each of which flows

naturally into the next.

I like to think we provideinspiration to people.


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walk in one end theyll find everything they need for their outdoorgarden, from big trees to shrubs. If they keep walking, they will run

into the vast supply of perennials, which slowly merges into the annual

plant section. Walking a little further through the labyrinth of spring

pansies or summer fuchsias will lead customers under cover to the

indoor plants and every supply needed to keep those plants alive and

be successful in the garden. The transition is smooth as customers shift

from outdoor to indoor, where they will find products for inside the

home like outdoor and indoor furniture and plants that can live where

no other plant could: silk plants. The final stop along the walk through

Molbaks is where customers can find the products inside the home that

will make them feel more comfortable and help them to feel more con-

nected to their garden. Supplies include personal care products, lotions,

gifts, plates, kitchenware and even food.

mASTerS oF creATioN ANd iNSpirATioN

With a parking lot that can hold more than 300 cars, Molbaks desire

is not to get people in and then quickly see them leave; he wants them

to stay and enjoy the magical experience the store offers. Alongside the

sheer size and stunningly large amounts of inventory, the other part of

what makes the store so unique is the inspiration displays throughout

the store. Molbaks goal was to show customers how to take the items

found in the store and give them a visual example that would inspire

them to re-create part of the experience in their own homes.

We try to give people ideas and stimulate thoughts for them so they

can walk through and say, I can do that at home, or, thats interesting,

I may do that in my garden, says Molbak. I like to think we provide

inspiration to people.

The inspiration not only comes from their displayswhich are leg-endary around the statebut also through their portfolios of custom

creations. Molbaks employees are masters at tak ing a customers ideas

and bringing them to life through their craftsmanship and creativity.

They offer custom services for everything from floral design in silks

and live botanicals, to one-of-a-kind containers, to design consulta-

tion, to even gift arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays,

and parties.

When the holidays roll around at Molbaks, something magical

happens. The store becomes one big display, complete with twinkling

white lights and carolers melodies heard throughout the complex. We

have professional decorators come in around the holidays, Molbak

adds. People come out starting in early November to see our display

of poinsettias. They stay to have a

cup of coffee and we serve Danish

kringle, which has been a tradi-

tion for a long time going back

for about 40 years now. Its a great

place to come and have a holiday

experience with your family and

Molbak's inspiration displays

throughout the store are designed

to show customers how different

items can be used in their own

homes. The displays have become

legendary around the state.


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bring a little bit of the holiday magic home.

The poinsettia display is worth the trip in itself, with shades that

go beyond the typical red, pink, and white; shades like Merlot and

Strawberries and Cream or one of the hand-painted poinsettias to

match any holiday dcor. Its not abnormal for families to come out

to Molbaks over the holidays to get their picture taken in front of the

giant poinsettia tree to send out as their holiday greeting cards.

expLoriNg ANd diNiNg iN The gArdeN

As if hand-painted florals and home supplies stacked with precision

throughout the store werent enough, Molbaks also plays host to a

number of events and workshops. Like the store itself, each workshop

is seasonally driven and can range from a cooking class on grillingnorthwest salmon with fresh-picked veggies to creating the perfect

outdoor room.

When not teaching cooking classes, running Russells Dining and

Bar restaurant in Bothell, or creating catering masterpieces for his

catering company, Executive Chef Russell Dean Lowell can be found

whipping up decadent, local delights at the Garden Caf at Molbaks.

Lowells passion for local and fresh food and his excellent reputation in

the northwest matches Molbaks overall vision with perfect unison. The

outdoor patio and real wood-burning grill, mixed with the temperate

northwest weather, makes the Garden Caf a perfect spot to relax after

a day of scouring the vegetation throughout the store. Handcrafted

soups, salads, wood-grilled pizzas, quiche, grilled sandwiches, and des-

serts grace the menu, with an assortment of local winesChef Lowell

hosts a wine-makers dinner where he creates a special meal paired with

local wines.

I talked to [Chef Lowell] about seven years ago about doing a caf that

was set in a garden setting with fresh, local foods that were reasonablypriced, and now we have the Garden Caf, says Molbak. Its a great

place to grab lunch for people who are working around town but its also

a great destination place for people who are stopping in to just grab lunch

with the girlfr iends. I recommend the grilled salmon sandwich. iS

aDDRess: 13625 Northeast 175th Street

Woodinville, WA 98072-8558

web sITe:www.www.molbaks.com

owneR: Jens Molbak

fIRsT YeaR In bUsIness: 1956

woRDs of wIsDoM: Live your brand.

fUn faCT: We are a destination garden

center attracting almost 1 million shoppers

each year.

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PROFILE Instore Fall10 Molbaks

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