Garden Centre Retail February 2019 by Eljays44

Garden Centre Retail ISSUE 41

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PEOPLE • PRODUCTS • PROFIT

February 2019

COUNTER OR TA B L E S E R V I C E ? GCR EXPLORES

IS ‘FLE XISM’ H O L D I N G YO U R B U S I N E S S B AC K ?

AN INTERVIEW WITH

DEREK RICHARDSON, GARSONS GARDEN CENTRES GET YOUR RECRUITMENT RIGHT

INSIGHTS FROM EMPLOYERS

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DAVID AUSTIN ROSES

EXPERT ADVICE ON THIS FIRM FAVOURITE

GROW YOUR OWN THE LATEST TOOLS AND GADGETS

46 07/02/2019 10:27

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07/02/2019 11:40

Welcome

WELCOME TO...

Garden Centre Retail 2

019 is a big year. It’s a big year for Garden Centre Retail as we’ve increased the frequency of print, it’s a big year for Britain with the Brexit vote, and it’s a big year for retailing, which is going through a myriad situations, each of which is causing some concern. However, at the GCA Conference in the glorious Luton Hoo Hotel in January, economist Paul Mason spoke to delegates, spreading a really positive message – as long as Britain’s politicians go down a ‘no deal’ route. Paul explained that although the only result that will see the economy stay on its predicted trend line is a scrapping of Brexit completely, all other routes aren’t as bad as we may think. Good news then. The other positive message from the conference was one many of us in this market already know – consumers want to spend time at a garden centre. You as an industry have created ideal locations for leisure time, offering a space to relax, a space to unwind and a space to shop. With this in mind, now is a real positive time to be in garden retail, and I can’t wait to see what this year holds for us. Enjoy your read,

CONTACT Eljays44 Ltd 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA EDITORIAL Managing Editor – Joe Wilkinson joe.wilkinson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 577 Subeditor – Kia Wilson kia.wilson@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 597 Subeditor – Sam Seaton sam.seaton@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 591 ADVERTISING Sales Manager – Tina Savelle tina.savelle@eljays44.com Tel: 01903 777 582 Horticulture Careers – Liam Colclough Tel: 01903 777 584 liam.colclough@eljays44.com PRODUCTION Design – Kara Thomas, Kirsty Turek

Joe Wilkinson Managing Editor, Garden Centre Retail joe.wilkinson@eljays44.com

Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Gwent, UK Published by ©Eljays44 Ltd MANAGEMENT Managing Director – Jim Wilkinson Director – Lisa Wilkinson Business Development Manager – Jamie Wilkinson

Now is a real positive time to be in the garden retail industry

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Joe and the GCR team Garden Centre Retail is published bimonthly by Eljays44 Ltd. The 2018 subscription price is £95. Subscription records are maintained at Eljays44 Ltd, 3 Churchill Court, 112 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3DA. Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Eljays44 Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, non-commissioned photographs or manuscripts.

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Whilst every effort has been made to maintain the integrity of our advertisers, we accept no responsibility for any problem, complaints, or subsequent litigation arising from readers’ responses to advertisements in the magazine. We also wish to emphasise that views expressed by editorial contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. Reproduction of any part of this magazine is strictly forbidden.

Garden Centre Retail February 2019

07/02/2019 09:04

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07/02/2019 11:41

Contents

Garden Centre Retail ISSUE 41

•

PEOPLE • PRODUCTS • PROFIT

February 2019

COUNTER OR TA B L E S E R V I C E ? GCR EXPLORES

IS ‘FLE XISM’ H O L D I N G YO U R B U S I N E S S B AC K ?

CO NTE NT S NEWS

BUSINESS

06 NEWS

A roundup of the latest news from the sector

08 GCA NEWS

DAVID AUSTIN ROSES

EXPERT ADVICE ON THIS FIRM FAVOURITE

40 LAWN CARE

19 BOOSTING FOOTFALL

42 GARDEN FURNITURE

22 ATTRACTING STAFF

How to draw and retain new talent

23 INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES

Tips to ease the hiring process

24 SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE

Exploring eligibility and entitlement

26 CATERING FOCUS

THE LATEST TOOLS AND GADGETS

46 07/02/2019 08:41

PRODUCTS

18 CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Five steps to success

GROW YOUR OWN

FEBRUARY 2019

38 GIMA

20 RETAILER HABITS

Cover.indd 1

16 FLEXIBLE WORKING

Springtime opportunities to increase customer conversion rates

INSIGHTS FROM EMPLOYERS

35 PLANT FOCUS

Derek Richardson, Garsons

Understanding the buying process

GET YOUR RECRUITMENT RIGHT

12 THE INTERVIEW

Is ﬂexism holding back business?

GCA Conference review

AN INTERVIEW WITH

DEREK RICHARDSON, GARSONS GARDEN CENTRES

David Austin Roses: all you need to know Look out for these lawn products How to make the sale Selection and display

45 LATEST PRODUCTS

New ideas in pet equipment

46 GROW YOUR OWN

Tools and gadgets for the garden

50 ANATOMY OF A PRODUCT Safelawn from Westland

Choosing a suitable food offering

30 RECRUITING STAFF

Experienced employers share their insights

www.gardencentreretail.com

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Garden Centre Retail February 2019

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News

NEWS CENTRE Marie Curie Gardman range to be continued by Westland

estland Horticulture announces that following the acquisition of Gardman Group, it will continue to support Marie Curie. The company formed the partnership in 2016. A percentage of the sale of each product donated to the charity. This is to help the charity with its work in supporting those living with terminal illness. Rachael Dickinson at Westland commented: “Marie Curie do some fantastic work. We are keen to honour the agreement

and help the charity continue its work. “The range of products has been very well received, with more than 200,000 sales of the Daffodil Feeder so far. “We expect that the acquisition will help reinvigorate interest and drive sales.” The range has returned with new lines introduced for 2019. To help support retailers, merchandising and display units are available. There are also discounts available for large orders. www.gardenhealth.com

Haskins scoops multiple awards at the GCA Conference 2019

askins is celebrating after taking home several awards at the 2019 GCA Conference. Competing against over 200 other centres, two Haskins entrants, Roundstone and Snowhill, were in the top 10 ‘Garden Centres of Excellence’. Roundstone ranked fifth and Snowhill ninth in the list. All four Haskins centres were recognised in the top 15 ‘Centres of Excellence’. Ferndown ranked 11th and West End ranked 14th. Haskins also won the ‘Worrall Cup’ for best marketing campaign for its ‘Big Reindeer Giveaway’. It also scooped first,

second and third prize for ‘Best Garden Products Retailer’ category. Warren Haskins, chairman, became an honorary member of the Garden Centre Association. Lisa Looker, brand director commented: “We’re thrilled we’re recognised across many categories for all our centres. “The awards are testament to the hard work of the teams at each centre. “We’re particularly pleased to have two centres of excellence in the top 10 centres. All four of our centres were included in the top 15!” www.haskins.co.uk

Haddenham Garden Centre expansion creates new jobs

addenham Garden Centre in Aylesbury has created new jobs after it secured vital funding for its expansion plans. Following the the long-awaited expansion, the familyowned centre will recruit an extra 17 staff.

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Garden Centre Retail February 2019

The project has been made possible after the centre secured a £180,000 grant from the LEADER Programme, aimed at small businesses and aims to benefit rural economic development. This will enable the centre’s coffee shop and farm shop to be extended, creating 17 jobs over three years. Director Ben

Hawkins said: “Expanding our coffee shop and farm shop will help us meet local demand. It also allows us to create higher quality amenities for the local area. These will have an emphasis on quality local food, and create jobs for the growing local rural population.” www.hadenhamgardencentre. co.uk

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News

Hare Hatch Sheeplands gets backing of Judge

okingham Borough Council cannot appeal against a ruling made on Hare Hatch Sheeplands last year. This related to a prosecution action sought by Wokingham Borough Council. Lady Justice Hallett also removed the reporting restriction applied by Wokingham Borough Council. Hare Hatch Sheeplands plant nursery had claimed an “abuse of process” by the council.

It charged owner Rob Scott and others with a criminal offence – being in breach of an enforcement notice. Hare Hatch Sheeplands claimed the council was unfair in deciding to prosecute them. It was a “misuse” of the court process, particularly as full compliance had actually been achieved. At the Crown Court hearing Her Honour Judge Morris agreed with Hare Hatch Sheeplands. She stated that

Simpsons Garden Centre profits grow

re-tax profit quadrupled for a Simpsons garden centre operator in its most recent financial year. Simpson Highview, which runs Simpsons Garden Centre, experienced a rise in turnover of £500,000. A strategic report with the business’s accounts stated. “The director is satisfied with the company’s results for the year and the ongoing development. The garden centre has continued to develop into a destination, with the plant offering remaining the core focus.”

Pre-tax profit increased from £86,003 in 2016/17 to £343,885 in 2017/18. For the same period, turnover moved to £5,409,937 from £4,950,846. Of this, turnover at the garden centre increased from £4,813,460 to £5,206,312. The report added: “The garden centre continues to reinvest in the site. Detailed plans are in place to start development work on site, which will enhance the customer experience.” The average number of employees slipped from 108 to 107 and staff costs dropped from £1,457,616 to £1,428,884. Last year, the GCA named Simpsons Scotland’s destination garden centre of the year. It also picked up a range of other titles. www.simpsonsgardencentre.co.uk

owner Rob Scott had been “induced” by council officials to withdraw his appeal. She added that this had the effect of denying him the opportunity to have the matter tested in the appropriate planning forum. Thereafter, she said, the council in fact had “sought to gain advantage of this situation by prosecuting Mr. Scott for the alleged transgression of the enforcement notice, without

him having recourse to the appeal process.” Concluding her judgement, Her Honour Judge Morris stated: “The fact the council has chosen to do so under these circumstances is unjust and unfair. “It offends the court’s sense of justice that it must stay the proceedings. This is in respect of these defendants to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system.” www.harehatchsheeplands.co.uk

Contractors appointed for Tong Garden Centre’s development

ontractors have started on the first phase of a £4 million project to develop Tong Garden Centre. Leeds-based Jennings will do the demolition work, while Ashcourt has been appointed as the main ground workers on the project. The Tong development includes a new plant canopy, an indoor play area and an events centre. Mark Farnsworth

said: “In our continued support of the local economy, we have appointed Yorkshire tradesmen. We estimate that £2.5 million of the £4 million investment will go to Yorkshire firms. This can only be good for the regional economy.” Work on the new plant canopy will complete in April and the indoor play and events centre will open in July. www.tonggardencentre.co.uk

Court for an injunction to shut the event down, due to the “traffic chaos” it caused when thousands of visitors flocked to the centre from across Essex. In September 2018, the council served an enforcement notice, ordering the business to cease retail sales and

demanding it not to host its festive event. However, the plant centre continued with the wonderland event regardless. HM Revenue and Customs presented St John’s Plant Centre with a wind-up petition on 19 November 2018. www.stjohnsplantcentre.co.uk

St John’s Plant Centre closes

t John’s Plant Centre, which defied Tendring Council by running a Christmas wonderland event last year without permission, has closed. The operating company has gone into liquidation. St John’s is currently closed to the public; records show

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liquidator Mark Reynolds at Valentine & Co has been appointed to the case. The plant centre had courted controversy due to its Christmas wonderland seasonal event in the past. In 2017, the council made a failed application to the High

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07/02/2019 09:10

News GCA

GCA NEWS

A roundup of the latest industry news and views from the Garden Centre Association this month

Millennials and merchandising best practice at the GCA Conference

etailing for the future and millennials were top of the bill at the Monday morning session at the recent 2019 GCA conference. Chairman Mike Lind, a director of Monkton Elm Garden Centre, welcomed the large number of guests to the 53rd annual event. Mike, who is half way through his term as Chair, which equates to almost 1 million

GCA Chairman Mike Lind

minutes, said he still has a lot of plans for his remaining time. After hearing from John Ashley on what Greenfingers has planned for 2019, and Peter Seabrook regarding the gardening competitions he’s involved in, the GCA inspectors, Michael Cole, Roger Crookes, Alyson Haywood and Gordon Emslie took to the stage. Michael Cole began by speaking about how garden centres are making good first and last impressions, and the importance of lasting impressions on customers. Michael picked out a selection of roadside verges, car park borders and welcoming signs, showcasing how these ensure customers and potential customers, are absolutely clear about what they will find within the centre. He showcased some excellent welcome areas, some inspirational displays from all

Garden Centre Retail February 2019

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differently, of high importance. over the country and ways in which garden After a short break for refreshment, it centres are enticing customers to shop, was awards time. Alyson Haywood talked and revisit. The wow factor was pointed through the garden centre category in the out on more than one occasion. Christmas display competition. Many good Next, Roger Crookes went on to explain examples of displays and merchandising how garden centres are actively selling ideas were shown, and Castle Gardens to millennials, as well as taking a look picked up the prize. at the plant offerings, both indoor and Andy Campbell showed the entrants outdoor. He also took a look at the digital in the destination garden centre. Again, marketing side of things – from websites best practice, and excellent merchandising to social media interactions options were presented, before Barton – an area he believes Grange garden centre collected the garden centres have a real category award trophy. opportunity to improve on. Finally, Michael Cole spoke about the Next, Alyson Haywood Ruxley Rose competition. Again, best presented the ways in practice and excellent merchandising ideas which some garden centres were showcased. This time, it was focused are doing things differently, on the plant areas. In the Garden Centre and to great effect. category, Paciﬁc Nurseries came third, The Referring to Michael’s Mains of Drum were second and Cowell’s focus on the wow factor, Garden Centre took the top prize. she emphasised the use of The destination garden centre category colour, innovating materials was won by Perrywood Garden Centre. and stunning displays to Bents took second and Coolings Garden entice customers to spend Centres took third place. more money. Onto the afternoon session. Iain Wylie Alyson also spoke about welcomed us back to the conference, retailing clothing, and how before introducing Chris Brown of Turpin making sure that products Smale Catering Consultants. Chris is the are neat, tidy and easy to man behind the Catering Rising Stars shop is imperative in this sector. initiative and introduced the four ﬁnalists Gordon Emslie closed the session to present their achievements since by focusing on branding and in-store signing up for the programme. Each of promotions, and how vital it is to show and take ownership of your brand. Gordon offered examples of gardens centres doing this correctly and to maximum effect. Gordon concluded by showing the audience the key focus points for the 2019 inspections, with selling to millennials, and Retail consultant John Stanley with Mike Lind doing things

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06/02/2019 15:55

GCA News

Mike Lind and Sir Clive Woodward OBE

them – Louise Spinks of Ruxley Manor, Susie Jarrett of Tong Garden Centre, Ben Ryding of Haskins and James Williams of Fron Goch – took to the stage in turn, showcasing some excellent business results of projects that they’ve undertaken as part of their programme. Following this, retail consultant John Stanley took to the stage to present an in-depth report on how garden centres can become game changers, and how the opportunities within our market are too good to refuse. John set out a list of strategies: •D own age the image of the garden centre whilst not upsetting existing customers rovide a sensory experience •P • Engagement experiences • I mpulse workshops that appeal to your consumer • Grab and go eing local isn’t important. Showing •B you care in the community is • Grasp technology • Build your social media platform • Reduce choices customer has to make. In the final session of the day retail futurist Matthew Brown addressed the audience. Drawing on his experience, Matthew showed how the whole of the retail sector is becoming ‘phygital’ – a combination of physical stores with advanced digital technology, making shopping experiences even more personal. Day two started promptly, with a reflection on the IGCA Congress from Prague last year. Millbrook Garden Centre’s Sue Allen introduced the

www.gardencentreretail.com GCA Conference.indd 9

audience to Jayne Scott and Matt Tanner from Klondike and Squires respectively, who were funded through the Dick Allen Scholarship to attend the congress. Both have been on the rising stars initiative in recent years. Matt and Jayne took to the stage to urge companies to apply for funding to send a young employee to this year’s conference, taking place in the UK. They shared their experiences and what they learnt from the congress. Next, BBC World Service news anchor Tanya Beckett gave an energetic and engaging viewpoint on how the way consumers consume news is changing. Tanya explained the processes of live news, the stress of things changing last minute, and how dealing with sensitive situations, such as her trip to Somalia, has helped her in her job.

Iain Wylie GCA Chief Executive

After coffee, delegates were treated to a talk by TV gardener and broadcaster David Domoney. David spoke about his initiative Cultivation Street, designed to encourage as many people into gardening as possible. He thanked garden centres who are involved with the initiative, praising them for giving time and energy, and often funding, into local community garden projects. David said that garden centres bridge the gap between professional horticulture and the amateur gardener and are in the perfect place to inspire people to get back in touch with nature. After a look at fire safety with regards to garden furniture from Mike Osborne of LOFA and Vicky Burch of Hertfordshire Trading standards, the stage was Paul Mason’s. Paul is a leading economist who has worked at the BBC and Channel 4. He said that garden centres and UK businesses only need to worry about the economy if there is a no-deal Brexit. Paul shared his expertise showing the economy of non-essential spend is what garden centres are fighting for, stating that the average family household spends araound £800 a week, of which £522 is on items, unlike the rest spent on housing, tax and interest. After a break for lunch, Gordon Emslie and Westland’s Jo Wilkinson relaunched the GCA rising stars initiative. To follow, special guest star former English cricketer, Kevin Pietersen MBE, took to the stage for a conversation with Mike Lind and Chair Elect Mike Burks. Pietersen and Mike Lind attended the same school in South Africa. The cricketer shared his story on being a professional cricketer, growing up in South Africa and the work he does to save endangered Rhinos in the Wild. Finally, the conference was closed by one of the greatest British leaders in sport, Sir Clive Woodward OBE – coach of the England Rugby World Cup winning side in 2003. Sir Clive spoke through his presentation, entitled: ‘The DNA of a Champion’, referring to his experiences of the World Cup and to his role as director of sport for the British Olympic Association, to show that with four key ingredients, talent, teachability, pressure and will, all teams can be successful. w

Garden Centre Retail February 2019 9

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ADVERTORIAL

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07/02/2019 05/02/2019 11:41 14:38

FEBRUARY 2019

BUSINESS 12

THE INTERVIEW Derek Richardson, Garsons

FLEXIBLE WORKING Is ï¬&#x201A;exism holding back business?

CUSTOMER JOURNEY Understanding the buying process

BOOSTING FOOTFALL Springtime sales opportunities

RETAILER HABITS Five steps to success

ATTRACTING STAFF How to draw and retain new talent

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES Tips to ease the hiring process

SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE Exploring eligibility and entitlement

CATERING FOCUS From counter to table service

RECRUITING STAFF Experienced employers share their insights

Business Cover.indd 15

07/02/2019 09:15

Business Interview

AN INTERVIEW WITH

DEREK RICHARDSON

GARSONS GARDEN CENTRES Garden Centre Retail visits Garsons in Esher to speak to director Derek Richardson about the long history of the company, his background and the transition from vegetable seller to garden retailer Derek Richardson’s great grandfather George Henry Thompson started the business now known as Garsons Garden Centre in 1871. “He came over from Hersham, which is 100 yards across the river. His mother took the lease of Winterhouse Farm, one of two farms that now make up Garsons. They grew vegetables and had an outlet in Borough Market for over 100 years.” Garsons boasts a long and interesting history. In 1878, the company leased the adjacent Garsons Farm, later purchasing the two farms that now make up a total area of 180 acres. The garden centre in Esher is on the grounds of these farms to this day. “We were horse and cart distance from London, so that’s how we travelled to town. My mother used to get a lift back from her school in Esher in the cart coming back from market.” As a child, Derek used to holiday with an uncle on a dairy farm in Herefordshire. He used to enjoy it so much that his aim in life was to be a dairy farmer. “So off I went, I left school to work on a dairy farm for no money, just my keep, six days a week with just Sundays off. After a month of that I decided it really wasn’t my cup of tea!” Following this brief ﬂirt with dairy farming, Derek returned to the horticulture sector, as this was all he had known. After stints working for the renowned vegetable production company FA Secrett Ltd, he was called up for National Service. “It was after the war of course, but once I’d done National Service for two years I went to Writtle University College for a year and achieved a national certiﬁcate in horticulture.”

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Garden Centre Retail February 2019

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Interview Business

A national diploma in horticulture with the RHS followed, before Derek decided to go into his own horticultural business. “Initially, I was going to set up business in 1960 with my youngest uncle, who was buying some land across the river here,” he explains. “About a month before that happened, he died very suddenly. He was 38 and my mother’s youngest brother. “Another uncle that was in the family business at that time was running Thompson Brothers in Esher and really

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wanted another close member of the family to work with him. I was already a qualified or semi-qualified horticulturist in vegetable growing, so he invited me to come back and join him. “The uncle who passed away had four children, the eldest of whom was 10 years younger than me. In fact, one of them, Peter Thompson, is now the chairman of the company – a position I held for 30 years – and is important in the story of how we got into retail.”

At the age of 21, Derek was back in the business. He spent the next three or four years working his way up, moving into management and began to run the vegetable growing business, market gardening and the London outlets. “My young cousin Peter came back into the business in 1968. There was a vacancy for a greenhouse manager in the company and Peter had been to college and successfully trained as a horticulturist. So we were both back in the business by 

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Business Interview the early Seventies, which at that time was run by three executive directors. “In the mid Seventies, we had a very dry summer – 1976 saw a big drought, and that’s when everything began to change, not just because of the drought that exacerbated the situation, but because supermarkets were short of products in 1975 and 1976.” We step back a little bit to 1970. “A cousin of mine called Anne, who was Peter’s sister, was at Birmingham University doing a degree. At the end of her second year she became very ill and was hospitalised.” Derek explains: “She didn’t return to university to finish her degree, but instead joined the business, as a form of therapy, selling produce grown on the farm. “That was our first venture into retailing. I’m pleased to say Anne got better, married and had children. The shop was established, and Anne continued to run it for a couple of years with Peter’s help. “We also had some staff who were approaching the end of their careers in growing and worked in the farm shop.”

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Garden Centre Retail February 2019

In 1978, the remaining uncle died, leaving Derek and Peter to run the business. “We were still growing vegetables, but not as profitably as before, and as we went into the Eighties this worsened – we had to decide what we were going to do.” Peter was looking after the retail side of the business and decided to put in a plant centre in the early Eighties. It was a plant centre, rather than a garden centre.” From here, they had to find a way to push themselves forward in the industry in order to succeed in the long run. “In 1989, we made a decision to build a garden centre building. We had to choose between building one big enough for what we needed at the time or build one twice the size, ready for expansion. We decided to build it twice the size!” “When we opened, we filled three parts of it with garden furniture. As we developed, we put a small restaurant in the corner of the building, and the farm shop progressed successfully too. The garden centre grew, and I took over. We bought in another cousin, and Peter’s

brother joined the business in the early Eighties to manage the growing. “By the late Eighties, Peter looked after the retail and marketing side, while I took over developing the garden centre. We began to focus on the Christmas season, as we realised it was starting to become quite prevalent across the industry, especially in the north. “We also went to look around the big garden centres in Yorkshire and Lancashire. They were quite pleased to chat and we certainly weren’t in competition with anyone in Lancashire!” In the early Nineties, the retail side of the business grew rapidly. The glasshouses had been replaced, a new restaurant developed, and expansion was ongoing. In 1999, the company searched for another site. “Over a year of negotiations, we bought one in Hampshire,” says Derek. “Garsons Titchfield is very successful and is almost the same floor space as the Esher site.” Derek is now semi-retired, and Peter has taken up a role as a non-executive chairman. Derek had been the chair of the

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06/02/2019 16:15

Interview Business business for 30 years, but now focuses on the business’ economics as the finance director. Brexit Derek is also a self-confessed Brexiteer. “Of course there will be change, however, I suspect it will be less than everyone thinks. I’m open to change and keen to see what relationships develop across the World Trade Market; the Far East, America, Australia and so on. I think the problem now is the worry – the unknown, that’s what people are scared of. I believe there will be some upheaval, a short-term trauma, during the transition and shortly after the withdrawal, but I think in the long term it won’t make a huge amount of difference – we will carry on doing what we are doing, going about our everyday lives. The same will reflect across business and retail – there may be some short-term upset, but it’s about how comfortable people feel, which reflects their spending behaviour. If people feel assured, they spend more, if plans remain up in the air people will start spending less.” Future Garsons is a very progressive company, constantly striving to improve their productivity and profitability, and take themselves further. “We are always looking to improve and develop the skills of our staff,” explains Derek. “We’re also really looking to reduce our wastage. I feel the plastic scenario is a bigger, immediate threat to the planet than global warming. “We endeavour to redevelop and reinvent ourselves in this business almost every five years. You have to do new things to keep the customer interested. You can’t simply continue to do the same thing for the next fifty years. The market and customer demands will always evolve and change and there is always the possibility of something or someone who will swiftly come from around the corner and be a threat. “In my lifetime I’ve seen a complete change of the way vegetables are grown because of the influence of big chain supermarkets and how communications and online selling have transformed. Whether, in the near future, we might consider expanding to online shopping, click and collect or direct home deliveries, I don’t know.” Now that Derek has passed retirement age, he is looking to pass the running of the business on to the next generation – his sons, Ian and Alan, and cousins, Ben and Clare. w

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06/02/2019 16:15

Business Flexible Working

FLEXIBLE WORKING: IS FLEXISM HOLDING BACK BUSINESSES? Flexible working is a complicated topic. It’s an idea with many positives – yet some flexible workers feel discriminated against It is widely accepted that only 6% of the British public hold a traditional nine to five working hours role. Flexible working seems to be more important to the workforce in 2019 than ever before, but is ‘flexism’, the concept of discrimination against people who work flexibly or want to be working flexibly, holding back businesses in 2019? According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), flexible

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working describes a type of working arrangement which gives a degree of ﬂexibility on how long, where, when, and how many hours an employee works. According to a recent BBC News article, 68% of people feel so grateful to be allowed to work part time that they accept career compromises. 59% miss out on networking opportunities because of current working patterns, 65% of people feel less connected to their teams as

they can’t make work/social events and 59% feel as though they’ve fallen behind full-time colleagues in terms of skills and knowledge. Flexible working practices Flexible working practices include, but aren’t limited to: • part time working. Working anything less than the employer’s standard working hours

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Flexible Working Business • term time working. A worker remains on a permanent contract but can take either paid or unpaid leave during school holidays • job sharing – two or more people share the responsibility of a single job between them • flexitime – an employee can choose, within certain limits, when to start and end working • compressed hours – compressed weeks (or fortnights) involve the same hours, but with longer working hours in the day • annual hours – yearly hours are fixed, but there is variation over the year as to the length of the working day and week • working from home or mobile/ satellite working • career breaks – an extended period of leave for up to five years or more

Flexible working seems to be more important to the workforce in 2019 than ever before Benefits There are numerous benefits to offering your workforce flexible working hours. Some of these are direct benefits, others don’t necessarily impact your bottom line instantly but create a better working atmosphere. This in turn could see higher productivity in your staff. These benefits include: • saving on office space • better match between business resources and the demand for those resources • improved employee satisfaction • improved employee commitment • supporting employee mental health • more attractive offer for new employees • reduced absence rates

the impact of other people’s flexible working on their role • t he existing organisational culture • a lack of support at senior levels • i nability to measure employees’ performance by outputs rather than hours Planning and implementation By planning, though, flexible working arrangements can be implemented without much upheaval. Organisations should: •e stablish a clear process for flexible working •e nsure there are defined roles and responsibilities for employers, line manager and HR ssess the current level of support •a offered to line managers and ensure it’s good enough • i nvest in ongoing communication and raising awareness •a ssess how supportive of flexible working current organisational processes are •a ssess how conducive the organisation’s culture is to flexible working ake use of pilots and trial periods •m for flexible working arrangements uild mechanisms to monitor and •b evaluate progress with flexible working Law In April 2003, the UK government introduced the right to request flexible working. Once a request has been received, the employer should arrange a meeting to discuss the request. This

should be done as soon as possible. While this is not a statutory requirement, it is good practice. This meeting can provide an opportunity to see what changes the employee is asking for and reasons for the change, although the employee may not wish to say why it also allows any compromise to be explored.

Employees have a duty to consider a request in a reasonable manner Although not a statutory requirement, it would be good practice to allow the employee to be accompanied at a meeting by a work colleague or trade union representative. Originally, this applied to parents and certain other carers. However, in 2014, this was extended to include all employees with at least 26 weeks continuous employment, regardless of parental or caring responsibilities. Employees have a duty to consider a request in a reasonable manner and can only refuse a request for flexible working if they can show that one of a specific number of grounds apply. For further information on flexible working, ACAS has issued a code of practice for employers for handling such requests in a reasonable manner. www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/g/r/11287_ CoP5_Flexible_Working_v1_0_ Accessible.pdf w

Concerns However, employees are likely to face several barriers in communicating and implementing a new flexible working arrangement. These could be: • overcoming concerns about operational pressures and meeting customer requirements • managers current attitudes towards flexible working • handling colleagues’ concerns about

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06/02/2019 15:50

Business Customer Journey

FIVE STEPS TO UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER’S BUYING PROCESS Understanding the customer journey helps you devise an effective sales strategy, boost revenue and retain customers

efore a customer makes a purchase there is typically a process or ‘journey’ they go through beforehand. Understanding the customer journey is not only very important for increasing sales, it will also enable you to devise your sales strategy. The ﬁve stages framework, ﬁrst introduced in 1910, remains a good way to evaluate the buying process.

Problem recognition This is the most important step in the customer’s decision process. A purchase cannot take place without the recognition of the need. The need may have been triggered by internal or external stimuli.

Information search Having recognised the need, the next step a customer may take is to look for information to ﬁnd the best solution. This is the buyer’s effort to identify and evaluate information sources related to the buying decision. Your customer may rely on print,

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visual, online media or word of mouth for obtaining this information.

Evaluation of alternatives At this stage the customer will evaluate different products, based on alternative product attributes. Two factors heavily in inﬂuence the evaluation process: the customer’s attitude and their involvement. For example, if the customer’s attitude is positive and involvement is high, then they will evaluate several companies or brands. If it’s low, only one company or brand will be evaluated.

Purchase decision The penultimate stage is when the actual purchase takes place. The ﬁnal purchase decision may be disrupted by two factors: one is negative feedback from other customers, while the second is the level of motivation to accept the feedback.

Post-purchase behaviour Customers will compare products with their previous expectations and will be either satisfied or dissatisfied. This stage can greatly affect the decision process for similar purchases from the same company in the future, having a knock-on effect at the information search stage and evaluation of alternatives stage. If your customer is satisfied, this will result in loyalty, and the information search and evaluation of alternative stages will often be fast-tracked or skipped altogether. It is common for customers to distribute their positive or negative feedback about the product, either through website reviews, social media networks or word of mouth. Companies should take care to create positive postpurchase communication to engage customers and make the process as efficient as possible. ◗

www.gardencentreretail.com

06/02/2019 15:45

Boost Footfall Business

INCREASE CUSTOMER CONVERSION RATES IN YOUR CENTRE THIS SPRING Special celebrations and seasonal holidays present valuable opportunities to boost footfall and increase sales says Naeem Arif

or many garden centres, special day-long occasions and seasonal events offer the unmissable opportunity to generate sales during the year. Many garden centres run Mother’s Day promotions for example, but with or without a promotion to boost footfall, what you do instore to increase customer conversion rates will influence how much of a sales boost you get. Now is the time to rethink the way you interact with your customers; here’s how t o get the ball rolling: Define excellence The golden rule of customer service is to always leave your customers with a positive memory of their experience with you. If that’s the baseline, then what is excellence? One reason retailers end up describing their customer service as “excellent” when their customers wouldn’t, is a failure to properly define what outstanding service actually is. Try to define outstanding customer service in practical terms and with as much detail as possible. At each stage of the customer journey, what does an excellent interaction look like, feel like and sound like? Create excellence from end to end From the customer’s point of view, your customer service is only as good as the worst interaction they have with your business. Look for every point at which a customer might interact with your staff; for instance, while enquiring by phone, browsing in store, returning an item

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or seeking after-sales support. Ensure that your benchmarks for excellence are applied at each point. At first, this process is about looking for weaknesses in the service you provide, but once any weaknesses have been addressed it becomes a way to find new strengths. Bring your team with you Outstanding customer service isn’t something that can be achieved in a single moment or imposed from the top down. Excellence must be performed and maintained every day at every level of your organisation. It can’t be achieved unless your team buys into your vision of what excellent customer service looks like. Learn from your customers Another key reason why businesses fail to meet their customers’ expectations is a failure to collect comprehensive customer feedback. Never be afraid to ask for feedback; it shows your customers that you listen to them and that you want to improve, which leaves a positive memory even when individual customers choose not to offer any feedback. Learn from your competitors The chances are that your definition of excellence will be drawn up with some reference to your competitors, at least in establishing benchmarks for your industry and sector. In customer service, as in every area of your business, it’s wise to learn from your competitors where you can. However, great customer service happens from within. It requires fostering an

internal culture of excellence, and so once benchmarks have been established, don’t obsessively compare your performance to your competitors’. Learn from your team Under the right circumstances, your staff members can become the single best source of information about how to improve your customer service. If staff have fully bought in to your vision of excellence, they will be motivated to notice and report weaknesses and failures which would escape the attention even of most customers. They are the people carrying out your vision on a daily basis and so no-one is better placed to know when the vision isn’t being achieved. However, to make the most of this resource, you need to foster an environment which rewards staff feedback. The most important way to do this is by setting up open, ongoing feedback processes, acting on feedback promptly and giving credit.

Naeem Arif is a customer-centric leader with over 15 years experience as director of LTD’s in the retail and management consulting world. He’s the founder of NA Consulting, a retail and management consultancy. www.naconsulting.co.uk ◗

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07/02/2019 09:24

Business Retailer Habits

FIVE SUCCESSFUL RETAILER HABITS

The retail sector is demanding and ever-changing; here are some valuable rules for running a successful business

here’s a saying in retail that the customer is always right. While this motto is often relevant for retailers, letting customers call all the shots won’t make you successful. And while every retailer is different, and every store has its own demands and goals, the following habits are worth noting. Prioritising Retailers are busy. From ordering inventory to researching market trends to merchandising displays to training staff and planning in-store events to scheduling online marketing and more, running a retail business means always having something to do. Successful retailers recognise the value in scheduling what is necessary to do. This means recognising that, while some responsibilities are more enjoyable than others, all responsibilities must be prioritised to run a successful retail business. Scheduling time limits and deadlines can help you stay focused and on schedule, eliminating extra time spent where it shouldn’t be.

Letting go With a lot on a retailer’s to-do list, who has time to dwell on the past? Retailers are bound to make poor stocking decisions or have

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a slow month. Successful retailers analyse these situations as opportunities to learn from. It’s important for retailers to move forward – their customers already have. One of the best ways to do this is to analyse data. The more retailers learn through hard data, the better they are at supporting their customers. Staff training Stores spend a lot of money to open their doors. The people of any business are the faces of that brand, whether they want to accept that role or not. As employers, it’s key to understand this and train staff to best represent their stores. Successful retailers recognise the value in their employees and not only train them, they train them often. Opportunities to train staff can range from store operational procedures to customer service updates to product training. The key is to invest in your employees to reap the rewards of strong employees and as a result, strong sales.

Know the competition Successful retailers know who their competition is. Savvy retailers take the time to visit the stores that compete with their business. Analysing their product assortment, customer service experiences, in-store displays, online shopping opportunities, special

events, dress code, store packaging, visual displays and overall consumer impressions are just a few of the things to look for when checking out the competition. Often, this type of routine analysis allows retailers to recognise new industry trends, missed opportunities, new strategies to compete for sales and other ways to stay aﬂoat in the competitive retail market place. Make hard stocking decisions Often, retailers open a store because they love a product category. As a result, they enjoy buying inventory to sell in their stores. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a recipe for retail success. Retailers who have become successful and more importantly, stayed successful, are willing to shift their inventory plans to accommodate their customers versus themselves. This may mean eliminating a product line or an entire category of inventory, as well as introducing a new product category that even the retailer is surprised by. When retailers listen to their customers, react to consumer trends, work with their suppliers and respond to what their customers want, they can more effectively buy inventory for their stores. Using data will once again help monitor this, as well. And as a result, retailers can sell more. ◗

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07/02/2019 09:34

magrini high chairs The Magrini Breeze commercial high chair stacks up to 8 high for easy storage and comes in a choice of colours that will not fade or peel. The strong, sturdy design allows your smallest customers to feel safe and the chair pushes up to the table to create a relaxed family mealtime. The Breeze high chair is manufactured in the U.K. by Magrini.

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07/02/2019 11:42

Business Attracting Staff

HOW GARDEN CENTRES CAN MAKE THEMSELVES AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER? The many varied roles within this sector as well as the wellbeing beneﬁts of working outdoors can help draw and retain new talent

ith the ever-growing focus on the personalised customer journey, your ability to attract and retain talent becomes even more important. So your centre’s brand and staff morale can make the difference to your success. If you have motivated, engaged and happy staff listening to, providing guidance and giving time to your customers, you will be ahead when it comes to customer choice. So, how can garden centres make themselves more attractive as an employer? Firstly, it’s important to look at what you already have: plants, outdoors, space all of which are amazing for employees’ wellbeing. The opportunity not to be restrained to a desk all day, interacting with nature and working with environmentally friendly products have to be huge pluses too. After all, we are told regularly that gardening related activities are good for your mental health. Your talent strategy should be developed considering some practical steps to ensure you are attractive to potential and existing employees: 1) Deﬁne and promote the culture and

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values of your business. Consider whether you are a community and environmentally friendly focused business. Understand exactly what your brand is. With a growing focus on the environment and community impact, these things are of interest to potential candidates! 2) Create a clear and consistent message to the market through both traditional and internet channels. Positively manage online opinion and feedback. Potential candidates will be interested in how your centre is perceived by others, and existing employees want to feel that what they are doing is being appreciated and managed. 3) How you promote the tangible benefits you offer will impact the talent you attract? Garden centres have a unique position on benefits. Alongside the normal salary, pension, holiday entitlements, think also about your centre’s ability to promote its impact on the community, attractive working environments, social presence, flexible working, support in the local community, impact on the customer and their lives. Added to this, it’s worth promoting training and development,

employee support, health and wellbeing, physical working locations, free parking, both job role and workplace ﬂexibility. 4) The varied skills element of working within the garden centre business is also key to making them attractive employers. There are multiple roles – such as in planting, nursery, retail, catering, accounts, marketing, design, accounts, IT and management. This not only means there’s the opportunity for changing roles, but also the chance of progression and long-term careers. These must be key areas to promote. Utilising the variety of work to promote skills within schools, colleges and universities would also be fruitful. With the current skills shortage, tough competition in the retail sector and the potential challenges ahead, this is the time to ensure that robust talent attractiveness and retention strategies come into their own. If you would like support in this area of work please contact the team at ViewHR: hr@viewhr.co.uk or 01425 205390. ◗

www.gardencentreretail.com

06/02/2019 16:06

Interview Techniques Business

INTERVIEW STRUCTURE: TIPS TO MAKE YOUR INTERVIEWS RUN SMOOTHLY IN 2019 Garden Centre Retail goes step-by-step through the ideal hiring process, from start to finish Profile Lead the conversation by learning more about the candidate. Make sure you have the candidate’s CV in front of you. Let the candidate talk about their experiences. During the conversation, ask questions related to the resume to fill in the gaps.

etting applicants to apply for jobs is one thing. Doing them justice with the interview is a whole different battleground. Garden Centre Retail has been looking into the recruitment market in garden retail. By getting your interview structure correct, you can quickly get things on the right foot and get a clear understanding of the candidate. Introductions Start the interview by introducing yourself with your name and your involvement in the hiring process. Have the client give their name, title, and a brief introduction. Then prepare the candidate for the meeting. Give a short explanation of how the process will go and how long it should take. You should start to pick up signals at this stage. Is the candidate conﬁdent? Would they ﬁt in with your team?

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Motivations After you learn more about them, you should find out the candidate’s values and interest level. This helps you find out why they applied for the job and why they want to work for you. You could ask them to list the tasks they like/dislike at their current position, or ask them to describe why they are a good fit for the job. Pay attention to the candidate’s motives behind why they want the job at this stage. See how well they prepared for this question and if they express enthusiasm. More motivated candidates are less likely to quit early on in their role. Skills You need to be sure the candidate can succeed at your company. Have the candidate describe how their expertise matches the job requirements. Ask questions about the candidate’s current and past jobs. You might ask: “Tell me about a time you had to solve a problem at work.” Listen to how the candidate handled these challenges. If you’re hiring

a buyer that will work with others, ﬁnd out if the candidate copes in a team situation. Job description The candidate is not the only person in the room trying to impress. You need to make the position look enticing for an applicant to accept an offer. Give details about the client’s company. Talk about the work environment. Describe the tasks involved in the position, common challenges, training, and advancement opportunities. Salary If the candidate’s salary expectations don’t match what you are willing to offer, there won’t be a placement. Research average salaries and how experience affects salary. Make sure you know what you’re willing to pay. During the meeting, ask the candidate their expected salary range. Tell them the salary range as well as any beneﬁts or perks. Questions Open the conversation up to questions. Let the candidate ask questions and clarify issues that might have come up. Make sure you have all the information you need to move on in the hiring process. Give the candidate your contact information, let them know they can contact you with questions. Conclusion Let the candidate know when you will contact them, what happens next, and if you need more resources. Make sure all parties exchange the correct contact information. Finally, thank the candidate for meeting with you. ◗

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07/02/2019 09:50

Business Parental Leave

SHARED

PARENTAL LEAVE With only 9,200 people taking shared parental leave in the last tax year, Garden Centre Retail explores the policies, who is eligible and what exactly parents are entitled to Shared parental leave (SPL) provides an opportunity for eligible parents to take advantage of additional ﬂexibility in the way they choose to care for a new arrival to the family. It allows parents to share caring responsibilities evenly or have one parent taking the main caring role, depending on their preferences and circumstances. Unlike maternity/adoption leave, eligible employees can stop and start their shared parental leave and return to work between periods of leave. Each eligible parent is able to submit three notices booking periods of leave (although an employer may allow more).

In April 2015, the government allowed new parents to share an additional 50 weeks’ leave In April 2015, the government allowed new parents to share an additional 50 weeks’ leave which they can share. This is in addition to the compulsory two-week maternity leave a mother must take after giving birth. These weeks can be split however the parents choose, and can be taken in tandem, or at continuous separate times during the baby’s ﬁrst year.

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There can also be an overlap of time. In Scandinavia, where shared parental leave is encouraged, 25% of fathers have taken up the option of sharing the leave. However, in the UK, just 9,200 new parents actually took advantage of the government’s shared parental leave scheme during the 12 months ending in March 2018, according to the law ﬁrm EMW. Shared parental leave policy To ensure consistency in making and responding to notiﬁcations regarding SPL, it is a good idea for employers to set out the working arrangements and the employee’s rights in a policy or workforce agreement. It can be a standalone policy, which refers to and interacts with other family friendly policies, or it could be included

within a wider maternity and paternity policy. Some employers may decide not to have an SPL policy. However, they should ensure their employees know how to apply for SPL and must still meet the statutory minimum requirements in the legislation. When developing an SPL policy, any existing consultation and/or negotiating arrangements should be followed so that employees or their representatives can contribute to it. A policy should include: • a statement advising that all notices for a continuous period of leave, from eligible employees, will be accepted and that all requests for discontinuous leave will be considered • the amount of notiﬁcations to book/ vary leave available to the employee • how employees should inform their employer of their entitlement to SPL,

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07/02/2019 08:33

Parental Leave Business

who the notification should be sent to and what should be included in it • how a notice to book leave will be handled • the time limits for dealing with a notice to book SPL • shared parental leave in touch days • contact during SPL • the payments an employee may be entitled to while on SPL • where to find forms and further information.

When developing an SPL policy, any existing consultation and/or negotiating arrangements should be followed Criteria A mother can only share her leave with one other person. To trigger the right to shared parental leave for one or both parents, the mother must: • have a partner • be entitled to maternity/adoption leave; or to statutory maternity/ adoption pay or maternity allowance (if not eligible for maternity/adoption leave) • have curtailed, or given notice to

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reduce, their maternity/ adoption leave, or their pay/allowance (if not eligible for maternity/ adoption leave). An employee cannot take shared parental leave if they: • are an agency worker • are on a zero-hours contract • are a single parent • have no responsibility for the care of the child. A parent who intends to take SPL must: • be an employee • share the primary responsibility for the child with the other parent at the time of the birth or placement for adoption • have properly notified their employer of their entitlement and have provided the necessary declarations and evidence. In addition, a parent wanting to take SPL is required to satisfy the ‘continuity of employment test’ and their partner must meet the ‘employment and earnings test’. You will be able to find these at: www.acas.org.uk w

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07/02/2019 09:57

Business Catering Focus

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

From meal deals to fine dining, eating in or taking away, garden centres have various catering options to choose from Counter service or table service? Garden centres are destinations for leisure. Customers visiting a garden centre are not often visiting with what they need to buy already in mind. They are looking for something to do, something to see or somewhere they can also grab a bit to eat. The restaurant is now a vital cog in the gears of a garden centre. The concept of garden centre restaurants has offset the seasonality of the business, often accounting for over 60 per cent of the turnover in the months between Christmas and the start of the gardening season. What used to be a coffee and cake offering has evolved to something just short of fine dining in some cases. With this in mind, the argument of counter or table service has cropped up. There are a number of considerations when it comes to deciding on either method. Eat in or take out? Customers in a garden centre often shop and stay for lunch, afternoon tea or even a quick coffee break between browsing the aisles. That said, it’s unlikely garden centres will attract customers in the graband-go market. It’s unlikely that a garden centre is positioned within walking distance of an office

block, or an area of high employment. If this was the case, a counter service would be the better option. But, with those visiting for leisure, it’s a little luxury they can enjoy if you offer table service. It is an opportunity to supply a better quality meal as the customer is not spending time waiting at the counter. They can be reviewing their purchases, or simply taking a rest for a period of time. In this instance, table service creates a much better experience for the customer. Stafﬁng As a business owner, the highest cost you’re likely to outlay is on your staff. The wage bill at the end of the month is probably the single

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06/02/2019 15:36

Catering Focus Business

biggest outgoing from your account. Hiring, training and supervising new employees can take up valuable time, and a poorly trained employee can have a negative impact on the customer experience. By limiting the restaurant operation to counter service, it’s possible to operate with fewer staff. Amount of tables Another consideration with regards to the type of service you offer all depends on what space you’ve allocated your restaurant. If you have a 500-cover restaurant, it’s unlikely a customer will struggle to find an available table. In this case, table service works. If you decide to run with a counter service for a larger restaurant, however, make sure that you can easily alert customers when their orders

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are ready by using an intercom or buzzer system. If you have a 25-cover cafe, table service may not be the best idea. When this is the case, customers often choose to take food away rather than eat in, electing to take

A poorly trained employee can have a negative impact on the customers’ experience a coffee in a takeaway cup and consuming the beverage as they browse the shop. Customer experience Many restaurant customers are happy to pick up orders from the counter and clear their own 

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Business Catering Focus

tables – however, if you don’t keeping a close eye on the dining room, you run the risk of a messy restaurant that could turn off potential customers.

You can speed up and simplify your ordering and payment process by making use of an iPad point of sale solution On the other hand, if your serving staff fail to deliver food in a timely manner, this, too, can have a negative effect on diners. Regardless of which option you choose, you can speed

up and simplify your ordering and payment process by making use of an iPad point of sale device. Using a mobile system to process cash or credit cards means that you can ring customers up either at the counter or tableside instantly, and even let customers place their own orders on your tablet – enhancing the customer experience no matter how you decide to run your business. As with many of the thisor-that choices garden centre owners must decide on, there really isn’t a one size fits all approach, and there certainly is no right or wrong. The best decision is the one you make and commit to. w

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www.gardencentreretail.com

06/02/2019 15:38

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07/02/2019 11:42

GCR Special Recruitment

Horticulture CAREERS

RECRUITING

FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE Staff from HorticultureCareers, MorePeople, Bents Garden & Home, Webbs Garden Centres and Perrywood Garden Centre share their insights into the world of recruitment

ecruiting. It is often the bane of a business-owner’s life. Many garden centre owners and directors tell me that this is their single biggest ongoing issue. However, if you get your recruiting processes right, you get the right people in the right roles and you train those people to become what you want them to be – life couldn’t get better. Garden Centre Retail has taken a look at the processes the garden retail industry goes through to make sure the right people are in the right positions.

Advertising a job

HorticultureCareers.com is a specialist recruitment site that helps garden centres advertise and ﬁll their vacancies. Jobseekers use the site to look for jobs, progress within their careers, and gain advice and insights on recruitment and industry trends. Liam Colclough is their brand manager. He says: “Typically, we see a lot of higher-

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end roles advertised. We fill vacancies for purchasing managers, store managers and sales executives. We also work with a lot of suppliers and plant nurseries as well as independent florists. “Recruitment is all about figuring out what works for you. Trial shifts are very popular as they give you an opportunity to assess the candidate first hand. Knowing how to structure a job specification to attract the right candidates initially is very important too. “Avoid using cross-platform job boards as this can end up creating more work. On many of the big online job advertising sites, candidates can one-click apply for vacancies, meaning you’ll end up with a lot of applications from people who have neither read nor understood the role. “Using a niche job board is the best way to ensure that you are reaching out to a smaller but more targeted audience, and the applicants are far more likely to have read the job description and understood the role, as well as possess the skills required to pursue an application.” But Liam sees a few changes for 2019, and whether it will be an easy year for recruiting remains to be seen. “It’s difficult to say at this point whether there will be any changes in consumer spending during 2019. With online stores becoming more and more popular, retail in general has taken a bit of a blow over the past few years”, he says. “Fortunately, garden centres are less affected by this than clothing or gadget stores for example, as people will always want to browse for this type of product.

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Recruitment GCR Special That said, there is more demand for candidates with digital and analytical skills as we advance further into a technological age. With the national living wage increase in 2019, there will also be additional costs for employers.”

Using an agency

MorePeople has been around the garden industry for several years. The company offers real expertise in the sector, with over 18 years of experience. They pre-interview candidates to make sure they are good fit for the company before putting them forward for a role, taking the time and hassle out of the process for businesses.

We appreciate that recruitment is difficult for some of the smaller garden centres who perhaps don’t have dedicated HR people Guy Moreton, director, says: “Generally speaking, the standard of recruitment in garden centres is not as good as the other sectors we work in, namely fresh produce, agriculture and food manufacturing. “We appreciate that recruitment is difficult for some of the smaller garden centres who perhaps don’t have dedicated HR people. Attracting the right calibre of person, or even knowing what the right type of person for their business is, can be a huge challenge.” “In our experience, the garden centre sector is a difficult one to recruit for because there are just not enough people currently working in horticulture/garden & leisure, and certainly not enough being attracted to start a career in the industry. Compared to other graduate careers, salaries are traditionally quite low, which makes it very difficult to entice candidates of the right calibre. “That said, there has been a lot of consolidation recently in the market, which is having a positive impact on recruitment. Larger garden centres or garden centre groups tend to have more to offer in terms of career opportunities, progression, training and development, hence their retention rate tends to be better. “Garden centres would benefit hugely from utilising the services of an expert for their recruitment. We have two dedicated recruitment consultants for the garden industry, plus a wealth of knowledge from

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having worked in the garden sector in a previous life, so we will have access to a lot more people than they would themselves. On a more basic level, garden centres often rely on local advertising for their recruitment, which not only limits their reach but also means that applicants are likely to be customers, making a professional recruitment process even more important. In our experience, many garden centres only acknowledge shortlisted applicants, which risks them losing customers and is a missed marketing opportunity!” Guy also sees the future of recruiting as unclear. “Brexit is just adding to the feeling of uncertainty for all types of retail, including garden centres, so there is a general air of caution around recruitment as we await an outcome to negotiations. “A larger concern for garden businesses is how they will manage product imports after Brexit, which will impact on both budgets and staff requirements.”

The independents

Bents Garden & Home is one of the biggest garden centres in the country, and is regularly at the top of the Garden Centre Association leaderboards. Matthew Bent says they have two major recruitment peaks during the year. March, ready for the outdoor season and August for Christmas. “We advertise all our jobs on the careers section of our website, and where relevant we also use social media to promote specific vacancies. We use the ATS for the majority of roles. However, we may use external jobs boards to post specialist or senior roles. Social media

is an important outlet as it allows us to promote our colleagues and the work they do to a wider audience; demonstrating the challenges, career opportunities and prospects which are offered by working within the industry.” In terms of processes, Bents has specific systems they go through. Matthew explains: “For our volume recruitment at Christmas we hold assessment centres and then a two hour working trial on the department. “General recruitment is normally a oneto-one interview followed by a working trial. We think it important to offer clear progression routes, demonstrate how colleagues at all levels can grow their careers within Bents. We also have a management development program called GROW which identifies individuals for future managerial roles.”

We think it important to offer clear progression routes, demonstrate how colleagues at all levels can grow their careers Jacqui Sheard is the HR manager at Webbs Garden Centres. She says: “We advertise internally and externally at the same time, using in-store posters, our own website and social media channels. We also use Indeed.co.uk for most vacancies, turning to specialist websites for horticultural jobs and then Caterer. com for hospitality roles. “It is getting tougher to recruit in this climate of low 

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GCR Special Recruitment unemployment so to help us attract the very best talent we’re consciously promoting our employer brand throughout the year, whether we’re actively recruiting or not. We’re using social media to show how Webbs team members enjoy their work, do their bit for the community and receive personal recognition for long service milestones and exceptional customer service. “We’re creative when it comes to hardto-fill vacancies. For example, to find our team of authentic Santa’s we contact local amateur dramatic societies, advertise using “missing Santa” posters in-store, dress up as Elves on recruitment stands and include the vacancy in direct emails to loyalty club members. We also have a “Recommend-a-Friend” scheme which rewards colleagues for referrals. Webbs filled over 150 vacancies in 2018, including lots of seasonal roles such as a summer festival and a winter grotto, ice rink and pop up café around Christmas. “When anyone leaves or when a new business need arises, we look critically at role requirements, including the competencies and working hours we need. Rising wage and operating costs mean

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we have to be especially selective about recruiting and investing in the very best people who can offer specialist knowledge and customer focus. “Once we’ve determined our requirements the HR team draft and place the adverts (with support from our marketing colleagues for social media) then HR or the line manager will shortlist.” Another garden centre highly regarded within the industry is Essex-based Perrywood Garden Centre. Hannah Powell is the family-run company’s HR director. Hannah explains: “At the moment, we do most of the recruitment via a local agency. We took this decision last year because we had new department managers and senior managers, and they were spending their time on other priorities - health and safety, coaching and planning amongst others. We also advertise in-store and to employees. “We had 55 new recruits in 2018, including six due to start at the new Sudbury store, three maternity covers and six christmas elves. Also includes our students who need replacing when they go to university, finish their studies and start a career in another industry. Two

students came back who had previously worked for us before. “As we don’t have good public transport links, we have to ensure we are an attractive employer. This means ensuring pay is competitive, treating our staff well and supporting them through the ups and downs of life.

As an industry we are one of the most secure employment routes in retail right now, and a great path for those who don’t want an office job “Our community support and charity fundraising also look good to potential recruits. As an industry we are one of the most secure employment routes in retail right now, and a great path for those who don’t want an office job. It would be ideal if a TV company did a programme about working in garden centres, but I’m not putting Perrywood forward!” w

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FEBRUARY 2019

PRODUCTS 35

PLANT FOCUS All you need to know about David Austin Roses

GIMA Look out for these lawn products

LAWN CARE Making the sale

GARDEN FURNITURE Selection and display

LATEST PRODUCTS All the latest pet equipment

GROW YOUR OWN Tools and gadgets for the garden

ANATOMY OF A PRODUCT Safelawn from Westland

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Roses Plant Focus

Roses

Garden Centre Retail speaks to Michael Marriott of world-famous David Austin Roses to ﬁnd out how garden centres can make the most of these quintessentially English plants

What is a rose?

Rosa Lady of Shalott (Ausnyson)

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Roses are an incredibly variable group of plants ranging in height from just a few tens of centimetres to large examples tens of metres tall. Their ﬂowers vary in diameter from 5 to 200mm and in number of petals from 5 to 200. They include every colour except true blue. Roses are native to everywhere north of the equator from the subtropics to the Arctic Circle.

There is no other plant (with the exception of tropical epiphytic orchids) that has such a wide range of completely different fragrance types. With this great variability comes great versatility. Roses can be used in very nearly every part of the garden – in small intimate groups to large scale beds and in just about any style, ranging from the formal to the informal. 

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Plant Focus Roses

Are roses easy to care for?

As long as a couple of basic rules are applied then roses are very easy to look after. Arguably, they are the most garden worthy of all garden plants as potentially they can have a beautiful ﬂower, a wonderful fragrance, bloom for 5 or 6 months of the year and

Roses are so versatile; planted in mixed borders, they look superb alongside perennials, biennials and annuals be no problem to look after. There are two basic rules to apply before planting: choose a good reliable variety and prepare the ground well using a generous quantity of wellrotted manure or soil improver. After that it is simply a matter of pruning them in winter, scattering fertiliser around in spring and summer and deadheading them in summer.

What is the best use for roses?

Roses are so versatile; planted in mixed borders, they look superb alongside perennials, biennials and annuals. With their long ﬂowering season

a rose border or rose garden will give you colour and scent for months on end. They are possibly the best of all climbing plants, trained against walls or fences, into trees and across pergolas and arches. The climbers generally have large ﬂowers and repeat bloom while most ramblers not only ﬂower but then often set a beautiful crop of hips in the autumn that last all winter.

When is it best to plant these types of plants?

You can plant roses 12 months of the year, either as bare root plants or in containers. The bare root roses are available from November through to April, while those in containers can be found all year round. The best time to plant containerised roses is late spring and early summer when the roots have grown well into the compost and before the first flowers are out. Be sure to give them a very good soak beforehand so that the compost is wet through. Once planted keep the roses well watered for the first summer to encourage their roots out into the surrounding soil.

When do they ﬂ ower?

Most roses will start flowering in June (April for the earliest varieties) and continue right through until September and into October and even November. Olivia Rose Austin and Vanessa Bell are both outstanding varieties for quick repeat flowering. Given some good weather you can even achieve beautiful blooms at Christmas time. Those that only flower once (as well as some that do repeat flower) can also have a fantastic crop of hips. Some Rosa Olivia Rose Austin (Ausmixture) of the best are the

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Rosa The Generous Gardener (Ausdrawn)

climbers and ramblers – The Generous Gardener, Rambling Rector and Francis E Lester. One of the very best shrub roses for hips is the new English Rose Tottering By Gently.

Are roses at risk from any pests or diseases?

Like any other plant in the garden they can be attacked by pests and diseases, although it is very variety speciﬁc. Some varieties such as Roald Dahl and Desdemona remain very healthy, while others suffer badly. The better the roses are grown, the more likely they will be able to ﬁght off pests and diseases themselves, so make sure you choose a good spot for them with plenty of sun and little competition. Prepare the ground well before planting and feed them well. You can spray them with a suitable

fungicide/insecticide, or use a more environmentally spray like SB Plant Invigorator or Maxicrop. Aphids are easily killed by squashing, knocking off or encouraging plenty of beneﬁcial insects into the garden.

What are the common varieties we see in the UK? Olivia Rose Austin, Gertrude Jekyll, Golden Celebration, The Generous Gardener Clg and Lady of Shalott.

Rosa Thomas a Beckett (Auswinston)

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Roses Plant Focus

What should a garden centre know about roses?

Just about everyone loves roses so they should be in a prominent position. Many of them, especially the David Austin English Roses, have a wonderful fragrance so people should be encouraged to smell them. Roses placed alongside other plants should inspire customers to plant them in that way, rather than the traditional rose gardens that many would reject out of hand. They love lots of water at the roots so be sure to keep them well watered, but avoid watering in the evening as this will encourage blackspot. It is best to water in the morning when the leaves are more likely to dry out quickly. A rose that is kept well watered is more likely to ﬂower more freely.

How should a garden centre display roses?

A lot of customers like to shop by colour and fragrance, so a

compost, rose food, successful way to merchandise mychorrhizal funghi. is to use colour blocking Offering companion and pull out hot spot ends plants can also to create impulse purchases enhance sales and and a quick sell through at lead the customer key times of year, when the to spend more. roses are in bud-colour. A dedicated section for climbers works well: the David Austin English Climbers work particularly well with the modern garden, as the number of stems Rosa Gertrude Jekyll (Ausbord) they produce from the base of the plant is very generous, so they are ideal for trellises, walls and fences. Successful selling from cross Rosa Desdemona (Auskindling) merchandising works very well, adding everything a customer What is the history needs to the same area to of the rose? complete the purchase – pots, Roses have been grown and loved for millennia both in the West and the East. They were Rosa Dame Judi Dench (Ausquaker) favourites of the ancient Greeks and Romans and including for cosmetic, culinary used widely in their festivals and pharmaceutical products. and banquets. These were varieties that only flowered once. The repeat How many different flowering varieties arrived varieties are there? in the mid 1700s from Asia Over the centuries vast and, by crossing them with numbers have been introduced European varieties, produced and lost. Today there are our repeat flowering varieties. about 15,000 available world wide of which around 3,700 are available in the UK. Roses are an There are roughly 160 true species in the world although integral part of probably less than half are our everyday available commercially.

culture, in all the arts, in religion, politics and the legal system

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Roses are an integral part of our everyday culture, in all the arts, in religion, politics and the legal system. They can be used in many different ways

Why should roses be a staple part of a garden centre’s plant offering?

Just about everyone loves roses, especially their perfume. Roses are found in many varieties and are a versatile plant. Apart from the pond, bog garden and deep shade there is a rose suitable for just about any part of the garden. ◗

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GIMA Lawn care

LAWN CARE: 2019’S FIRST MAJOR SALES OPPORTUNITY The UK’s lawns took a pounding last summer, leaving gardeners shaking their heads and garden centre tills ringing after a dismal early spring sales period. However, GIMA suppliers say there may yet be more opportunities to benefit from this aftermath this spring – whatever the weather throws at us

An autumn uplift in sales of 300% for Johnsons Lawn Seed was the result of the joint hottest summer on record, and was reported on BBC Midlands Today. Speaking to the BBC’s science and environment correspondent from the company’s R&D base in Gloucestershire, consumer manager Guy Jenkins says: “We’re looking at breeding grasses that are more tolerant to drought, heat and cold weather – they also have to be very disease resistant too. The breeding programme might take around 15 years, so we might start with thousands of different gene types – and in 15 years end up with a couple of varieties that we can actually use.” Johnsons Lawn Seed’s Irish distributor Hygeia, also a GIMA member, confirms a similar story on the emerald isle. Marketing manager Elisha Daniels says: “With the unusual weather conditions we experienced in 2018, lawns are under greater stress than usual this spring. The extremely cold spring followed by a heatwave and a drought in the summer means that lawns have been severely weakened. Unfortunately, weak grass creates perfect conditions for moss and weeds to thrive, so it’s more important than ever to ensure your lawn is well nourished and treated for weeds.” Hygeia’s proprietary weedkiller blend GreenForce Lawn Feed, Weed & Mosskiller is Hygeia

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Garden Centre Retail February 2019

Patch Fix Plus and Cut & Cover Patch Fix by Doff

already a market leader in Ireland, with coverage value being one of its USPs – 15kg covers up to 750m2 – almost the size of three tennis courts. G Plants experienced a rollercoaster year for its grass seed sales. Director Alex Reihl says: “The drastic changes in weather conditions from the freezing cold spring followed by a summer-long drought affected the whole of the market. Our early to mid-season sales grew but like-forlike sales were down. However, we saw a growth in the autumn with sales like we had never seen before. This was reflected particularly for Ultra Patch™, our lawn repair brand and our Speedy top selling Speedy Seed™ Seed™, however sales of standard grass seed did not perform as well. We think this was due to consumers rushing to get their lawn in a fit state to cope with the winter.”

According to Doff Portland Ltd: “The company experienced much higher demand over the past three years from within the whole of the lawn category. ProCoat grass seed and Coco coir based Patch Fix Plus are seeing massive growth because of its quick and easy method of use which seems to strike a chord with today’s consumer, those who are looking for products that are light weight, low maintenance and contain naturally derived ingredients.” Natural continues to be the watch word in 2019 for Neudorff, according to sales director Jude Beharall: “The trend throughout the industry is geared towards organic and natural products, and the lawn care category is no exception. Products that are safe to use around pets and children that contain natural ingredients to help suppress moss and weeds are always Organic CleanLawn by Neudorff

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udorff

Lawn care GIMA going to stand out. In addition, consumers look for lawn care products that are simple to use and offer quick results, as lawn maintenance can be perceived as a lengthy task.” SBM Life Science is promoting Solabiol® Top Lawn as the only product in the UK to benefit from both slow and fast release iron – which aids ‘green up’ and lawn health. The formulation is used on lawns in professional sports, which the brand has highlighted to consumers looking to have a lawn as green, thick and healthy as those seen on TV. Other GIMA members want to also highlight the role that tools and other peripherals play in merchandising lawn care ranges. Greenkey Garden and Home has recently added lawn edging and a lawn edger to its lawn care range, of which managing director Jeremy Parkes comments: “Like many others Solabiol® Top Lawn in the industry we perceive that the consumer is now treating the outdoor space as an extension to their living accommodation. Accordingly, the lawn becomes as a carpet might be for the internal space. Those who value the natural environment are prepared to nurture lawns as play areas or outdoor living backdrops. The tools that Greenkey provide make lawn maintenance tasks easier. We believe our customer base to be predominantly those with time and Greenkey funds – those who are 40-years-old and over. I feel Brexit is a more likely influence on the spend of the consumer than the weather, but we remain bullish about the season ahead.” Pedigree Garden Tools, supplier of Bulldog Premium Lawn Shear and Springbok Lawn Rake is confident the trend for quality will last. Brand manager, Sarah Cottle says: “Bulldog has seen steady growth in the lawn care sector over the last few years and that looks set to continue in the future. Our customers are coming to us with a specific gardening task in mind such as scarifying, clipping

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or edging, and they want a strong quality tool dedicated to that job that will last and not break or bend to when dealing with it. Gone are the days of the disposable tool, people want quality and longevity which is more sustainable and is endorsed by our lifetime guarantee across the ranges, giving the customer extra confidence when buying and choosing.” Agralan is also committing to a focus on environmentally friendly as well as long-lasting products, as it begins 2019 promoting Bordiflex. The heavyduty, tear-proof, UV stabilised felt strips are designed to stay in place for a long time and best of all are made from recycled plastic bottles. Bordiflex felt strips Burgon & Ball see lawn care as a category that’s growing, with the company introducing a new lawn care stand to group together its best-sellers and tempt shoppers with specialist easy-to-use problem solvers. Ruth Posey, head of sales says: “Weeding and edging are popular ways to achieve a flawless lawn, so tools which make these particular tasks easy have great customer appeal. Tools for stand-up lawn care such as our Wonder Weed Puller are especially popular due to their stand-up use and light weight.” Sipcam is promoting its recently expanded ecofective® Child and Pet Safe range, including a new Liquid Lawn Feed for luscious greener lawns and Artificial Grass Cleaner, a concentrate that uses friendly bacteria to feed off dirt providing long lasting effect – now in a larger 1.5L bottle. The POS being rolled out effectively merchandises products in store, with new FSDUs to draw the customers eye by creating an attractive and modern arrangement of products, as well as feather flags to maximise the product’s impact. Evergreen is confident about rebranding its eponymous lawn care range, which it says will still offer garden centres a safe bet for sales opportunities in 2019. Growing media and lawn care category manager, Pery Mitsiou says: “In terms of the way we present our lawn care portfolio of products, it is quite a radical change, but by playing to the strengths of both brands, we’ve created a new super-brand within lawn care that will transform the category throughout 2019 and beyond.” w

Evergreen Lawn Complete

Rolling lawn aerator by Greenkey

Deluxe seed and fertiliser spreader by Greenkey

Wonder Weed puller by Burgon & Ball

ABOUT

The Garden Industry Manufacturer’s Association (GIMA) is a membership organisation of around 150 members representing the majority share of suppliers and manufacturers operating within the UK gardening industry. Formed in 1999, its goal is to promote the commercial, trading and industrial interests of UK and EU based companies supplying the UK garden industry.

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Products Lawn Care

LAWN CARE MAKING THE SALE Garden Centre Retail speaks to Evergreen Garden Care to ﬁnd out what garden centres can do to push sales in the lawn care market What options does a garden centre have to showcase lawn care products?

There are many different and interesting ways to merchandise lawn

care products. For example, there’s informative how-to product displays to guide consumers to which product they should be using and when. There’s also actual ‘living’ displays with examples of grass that has been treated to give a visual indication of the effectiveness of a given product. Consumers, and particularly younger gardeners, are far more likely to make a purchase if they have had a positive shopping experience. Eye-catching and engaging displays are a great way to entice potential customers to come into store and make a purchase.

Is it good enough to simply display packs on a shelf?

In short, the answer is no. Lawn care can be a daunting task for inexperienced gardeners seeking expert advice not only from the retail staff they come across but also from the product displays themselves. Simply placing

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lawn care products on a shelf at the back of a store isn’t very effective and could potentially result in lost sales. By creating an appealing display that also helps consumers decide on exactly what product they need and when will be a far more effective and intelligent way of guaranteeing sales.

Lawn care can be a daunting task for inexperienced gardeners seeking expert advice What would make a standard lawn care offering in a garden centre?

Garden centres have evolved over the years into destination shopping areas, with a multi-layered range of goods and services, including attractive restaurants, clothing departments and homewares.Garden centres also attract a wide range of gardeners from the expert to the novice and everything in between. Additionally, the average household size is shrinking and so is the average garden size. A well-known brand

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Lawn Care Products as consumers may be coming in to store with a predetermined brand choice based on marketing and advice from other people. In a nutshell, make it easy for consumers to find what they want through clear on-shelf categorisation, clear on-shelf communication and clear consumer end benefits.

What works best in a garden centre with limited space for lawn care products?

trusted for their high quality, such as Miracle-Gro® Evergreen®, with a full range portfolio, including all solutions and sizes will secure a purchase as consumers will find what they want and be happy with the results.

How can garden centres increase sales in this category? In very simple terms, understanding your customer and what they need is a smart way to increase sales. It’s vital to take note of the kind of questions and topics you’re being asked about lawn care products on a regular basis – this may give you some powerful insight into which products are most in demand. You can then focus your retail space and messaging on those products.

It’s vital to take note of the kind of questions you’re being asked about lawn care products on a regular basis Another key way to increase sales is to make sure familiar, well-known brands are at the forefront of displays

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Focus your attention on well-known brands that encourage consumer confidence. Make sure the space you have is used effectively and do not try to overcrowd the display area as this can lead to confusion and lost sales. Consider using informative product banners above product displays to effectively communicate key messages with clear and specific points to consumers – where space allows.

easily visible as consumers will have confidence in these products. Use your displays to educate the consumer and also encourage potential purchases.

Choice is great but too much can really overwhelm potential customers so keep the displays uncluttered and clean What are the key things to avoid?

Lawn care is a year-round gardening job, so this category is potentially very lucrative for garden centres. Therefore, it is important not to dismiss this product category as uninspiring and instead focus all your retail space on products that are visually appealing such as plants, garden decorations and furniture for example. Make your lawn care displays as engaging as possible and avoid bombarding your customers with too much choice. Instead, prioritise brands that are familiar and proven to be effective to encourage repeat sales, year after year.w

How should a garden centre decide how to display lawn care products?

Following a few golden rules should help when deciding on how best to display products. Choice is great but too much can really overwhelm potential customers and make things more difficult than they need to be. Always keep the displays uncluttered and clean where possible, with easy to understand product features and benefits clearly communicated. Make sure familiar brands are well displayed and

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Products Garden Furniture

HOW TO SELL GARDEN FURNITURE GCR asks Mike Brand of Alexander Rose how garden centres can increase sales in the garden furniture sector How can garden centre best showcase garden furniture products? Garden centres need to think creatively. As well as employing traditional in-house displays, they can display garden furniture outside – many of our top performers use our furniture in their cafes. Inspiration can be found at many trade shows with a myriad options, price points and materials for creating attractive displays. What is a good example of an effective garden furniture display? The best displays we see are those that really sell a ‘family’ of products – tables and chairs along with matching bistro sets, benches and side tables. This can really lead to add-on sales from the customer’s initial purchase.

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While Alexander Rose offers a wide selection across premium and mid-range wood, premium and mid-range weave and metal furniture, we ﬁnd that displaying one of every item usually generates lower sales than focusing on selected ranges. What is the standard garden furniture offering in a garden centre? Because every garden centre has its own unique demographic, there is no standard answer – you have to set yourself up according to your customer. Whilst weave furniture has a huge slice of the market, sets and sizes can vary dramatically – there is little point showcasing eight-seater casual dining sets, for example, if most of your local customers have compact patio gardens!

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Garden Furniture Products customer the information they need to be able to make a purchasing decision. Many of our sales representatives come from a retail background so truly understand the best way to maximise returns. Service is also very important – your point of difference as a bricks-andmortar garden centre is that you can offer a high-end package of delivery, assembly and aftersales care.

How can garden centres increase sales in this category? Garden centres need to incorporate the outdoor living message. Try to create theatre with dynamic displays – add some colour and carefully link other outdoor products to really maximise sales. Staff training is also essential for increasing sales. Most reputable furniture suppliers will offer training to help give the

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What works best for a garden centre with limited space to dedicate to garden furniture products? Less is more for smaller garden centres. Focus on key lines that the customer can take away on the spot, don’t be tempted to pick just one aspirational product that will take up all your floor space. Many of our smaller retailers turn over huge amounts by simply displaying a selection of six to ten benches.

brochures do tend to draw on vast experience of what turns around fastest and sells best. Make sure your furniture is always clean and well dressed and that there is a clearly defined boundary for each set or range. What are the key things to avoid? Clutter and confusion! Don’t confuse the customer with excessive point of sale material, keep it simple and do it well. Don’t complicate your garden furniture offering by overdressing – this can quickly lead to a display that looks more like a car boot sale! What approximate return per square metre should a garden centre expect from this category? This varies between garden centres, but we would expect a return of approximately £250 to £350 per square metre. w

What are the key things a garden centre should consider when displaying garden furniture products? Display your bestselling sets as shown in company brochures. While you could pick alternative table and chair combinations,

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REF: 0283 Go to gardenconnect.com/ticketing, call 0203 475 5541 or mail info@gardenconnect.com for more info.

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quintonedwards.co.uk sales@quintons.co.uk

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Pet Equipment Latest Products

PET EQUIPMENT

Beaphar CatComfort calming range Beaphar

Car seat carpet Pet Rebellion

• Simple and effective solution to reduce problem behaviour in cats • Contains a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone • Easy-to-use plug in diffuser • Effective for up to 30 days • Each application lasts for up to 5 hours

• Fully machine washable • Absorbent • Non-slip • Car seat protection • Size 57 x 140cm (fits most cars seats)

RRP £10–£18.00 www.beaphar.com

RRP £29.99 www.petrebellion.co.uk

Scruffs thermal large selfheating pet mattress Scruffs Pet Bedding • Keeps pets warm • Contains a foam layer for comfort • 82 x 58 x 5cm • Suitable for pets suffering with arthritis • Machine washable cover RRP £44.99 www.petslovescruffs.com

Lovejoys Colloidal Silver Lovejoys

Dog Rocks Podium Pet Products

• An all-natural treatment for a broad range of antibacterial and antifugal aliments • Helps clean wounds or prevent potential bacterial issues • Helps soothe dry, itchy skin • Available in a range of sizes and formats, including a shampoo, a spray, ear drops, a cream and gel

he original, 100% natural •T solution to help prevent dog urine burn marks on your lawn •P et parent and vet endorsed worldwide •S afe for all household pets, Dog Rocks does not change the pH balance of your pet’s drinking water or urine •O ver 2 million packs sold worldwide

RRP from £9.39 www.lovejoyspetfood.co.uk

RRP £12.99 www.podiumpetproducts.com

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