Promotion
Growing sales the Woodmansterne way Highfield Garden World and Simpsons Garden Centre are impressed with increased sales of greetings cards which have delighted their customers since signing up to Woodmansterne’s W-Select Programme.
T
he role of garden centres as a vital hub to connect people within local and wider communities has become increasingly evident in the last few years, and with 3 million new gardeners attracted to the pastime, garden centres have an opportunity to take advantage of promoting non-gardening ranges to even more people. Sales of greeting cards have reflected this increase in footfall and figures. Analysis of garden centre Epos data provided to GTN Bestsellers shows that greeting card sales rose by 22% in 2021 to levels that are 49% higher than 2018. Garden centres are clearly becoming the retail venue of choice for many when it comes to choosing and buying greetings cards. Woodmansterne understands the garden retailing market and is supporting retailers with its W-Select Programme. It’s proving successful at Highfield Garden World, Gloucestershire and Simpsons Garden Centre, Inverness, and Woodmansterne is inviting retailers to its stand at Glee to see how the programme can work for them too.
Glee 2021 was a turning point for Highfield Garden World
Woodmansterne’s display at Glee last year which wowed Tim Armstrong and Tim Greenway from Highfield Garden Centre – expect more of the same this month.
“We visited the Woodmansterne stand at Glee last year after receiving an invitation on a hand-written card from the team. We were blown away!” said Tim Armstrong, Highfields General Manager and Director. “Tim Greenway (the owner of Highfield) and I looked
Tim Armstrong, Highfield’s General Manager and Director with the Woodmansterne display which has exceeded expectations.
18 June 2022
Each element of the transition was seamless, from planning right through to installation round and were so impressed with the whole offer, from the quality of the products and fixtures to the way they had been merchandised– the whole thing just made us want to buy a card. Eco sustainability was another important factor in us choosing to work with Woodmansterne. Its green credentials very much aligned with our own ethos on the environment. The fact its cards are unwrapped, make use of recycled paper and were glitter free made them the perfect fit for us. “Mark Timlett from Woodmansterne was fantastic (as was Julie their sales agent). Each element of the transition was seamless, from planning right through to installation. While we were a little daunted by the thought of changing category manager, the process was made simple by Mark and his team. Everything was carefully planned and managed, even when we made last minute changes to the location of the space, the team made things easy for us. “It’s certainly exceeded my expectations. The proof is in the sales really, and they’ve been fantastic. We were fortunate enough to be open during lockdown last March so saw a big increase in card sales due to the pandemic, but even with big figures against us we’re still comfortably up year-on-year. Something else I’ve noticed since the change is a huge uplift in sales of Mother’s Day and Easter cards, we’ve never sold so many!
www.gardentradenews.co.uk
