THOUGHTS ON THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE FOR GARDEN RETAILERS

Thoughts on the Past/Present and Future for Gardening Retailers

Independent retail consultant, Liam Kelly charts the evolution of garden retailing and sets a course for a possible future

With 2017 being my business’s 10 year anniversary it seemed appropriate that I should comment on issues I have come across over that decade and have a look at where garden centres need to position themselves going forward into the next one.

For the most part I work with medium and small retailers who recognise there is a problem and have a hunger and a real need to improve and drive sales. This can be a learning process for all concerned as I impose myself on their operation and twist and distort it into a retail business, which in most cases means a new way of thinking for everyone involved in the company, albeit with positive results. It also means that I get to see all the problems that affect a business, and generally their issues can be summed up in one major, allencompassing question: How do I become a retailer?

Perhaps it is not asked as blatantly as that, but it is certainly the crux of what of most clients require.

This is very understandable as many came from a plant growing, farming or other background and fell into selling to the public almost by accident, as that love of growing plants turned into a source of income and then developed from there. But many had no retail acumen. Back when they started, the closest thing to link selling was the ubiquitous bag of bone meal suggested as a fertiliser with a few hundred Leylandii, and merchandising meant ’Stack them up neatly over there’. A few retail consultants from overseas came and went over the interim but there is a uniqueness to retailing in this country that requires knowledge of our growers and wholesalers as well as a need to know how the garden centre owners/managers themselves think and what drives them. Perhaps that’s how I slotted in so neatly, as I kept (and still keep) my product knowledge up to date by occasionally working the floor in a couple of garden centres to keep myself sharp on what the customer wants and how they have evolved over the last decade.

This retail schooling is still an ongoing process, as many gardening retailers can lose that once-gained retail savvy that brought them to where they are now. They can become

big enough not to worry or focus so much on merchandising, signage, link selling, etc., as they have enough marketing magnitude to suck in customers, and generate sales within their stores just by having enough impulse and colourful products in large volumes. That’s not to say that these uber garden retailers are not successful or good at what they do - they are - but they could be doing a lot better in my opinion if a little more savviness and retail smarts were applied within their stores by going back to retailing basics.

That focus on being a retailer and the art of selling is as important now as it was a decade ago, and needs to be constantly reviewed, renewed and improved, so it really needs to be a perpetual part of our past, present and future.

But right now, customer wrangling and directing is what most garden centres really need to focus on, basically finding ways of driving more customers into their stores. Businesses need to be more vocal in telling those retailing facilitators attempting to help them what they need - a concerted focus on encouraging and teaching people to garden and therefore pushing them into being garden retailers. As always, communication is an ongoing battle within every retail group; if not enough people participate then you get what a small group requires rather than what the whole of horticulture needs.

In fairness, we are all still learning. As the customer and their wants and needs change, retail gardening in general needs to mutate and evolve into something better and stronger in order to compete with the many strands of retail that distract from what our sector has to offer, and especially to contend with other retailers exploring ‘outdoor living’; an area that was once totally the domain of garden centres. And that retailing adaption will continue over the next 10 years, as garden retailers fight for their position within the whole retail milieu, jostling with practically every other seller for a cut of the public’s disposable income and attention. And that leads us nicely into the future…

Part of this fight will involve these newly made retailers stepping beyond their quasi comfort zones of buying and selling products – which is what retailing is at its most basic - and entering the world of selling experiences. Not just the whole retail therapy shopping thing but a more full blown experience of interaction with the customer by holding events that are not garden related and are designed with the intention of drawing people into the business, especially those who would have no other reason to visit. Some are already doing this to a degree but those that really want to be successful should be planning on putting on regular, punter drawing events. Where are the food festivals? Where are the music concerts and other performances? Who’s running art galleries? How many have allotments? The list of experiences that can be shoehorned into almost any garden centres is endless.

Many garden centres already dabble in some of the above but not in a completely professional or planned manner. It can often be an ad hoc mix of half formed ideas or under budgeted plans which are poorly executed, and therefore fail miserably. As mentioned already, if there were to be a focus of combined effort by garden retailers and those who supply and support them, it should be on training and helping with the execution of creating reasons for the public to visit garden centres.

And what about tourism? Some garden centres are very focussed on the tourist side of their business, but again there is no concerted effort to advertise as a whole to both international, and more importantly to Irish tourists. This will need to be a focus in the coming years as garden centres are well placed to accommodate and adapt to the role of tourist centre for their county or area.

The flipside of this can be that garden centres are well placed to be the focus of the local community but can alienate their local customer base by being too focussed on attracting those from afar, just having a token notice board of local events or leaflets in an unused corner. Community gardens, allotments for children, workshops and sponsorship would all be good places to start, all of which could be accommodated in most centres. This emphasis on community is another important area for investment, both with money and with a redirection of time and resources to refocus on ‘local’ - the buzzword in food and crafts at the moment. And there’s nothing to say it can’t work in tandem with national marketing mentioned above if the balance between both is right.

All of this needs to be supported by an effective marketing plan, and again garden centres need to be able to draw on the experience of those groups that support retailers in general and our sector in particular to create something with enough momentum to make a difference.

Garden retailing has turned a corner and is improving every year. It can grow even more with extra effort and imagination from everyone in the broader horticulture sector.

But in the end, don’t forget you are a retailer. You just might need to change what you sell. ✽

LIAM KELLY - Since

establishing Retail Services & Solutions in 2007, Liam has become one of the most influential people within the retail side of Irish horticulture. His knowledge of the mindset and ethos of those in this sector, combined with his problem solving ability, experience and hands-on work ethic make him uniquely placed to offer advice and help to those who need it most.

Key to his success is his knowledge of purchasing, pricing and sales combined with his understanding of layout, signage and merchandising, and how the interaction of these can lead to increased sales and profits. His focus is on garden centres, nurseries, hardware and DIY stores, where discretion, honesty and unbiased opinion are crucial and appreciated by those who secure his services. Liam Kelly, Retail Services & Solutions, Garden Centre Design & Consultancy, 086 822 1494, 059 913 0176, lksolutions@eircom.net