future is brighter than ever”

Clare Turner talks to David Pearce, founder of Pearce’s Farm Shop & Restaurant at Buntingford in Hertfordshire

What’s your background?

Agriculture. I left school to work on the family farm at 17 and made the decision to grow an acre of strawberries for pick-your-own in 1978. The rest of my life has been dedicated to retail and my farm shop. Tell us a bit about Pearce’s Farm Shop. It was established in 1978 as a farm shed supplying the residents of Buntingford in Hertfordshire with fresh home-produced fruit and vegetables. The ethos back then was clear: offer a quality product with exceptional service, put in the maximum effort, and the business can’t fail to succeed.

Spring forward to 2023, and Pearce’s Farm delicatessen, dried goods, confectionery and of course giftware. The intuitive and inventive ways we sell this high-quality produce is the thing that sets us apart, but I truly believe that the passion and dedication of the team is something special which flows into all we do.

Who is your typical customer?

We have a wide range, from locals to customers from Hertfordshire and beyond - and even a few celebrities. We are well situated on the A10 which gives us a good passing trade. We would class our customer base as people who enjoy quality and point of difference.

Describe your gift range.

How do you find products?

We love hunting down new ideas and ranges and always keep our eyes and ears open. We find that trade shows are a great way to do this; we find it easier to visualize something when we can see the products out on display. We recently visited Spring Fair and Top Drawer and found a new supplier, The Candle Brand, which supplies diffusers with a difference. We also look through the trade press for ideas and inspiration.

What’s your selection criteria?

Shop has grown into a sizable business with 70 employees and a 90-seater café, alongside a thriving pick-your-own field. Everything about the business has evolved - except for that firm set of steadfast beliefs formed back in 1978.

What sets you apart from other farm shops?

Since 1978, my family and the team have strived to set ourselves apart from the humdrum by developing ranges and thinking of intuitive ways to sell quality produce. The portfolio has grown from the humble potato to butchery, bakery, as an old-fashioned view, but we like to offer a pleasant shopping experience. We don’t clog up the tills with last-minute offers. That space is for our customers to pay for their shopping at their own speed, without the pressured feeling that they may get from a supermarket. From start to finish, we have their interests at heart.

Gift was an area that started off reasonably small, much like the business. The range grew quickly and is now one of the most profitable and interesting areas within the shop. What began as a couple of shelves for display has grown into a lavish bespoke marble table, towers of usable crates, horse carts and even a restored Lamborghini tractor, used with great effect to set off wrought iron sculptures, highquality tableware, diffusers, soaps and even the odd large sequin-studded heron bird. Eclectic is a word that springs to mind when describing our range.

How many suppliers do you deal with?

I think that for the interest we create, our list of suppliers is relatively small. We use around 30-35 regularly including some well-known names such as Gisela Graham, Freckleface, Peace of Mind, Stone the Crows, and The Wheat Bag Company, and some lesser known gems such as Laura Stoddart and Ivy & Twine. We also use agents for a wide variety of greeting cards.

We are very impulsive buyers. If we see something we think will work, we want it on our display, yesterday. You have to act quickly in the gift arena if you want the best. Quality, difference and interest are our criteria. Nothing gives us greater pleasure than hearing our customers’ delight as they look around the shop, chatting amongst themselves about how lovely everything is. Knowing our ideas have created this response is a real buzz. It really is why we do this.

What’s selling well?

It’s hard to answer when you have such a diverse range. We have some obvious firm favourites such as wax melts, greeting cards, diffusers, and handpoured candles, but I feel the firm favourites don’t do the range we stock justice.

There are always surprises in the gift area. Despite our predictions, some products sell unexpectedly quickly, while others take their time. We recently bought some decorative mango bowls from Shoeless Joe and were astounded with the volume of sales over the first weekend and the subsequent season. We’ve achieved a superb range in a relatively small space, and I feel very proud of the team for doing so.

Are you planning anything special for Father’s Day?

As a business we try to steer clear of seemingly obvious reasons to buy such as Valentine’s Day, Mothering Sunday, and Father’s Day, and focus on the big events and seasons: Easter, Christmas, and Summer. We direct the business of Father’s Day and Mothering Sunday into our café with afternoon tea and the like. We aren’t fans of time-restrictive products. The gift industry is one that seems to be majorly aimed at ladies, not gentlemen. If you are a supplier and think we are missing a trick with Father’s Day, feel free to get in touch.

What’s next for your gift offering?

What advice would you give to someone starting out in gift retailing?

Be brave. Running a business is fraught with daily challenges. To succeed, you need to be different, passionate about what you do, and have a cast-iron resilience. Don’t just shelve products and expect them to sell - tell the story. And above all, never forget that the customer is king, or queen, as the case may be.

Finally, is there anything you’d like to add?

How

do you market and promote Pearce’s Farm Shop?

We rely heavily on social media and employ someone to look after that part of the business. However, I think it’s important to have a strong input and still offer advice and guidance where needed. It is, after all, my name above the door, so I want to feel comfortable with the look and feel of our social media presence. We like big flamboyant displays, which always picture well, and try to create a look online that will entice people into the store to see for themselves.

Do you offer any additional services? Gift vouchers have been an evolution for us, or maybe a revolution. When we started selling gift vouchers, they were easily forged, forcing us to develop and evolve into what we offer today. Our business manager Ben recently invested in a new EPOS system which gives us the ability to offer a credit card style gift voucher, and sales have increased two-fold. If you can offer enough high-quality gifts, vouchers are an easy option for a customer who may be unsure of what to buy for someone. I always feel very proud of our gift voucher sales, as they show that people like what they see and want to pass that feeling on to others. It’s very humbling.

What’s by your till? Space for customers to breathe. It’s probably seen

It’s not so much the gift categories that we wish to expand on but the space to display. Gift was an area that we tried as an experiment and have fallen head over heels in love with. It’s now an integral part of the business, and one that needs to be nurtured and developed. We constantly try to offer new and exciting gifts, and this alone is quite labour-intensive. Giftware can quickly become stale, so the urgency to keep it refreshed is always at the forefront of my mind. What’s next? More space.

What’s next for your business?

When I created Pearce’s Farm Shop 45 years ago in a field by a road, growth was on my mind. Now, at the age of 69, nothing’s changed. With my wife Dinah and my son Ed by my side, we have big plans to grow further and create more.

We recently employed Ben to assist us in taking the business in a new direction and improve efficiencies; essential in these challenging times. We need more space for gifts, more for the shop, and more for the café. The future is brighter than ever for Pearce’s. Watch this space.

What’s the best and worst things about working in retail?

The best thing is succeeding against all the odds. Retail is a tough place to be, but there is growth and success to be had. You must work hard to create it. I don’t like words like ‘worst’ because there is no worst at Pearce’s, so I’m going to change it to ‘surprising’. The most surprising thing about working in retail is when you find a range that should sell: it has everything right about it, it’s priced correctly and displayed well and, for whatever reason, it fails. It makes you want to shout out loud sometimes, but you can’t force a sale - just make it as enticing as you can. Brush it away and onto the next big thing.

I’d like to send a direct message to suppliers and producers: business success is not only reliant on retail business owners and what we can create, but also on quality suppliers and producers like you feeding us with exciting gift ranges.

In these tougher times, please stay flamboyant, take chances and risks, and continue to offer us exciting products that we can turn into beautiful displays to inspire. Some people see retail as being on the back foot. I see retail on the crest of a wave with tsunami level resurgence on the way. A computer screen doesn’t tell the story. We do. Help us, to help you.

Top 5 Best Sellers

1. Freckleface soy wax melts

2. The Wheat Bag Company range

3. Incandescent Beach House diffuser

4. Peace of Mind scarves

5. Green Pebble greeting cards