RETAIL INTERVIEW:
Yarnton Home & Garden
Byony Fletcher, Yarnton Marketing & Buying Manager
Maya & Christine
Gifts galore with Yarnton This month Gifts Today had the pleasure to question Yarnton Home & Garden’s Marketing & Buying Manager, Bryony Fletcher. As an established and growing independent garden centre located in Yarnton Home & Garden’s, Oxon which is set within 12 acres they offer their customers a large shop space spanning across 80,000ft², which is roomy and spacious full of many marvellous gifting ideas. Here we find out more about this forward-thinking retailer. Can you tell us about the history of Yarnton? The Garden Centre has been in operation for over 50 years and was originally owned and run by twin brothers, Richard and Nigel. They sold it in 2018 and since then it has been run by a new management team, who have worked tirelessly to keep alive the family and community spirit. How large are the premises you operate from? The site is 12 acres, so the shop is large with 80,000ft² of floor space, so roomy to say the least! 2021 has been a turbulent time for many in the industry, with many 16 Gifts Today
“Inside, there are lifestyle brands such as Bloomingville and Present Time. Because we are a large site, this works well for us. Having the interior brands elevates our offer and means we can support these suppliers in a more meaningful way.”
challenges, how did you overcome challenges that were presented to you throughout this year? Yes, wow what a couple of years it has been! Being independent helped us hugely as we remained agile and changed our business model when needed. During the first lockdown we changed our business to entirely Click and Collect & phone and collect. We also launched an ecommerce platform. This year we have seen a different set of challenges in stock and staff shortages. We have made sure we have ordered early and plenty of it and we have kept a close relationship with key suppliers.
