5 minute read
Retail Interview: British Garden
Getting the right mix
Greetings Today talks to Emma Davis, group gift buyer, about the card offering at British Garden Centres, the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre business
Can you tell us a little about your career background? My career has always been in retail, covering various managerial roles for various brands, then buying for Fenwick Department stores for 10 years before joining British Garden Centres (BGC). And can you tell us a little about British Garden Centres and your card offering? We are the UK’s largest family-owned and led garden centre business. We are also the UK’s second-largest garden centre group, with 61 centres all varying in size and demographic.
Our card selection needs to ensure we have something for everyone so we work hard to range as best we can for each centre. Our card departments are normally located in high footfall areas and usually positioned near fragrance, houseplants or food. All of which pull in a large customer footfall and are key categories within our business.
How do you source products? As we are part of a brokerage model, the suppliers inform us of publishers /designs they are introducing for sign-off. However, from various trade shows that are visited
by us, if we see a publisher we like and wish it to be considered, we pass this on to the supplier so that they can have the relevant conversations with the publisher to then be part of the brokerage plan. What is your selection criteria? Are there specific criteria you have to consider as a garden centre? We work with brokerage with both UK Greetings (UKG) and Woodmansterne. We have regular feedback and review the ranges to analyse what is working.
We have such a varied demographic, especially since the pandemic where our customer base has widened, which is great to see.
So we need to ensure we have the right mix and we end up also being able to challenge the core traditional model of photographic/floral. Customers want sentiment but captured in a simpler way – key words rather than verse, for example.
British Garden Centres -
a growing business
British Garden Centres began in the sleepy Lincolnshire village of Woodthorpe, the home of company founders, Charles and Robert Stubbs.
Charles hadn’t even left school when he began his business - selling seedlings and Leylandii from a stall at the end of their drive.
The first garden centre to open was Woodthorpe, in 1987, and the business became well known - not least for its huge sales of compost to keen gardeners from all over the region.
When Brigg Garden Centre was added, the company’s reputation for quality and value began to spread. When more garden centres came on board, the company changed its name to the British Garden Centres Group.
Rapid growth began in 2018 and now there are 61 centres around the country. The brothers’ ambition to have a British Garden Centre within easy reach of everyone in the UK really is beginning to be realised.
How is trading for you at the moment? Trading across the group is very strong. Having grown rapidly pre-pandemic, from 10 to the 61 centres, we don’t really have any benchmarks to measure against. The popularity of gardening, and therefore our garden centres, has grown incredibly since 2020. As a result, the footfall through our card and gift departments continues to show long-term growth. How do you get word out there for cards in particular - do you use social media, local advertising, word of mouth etc? We don’t do any work in reference to cards on their own on social media, however we do promote the key seasonal times, and card sales benefit from this. We are looking to launch cards onto our website over the next couple of months where we can push a point of difference - for instance the seeded cards, which we have had a positive reaction to – another demonstration of the growing popularity of plants! Have you seen the average cost of your products go up - and if so how have you dealt with it? We have seen costs go up, which has been inevitable, but we work with our suppliers and have trust in them to pass on such increases only where needed. Do customers ask for eco-friendly product? We don’t have customers asking specifically but I believe that playing a part in being eco friendly is something that is relevant for all businesses and it is growing. But it is almost down to us rather than the customer seeking it out within our environment.
I think subtle changes - like no plastic on cards, which we have been an advocate of for a while now - is part of the norm. We have product that has recyclable packaging and so on, too. The customer has an expectation… that as a responsible retailer we are ensuring we are being sustainable and eco friendly whenever possible. There’s always more that can be done and we look for these opportunities all the time.
What brands have been particularly popular with your customers?
The Seedcard Company Paper Salad Pigment Lucilla Lavender
What challenges have you faced over the past few months and how have you dealt with them? How are you feeling about the next few months and the longer term? Luckily, we haven’t experienced too many challenges within the card sector as we have in other categories with stock delays and shortages. For the next few months our focus is on Christmas and ensuring we are set up for a strong season, giving our customers choice and ensuring we have an attractive, affordable offer. If you could choose the cards people sent you - which would you choose to receive for Christmas or birthday or other special occasion? I always love a card that makes me smile so something from our humour section would be just fine!
