Kiwi Icon Still Growing Strongly

Jonathan and Delma Harrison

Palmers franchisees provide the garden experience that people love

Name a home-grown Kiwi brand that’s over 100 years old. There aren’t many, are there? That makes the continued success of Palmers even more impressive. The leading garden centre brand recently celebrated its 110th birthday, and we talked to the owners of one of the oldest Palmers stores to find out more about the franchise as it looks to open new stores around the country.

Jonathan Harrison and his mother, Delma, share a mutual passion for food, gardens and landscaping, which have all come together in their Palmers franchise in the elegant Auckland suburb of Remuera. The pair have owned the business since 2006, but it has been established on the same site for over 50 years. ‘In fact, one of our team members has only just retired after working here right from the very beginning,’ says Jonathan.

Delma and Jonathan had previously owned hospitality businesses. ‘We were looking to move into something different, though, and we narrowed it down to health or leisure. People are living longer and have more leisure time, so they are spending more of their disposable income on their hobbies. When the Remuera Palmers came on the market, it seemed a perfect fit.

‘Our most successful hospitality businesses were the ones located on busy corner sites with big road frontages and high visibility, and Remuera meets all the criteria. It’s what an experienced retailer looks for. It’s fast-moving, high-volume, very profitable, but wonderfully varied and you aren’t stuck inside all day.’

The site also came with its own café, which was run under licence, ‘But when that expired, we applied our own extensive experience to running it. Over the years, we’ve applied the same detailed customer service to the café as we have to the gardens, and that has paid off. It’s the same with our staff – we love them and treat them like family, and they have remained loyal and committed to helping our customers.

‘It’s a lovely business – people usually come to us because it is their passion. We have happy, enthusiastic customers looking to create a beautiful space or solve a problem – they aren’t coming in for an argument! Many are regulars who come in at least once a week – some twice a day for the shop and/or the café – and people follow their hobby with few restraints. If they are looking for privacy in their gardens, they will generally buy a three-metre shrub at a premium as they don’t want to wait years for it to grow!’

Big fans of the franchise

After 17 years, Delma and Jonathan are still big fans of the franchise. ‘While we’re a local business serving our local community, Palmers drives growth nationally through e-commerce, a loyalty programme, the new Palmers app, gift cards and online purchases. Our online presence through websites and social media always keeps us at the top of everyone’s lists, enabling us to focus on our customers.

‘We particularly like the flexibility of the franchise. The support has always been there when we needed it, and the group buying power from a list of preferred suppliers also gives us a lot of purchasing clout –that’s a huge advantage for new franchisees. At the same time, there’s the freedom to apply our own expertise and experience in our particular area – after all, every site and every client base is different.

‘There are many traditional houses and gardens in Remuera, and we’ve found from experience that residents want green foliage and white flowers above all else, while other franchisees might do big business in variegated plants with stripes or colours. We do have one of the biggest rose collections in Auckland, though – needless to say, the Iceberg is the best seller.’

I’ve baked you a cake

In addition to helping customers, Palmers Remuera sponsors a lot of the local schools in various projects, says Delma. ‘It’s wonderful because it gets them thinking about growing things when they are young, and you hope they’ll turn into knowledgeable enthusiasts in the future!

‘Also, we recently completed a big landscaping project for our local Ronald McDonald House – a design package that would have been worth around $40,000 which we were glad to deliver and reinforce our contribution to worthwhile projects in the community.’

When Covid raised its ugly head, people spent more time on their homes and gardens but the various restrictions made life difficult for people to follow their passion. Palmers Remuera responded. ‘We operated out of the carpark for most of the lockdown periods,’ Jonathan laughs, ‘But that turned into great PR for us because our customers could see our dedication. News quickly got round and the phone never stopped: we had people coming in from miles around and if they couldn’t just “click and collect” via the Palmers website or app, we did our utmost to source what they needed.

‘One lady rolled up too early for a collection and I had to apologise and tell her she couldn’t come in for an hour. “It’s quite all right,” she replied. “You are all doing such a great job I’ve baked you a cake. I’ll be back in an hour for my order!”’

The support you need

Delma says, ‘None of this would have been possible without the work of the support office in securing financial packages and assistance that ensured our valuable employees were looked after. And the franchise came to our help again when our lease with Auckland Council was coming to an end. Renegotiating a lease is a process full of pitfalls, but the franchise brought all its knowledge and experience to bear and the place was secured for the next 15 years.

‘The franchisor has always been communicative, available and supportive. Apart from individual conversations, there’s an advisory council upon which three franchisees sit to ensure that everyone gets a voice. Sales have continued to expand with the technology, online purchases and loyalty rewards programmes, and the systems give us analysis of our sales figures in real time to show what is trending or performing best and help us see where we can do even better.

And it’s not all about numbers. Recently, the franchisor team pitched in to assist us with our annual stocktake which, given the size of our store, is a massive job. All these little things add up to make for a very happy franchise with a great working relationship between all the partners.’

Happy franchise – happy franchisees

As you’d expect from a garden specialist, Palmers has strong roots. The brand started as a nursery in 1912 and, as Murray Belcher, Group Business Development Manager, points out, the business has remained locally-owned and locally-operated ever since.

‘Delma and Jonathan are typical of Palmers franchisees in that they are passionate about gardening and creating beautiful spaces – whether it be in-store or in their clients’ gardens. We have experts on everything from roses to rhizomes, ponds to landscaping, all dedicated to inspiring and enabling customers to transform their home, garden, deck or office.’

Now Palmers are looking for experienced retailers who are used to a high-volume environment to open new locations all round the country. Some established stores may be available, too.

‘This is not an investor business to farm out,’ says Murray. ‘This is a great brand with a long and proud history, and each and every outlet is owned and operated by people, like Jonathan and Delma who have a passion for plants, landscapes, hospitality and problem-solving.

‘In turn, our franchisees are supported by a great team of retail, hospitality, operations and systems experts, as well as people who share the love of plants and have massive experience. They are all there to hold your hand and help you grow –in every sense of the word.

So if you know your retail and are interested in being part of the future of Palmers, give me a call – we want to hear from you.’

Advertiser Info

Palmers

www.palmers.co.nz

Contact Murray Belcher

P 021 483 500

murray.belcher@palmers.net.nz Advertiser Info