the guerilla gardener


Have garden centres become uninspiring? A view from down the garden path


The Guerrilla Gardener reflects on the recent comments made by leading lights in the garden media.


The recent press event at Blooms of Bressingham saw Garden TV presenter, Christine Walkden and Adam Pasco, editor of Gardeners World, criticised by the trade for comments made that garden centres have become “uninspiring”. This follows on from the comment from another leading TV garden presenter that he had not visited a garden centre for 10 years! To dismiss these comments out of hand does not respect or understand the reasons why Walkden and Pasco felt compelled to make such observations.


W


ithin any industry there is a vast range of standards and garden


centres are no exception. On a recent visit to a well-known nationwide chain I was greeted by a display of England World Cup paraphernalia (bunting, flags, car flags etc), all reduced to clear, followed by an interactive display unit of CDs with titles along the lines of ‘Whale Songs’, ‘Seashore Sounds’ and ‘Monastery Chants’. My local garden centre has displays of long past their prime


DVDs and CDs of ‘Rock Legends’ with the added bonus of book displays of best sellers that exited this list many years ago. Combine all of this with prominent displays of plastic meerkat families and the word uninspiring does spring to mind! Add to the garden centre retail mix such wide ranges as kites, model cars, handbags, homemade fudge and wartime biographies and the garden centre experience is becoming nothing less than bizarre. Notwithstanding the paper kitchen towel and dishcloths, scented candles and pot pourri – it makes me wonder where I am, and a garden centre is not my first thought! We live in harsh economic times and it would be disingenuous not to give some latitude for garden centres to maximise the retail opportunity, to fully exploit the footfall, especially in the face of fully merchandised displays with stock on sale or return. It would be interesting if research is available to gauge the ranking of the purpose of a visit to garden centres. I suspect that a good percentage of visits are casual, recreational: a place to go for lunch. But in order to part visitors from their money garden centres


do need to be inspiring! In high street retailing this is achieved by the window display, which both inspires and creates aspirations. Even the sheds use this principle with the project display “to manage this project you will need” booklets, with all the required tools and material as part of the point of sale. In garden centres there are garden furniture departments, barbeque departments, stone and paving departments, garden structure areas and finally... plants! However, they are very rarely showcased together to create the attraction of added value and thus, the impulse purchase! For the static, property-based


retailer, the internet and mail order are the major rivals for its slice of the cake - and these are growing! Online, the grouping of products around an image featuring them is used creating wider opportunities to sell featured associated items. Accepting that the creation of static displays in garden centres is money, time and space consuming then the use of pictures can be considered, but the advantages of in-store displays are their three-dimensional qualities and tactile nature, neither of which are found on the internet.


Commentators on the Walkden and Pasco observations point out that UK garden centres are admired for their professionalism and their adoption of retailing principles such as positioning of displays. The supermarket ideal is that the biggest draws or the necessities i.e. bread and milk are always at the rear of the store, ensuring shoppers meander and thus creating opportunities to sell. In garden centres this translates to the plants (and restaurant) being at the rear. However this principle in garden centres is used to draw customers through the “cornucopia emporium” that is today’s garden centre and where the opportunity to inspire is squandered. Garden centres rarely create a ‘wow factor’ display. My point will be shortly


reinforced with the start of the autumn bedding season. How many garden centres will have wooden benches of pansies and primulas with the only POS being the price? Perhaps Walkden and Pasco have a point! ■


The Guerrilla Gardener


Garden & Hardware News - Retail Plants & Shrubs 33


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