GRAINES D’OR REPORT


Giardini della Versilia entrance facade


Giardini della Versilia


scoops Special Distinction! Giardini della Versiliawas honoured in the Green Design Concept category at the Graines d’Or awards in Paris


The “Graines d’Or” awards were held in Paris on December 1st. This annual event is the result of an extensive programme which consists of taking into account a set of six criteria in order to determine the best garden centres in nine European countries. (Germany, England, Belgium, Spain, France, Holland, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland).


T


he six criteria are: merchandising innovation; new concepts;


business strategy; service; loyalty programs; and sustainable development policy. Three trophies, and four special distinctions were awarded to garden centres who distinguished themselves across key areas including their capacity to generate in-store traffic, their welcoming infrastructure, their attractive


catering facilities, their outside gardens or parks, their skill in welcoming consumers and offering them advice and service, their strategy for in-house events and for having the most unusual garden centres or brand promotions. We focus here on the Graines d’Or Green design concept trophy awarded to Giardini della Versilia in Tuscany who won one of the four Special Distinction awards in the ‘Green Design Concept’ category.


70%’ Planteria


Giardini della Versilia’s ‘


Over the summer, Tuscany


broke all temperature records, with thermometers approaching the 40°C mark. It was during this rather quiet period, when clients generally come to buy anti- mosquito products, that the judges met with Giardini della Versilia owner Graziano Giovannelli. The garden centre is an amazing architectural achievement in the middle of mountains and cypresses, in Pietrasanta. The structure’s transparency and height is breathtaking. Since March 2010, this new garden centre has offered an endearing persona to the Versilia region. Graziano explained that the area of Pietrasanta is very wealthy and many consumers have a passion for gardening. “In this regard, a high number of customers have not yet met a partner with the solution to their questions.” The store aims at a clients’


catchment area going from Pietrasanta to areas nearby, such as Luca, Massa, and the town of Pisa. More than 70% of the floor space is made up by plants. “This is a strategic decision that


42 | Retail Plants & Shrubs | DIYRetailer.co.uk


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