watering and irrigation
Gardena UK and Ireland national account manager Paul Simpson reveals that the category has enjoyed strong performances recently.
Educating the consumer W
With automatic systems and new consumers to appeal to, watering and irrigation categories are full of opportunity
atering and irrigation products are a key component of any garden centre’s offering.
“The sales on watering and irrigation products are progressing very well,” he explains. “While this product area is always at the mercy of the UK weather, sales in 2016 were strong. We’ve seen strong uptake on new products and again another fantastic start to 2017.”
Paul believes that a focus on the user experience has helped boost sales, as well as offering specific benefits that appeal to consumers.
“A pivotal factor to our strong performance is our great watering accessories, which are flexible in application due to user-orientated spray patterns, and are particularly convenient in handling which has proven to be extremely popular with our customers,” he says. “In addition to this, all our nozzles, spray guns and spray-lances feature integrated frost protection technology and as a result are characterised by their high level of operating convenience. This frost proof feature is extremely unique to the market and has helped our success in the watering sphere as it allows gardeners to leave their spray guns and spray-lances outside without the fear that they will crack and leak.” Appealing to a broader range of gardeners, such as those living in an urban environment, has also been a successful tactic for the brand. Paul comments: “Another factor is that we have recently introduced our city gardening range to cater for the growing market of balcony, terrace and small garden owners. The range is practical, functional and space-saving in storage, all mandatory for city gardens. The city gardening range has proven to be a great success in the UK and received a positive reception from garden centres as this is very unique to the market.”
Taking the hassle out of regular garden tasks has also been a growing factor.
“We are continuing to find that gardeners are looking to automatic irrigation solutions to manage their gardens large and small and there is an increasing desire to manage the garden space as it continues to be viewed as another room to a home,” Paul explains. “There are some very easy to understand benefits of automatic irrigation with the Gardena Micro- Drip-System range of products and garden centres have been very much at the centre of
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Gardena has seen consumer interest in automatic and intelligent irrigation systems continue to grow
educating the consumer on the benefits of this system in that it saves water and it saves time. “Making homes ‘smart’ is a growing trend in the UK and is extending into the garden with several Internet of Things solutions coming to the market. In addition to this, there is a huge European trend coming to the UK which is robotic lawn mowers. The Gardena smart system is innovative and unique and lets the consumers control their garden watering and lawn care from their phones wherever they are.”
Appealing to consumers with inspirational displays can help ‘sell the dream’ to every customer that comes into store, Paul believes. “The UK has some really stand out garden centres that engage in a sense of theatre and a WOW factor as you enter through the doors at any point during the season,” he says. “It’s up to both suppliers and retailers to really inspire gardeners and give a complete and inspiring retail experience.
“Knowledgeable staff is vital to any retail business and clear messaging around about what problems a particular product solve is crucial. And anticipating customer needs though secondary placements of watering products near and around the plant area for example, can easily and simply drive additional sales.”
He continues: “If a customer is making a large purchase of plants, it is key that staff know to not only make sure the customer has the correct type of compost and fertiliser but to
also advise that there are irrigation systems available to ensure that their plants get the correct amount of water and stay alive during the summer months.”
Examining your channel offering is also important.
“Retailers need to place more of a focus on digital as other industries have seen a significant change in consumer behaviour with how goods and services are bought online,” Paul adds. “Although it is early days in the gardening sphere, the importance of online presence will become fundamental in any business. For retailers it’s important to take this into consideration and plan ahead to ensure that they have readily available assets on every product we supply.”
Looking ahead, there is plenty for the category to be optimistic about, Paul notes. “I believe that the watering market will continue to excel over the coming years,” he says. “With smart products becoming more popular and consumers looking for clever solutions to not only get a good-looking garden but to regain more time to enjoy their gardens. “However, I think that there will be challenges related to Brexit and the average household is likely to feel the pinch in the coming year but it’s up to both retailers and suppliers to provide good value and to stick to core values. We are an industry that is based on uncertainties as weather plays such a key factor in our daily business; this ability to adapt will be key to the garden industry’s future success.”
GCU May 2017
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