on the board ‘Love what you do’


Durston Garden Products national sales manager Dan Durston has worked his way up in the family business


What is your career background? After leaving school I spent some time working in insurance then went on to do some website building whilst waiting for an employment opportunity within the family business. Six months later, my father, Steve Durston, who is production director of Durston Garden Products, informed me there was a job going at the factory. It was made quite clear however that I would be starting at the bottom, forklift driving, stacking bags and operating the semi- automatic bagging machine. This was in 1998, and since then I have steadily worked my way up through the ranks before becoming production manager in 2010.


I held this position until late 2016 when my uncle Chris Durston, sales and marketing director, offered me the position of national sales manager.


This role offers a huge challenge for me, but the knowledge I have gained of the products, combined with, although I say it myself, an ability to connect with people, has served to help me succeed.


Tell us a bit about Durston Garden Products. Peat cutting for fuel was started by my great, great, great grandfather, Aquilla Durston, in


1860 and continued through succeeding generations for over one hundred years. Around 1960, my grandfather, Stanley Durston, started producing peat for gardeners. It was Percy Thrower who in his television


programme helped make peat use popular in horticulture. Durstons then developed mechanical harvesting of sedge peat, and sold it to compost manufacturers until Chris and Steve (the fifth generation of family to run the business) decided to invest in their very own bagging facility. Since then Durston Garden Products Ltd has


built up a reputation for excellence in both quality and service and has developed the most state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities of its kind in the country today. Covering all areas of England and Wales with five sales agents, a key accounts manager and myself – as national sales manager and sixth generation of the family in the business - we are quickly becoming a more recognised brand with a significant share of the UK market.


What’s your working week like? My working week now is very dependent on the time of year. I look after all of the area agents, and work closely with the key accounts manager. I also have my own


territory in the field which is Central and South Wales, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, so I spend two or three days a week on the road. On top of this I am involved with marketing, trade shows and purchasing.


What’s keeping you busy at the moment? Our ‘Special Offer’ to new customers is what is keeping me the busiest at the moment.


What are the plans for the next 12 months? We plan to develop our brand name even further within the market place, creating more marketing opportunities, and investing in planned advertising campaigns.


What are the most rewarding aspects of your job? Talking to customers is the most rewarding, as customers often say how pleased they are with the quality of Durstons’ products and fast, reliable service. Time-after-time I am told, “We buy your compost because our customers love it.”


And the most challenging? The most challenging aspect of my job is trying to sell Durston products for the first time; however, once customers have bought them, they continue to come back again and again.


What’s the biggest issue facing the garden centre industry? I think a big problem in the future will be importing goods after Brexit. I’m not sure if it’s the biggest problem, but I’m sure it will encourage garden centres to buy British rather than import.


Name one change you would make to the industry. Bring Glee forward, to an earlier time in the year, as September is not the right time for many in the industry.


The implications of Brexit may lead to more consumers, and therefore more retailers, looking to buy British, Dan believes


22 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


What advice would you give to someone starting out in the trade? I would suggest that you do your homework and make absolutely sure you know the product, the industry and how the trade works before you embark on your journey. That way you can talk confidently with others about what’s going on. Additionally, it’s very important to love what you do and be completely passionate about it.


GCU May 2017


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