the big interview


Crest Garden sales director Andy Abraham adds: “We can also react to what the outside world wants. We think a product needs to be a certain way, but if we receive feedback from consumers saying, ‘I wish it was like this’, then we are in a position to change it.” Natalie continues: “It’s incredible to receive


the accolades like the GIMA Awards because it’s from people who really know the industry, and receiving the feedback that lets us know we’re going in the right direction just spurs us on.” The business has enjoyed growth by focusing on the retail channel where it can make a difference, Andy notes. “Our customer, generally, is the independent


garden centre,” he explains. “They might have a couple of sites, but they’re independent businesses. What we deliver is a retail solution. If you’re John Lewis or M&S, they might like your brand, but they might not want your stand in their store. But we are in a position to adapt and help those independent garden centres.” In terms of product development, Crest Garden


has also looked at the needs of the market. The GIMA Award winning Flopro Irrigatia Eco Smart reservoir system, a solar powered and weather responsive automatic watering system which pumps water from a water butt, is an example of a product which can solve a common gardening issue.


Andy explains: “Of the people who come into garden centres, a fair proportion would benefit from having an automatic irrigation system. It’s eco-friendly, easy, it reacts to warmer weather and utilises stocked rain water. If someone goes on holiday, they don’t have to worry about their plants dying. It’s a very clever system, but it works simply, and the trick is getting that across to a gardener. “On the stand, we have a video running explaining how it works, and we also train the staff because they have to understand how it works too if customers have questions.” Natalie adds: “It’s about helping the end user.


It was really interesting to hear the judges’ comments on the winners at the GIMA Awards. They mentioned that they are great products, but that they also communicate really well – that makes us really proud of the team, because next to the technical achievement of the products is being able to help people use them.” While intelligent gardening is on the increase, inspiration is also taken from the past. “Generally we work on traditional designs, with modern manufacturing,” says Natalie. “But we always go back to where it started. A spade is still a spade. At the moment we’re working with Imperial War Museums; we’re going to be focusing more on that at Glee, with an air raid shelter design on the stand.


“The focus is on Dig for Victory, which was about becoming self-sufficient during the Second World War, at a time when we only grew a third of our own produce. The slogan they came up with was ‘Dig for Victory’, and our marketing for the range is based around that. We’re very excited about that launching.


GCU September 2018 “It’s an amazing story to tell. It’s so powerful,


watching people grow on every spare piece of land – in guttering, on top of air raid shelters, the Royal Family even gave up their rose beds, the Tower of London gave up their moat. It’s interesting to see the spades and cultivators, they look the same as ours. The spade is a bit shorter now, a bit stronger, we’ve smoothed the rivets down and it’s comfier to use, but the principal is the same. The spade still does a great job.” Andy adds: “The campaign and range isn’t about war, it’s about the resolve of a nation of gardeners. That generation knew how to grow stuff. They learned from their parents, or even from school. You had to have genuine horticultural knowledge. But everything they bought was likely British-made, and well made too, and they’d know how to use it. “A lot of stuff you might buy today, because it’s price-incentivised, isn’t fit for purpose, there isn’t education on how to use it, and then people don’t use it because they don’t get good results. So then they bin it, and that’s gardening gone. That’s another person who is just going to give it up.”


‘You have to help people’


It is to the industry’s advantage to grow the number of budding gardeners who see success with their efforts, Natalie adds. “Does failure lead someone to go out and buy


astroturf for their lawn because it’s going brown, or buy a hanging basket for a fiver from Homebase?” she says. “It might do. You have to help people who might not have that knowledge. “Take anvil or bypass secateurs – how many average gardeners know the difference? Bypass is more like a pair of scissors, to cut a straight edge on something that’s alive, whereas anvil is more like chopping on a chopping board, and are great for cutting back dead plants. “We want to give that information, explain


to people why they need two pairs of secateurs or loppers and let them know what they should use each for. Lots of gardeners have said they only have bypass secateurs, but


they always go blunt. That’s because they might be using them for the wrong job. Even a gardener who has been doing it for 40 years, might not know everything.”


Part of that is about gaining the trust of gardeners, so they feel comfortable asking questions.


“People can be intimidated and afraid to ask questions in garden centres,” Natalie says. “That’s why Kent & Stowe put information on the packaging, to try and help.”


Trusting a brand is also an important part of the relationship with gardeners. Andy notes: “If a consumer recognises a brand, they believe it. But it’s not just the manufacturer’s brand – every retailer is their own brand. They choose the manufacturers they want in their store and it’s about having that authority for the consumer – if we’re stocking it, it’s a good brand.


“With more space in garden centres, you can show more product, but a big part of it is being recognised. All of the ‘old’ tool brands, that were once household names, aren’t quite at that level any more. The tools market is looking for a brand to lead it.


“The market has also changed quite dramatically in the last five years, so it’s not about cheap, it’s about value. There is a lot of cheap stuff out there, and everyone has tried it, and thought, ‘Never again’. The market has moved away from that, and garden centres are leading it. The price point for a spade has shifted back up, but it is also of the quality that you would want and expect.”


He adds: “After price, the most important thing on a product is the guarantee. On stainless steel, we have 15 years. That is a very powerful reason to buy for a consumer. With a good guarantee, they think it must be good.” As the brand awareness continues to build, gardeners will soon be buying on more than just the strength of the guarantee and, with the desire to continue growing and improving, it would be little surprise if there were further accolades in Crest Garden’s future.


With products such as the Flopro Irrigatia Eco Smart reservoir system, intelligent gardening is set to be a growing market for garden centres


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