housewares for garden centres
‘We are beyond a shopping experience’ “We offer the ‘jazz hands’ that you won’t find in other retailers”, says Julie Dachey-Jenkins, gift buyer and marketing manager of Brookfields Garden Centre in Nottingham
opportunity arises. We are also more than a bit quirky! “Any stores who have understood anything
about retail for the past few years know that just putting product on shelves is no longer enough, no matter how great the product might be or how well you display it.
“We are looking to source more sustainable products” “We have the advantage of a massive
B
rookfields Garden Centre at Mapperley in Nottingham has been a horticultural site since the 1950s but the retail business was established in the early 1980s. A range of housewares has been stocked “to some degree or another since 2009, but it has changed considerably in recent years,” says gift buyer and marketing manager Julie Dachey-Jenkins. The product mix includes gadgets, kitchen textiles, tea/coffee making products, glassware, Spanish ceramics and cookware (for promotional activity only). Brookfields also has a strong tableware presence, with a great emphasis on gifting. Julie notes: “We carry hundreds of lines but
our key suppliers are KitchenCraft, Eddingtons, Artscape, Horwood and Gisela Graham - and loads more when you include giftware.” Top performers include Mikasa gin balloons, BUILT flasks in all colours (but rose gold sells best) and Alice in Wonderland tableware - all from KitchenCraft; Copa glasses from Enesco; and stainless steel straws from various suppliers. Sustainable products are big news too and
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“continue to be more in demand”. The merchandise is sourced by Julie, primarily from trade shows, supplemented by consumer and trade magazines and store visits. When on promotion, the products are presented all in one space, which varies. Generally though, it’s pulled together as mixed merchandise displays.
“The biggest growth area for us is food - which works well linked with housewares”
Brookfields’ target audience is women aged between 35 and 55 who live relatively locally, along with young families (who visit particularly at weekends). But, as Julie points out: “We are 4km from Nottingham city centre which impacts on our customer type compared with other garden centres that tend to be more rurally-based.
“Our local competitors include John Lewis &
Julie (right) and her marketing assistant Bee dressed as The Fairy Godmother and Cinderella on Santa’s arrival day
Partners, IKEA, every supermarket you can think of, four Next mega stores, two TK Maxx and a Homesense, a Dunelm mega store - and everyone else besides! “But we offer the ‘jazz hands’ that you won’t find in other retailers. As an independent business, we can move really quickly when an
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presence at Christmas, which attracts a great following and establishes us as ‘first of mind’ as a place to visit. Seeing hundreds of people turning up to welcome Santa on the day he arrives to open his Grotto gives us all a real buzz. We don’t sell much on that day but it is our biggest advertisement. “Our Premier Club loyalty scheme gives us a
direct line of communication and is particularly important to notify members of bookable activities via mailshots. We also use Facebook, creating events invitations (which can go crazy in terms of spread if you get it right) and we have a very loyal following.” Other services offered include gift vouchers and tasting evenings from food suppliers. Julie continues: “We are beyond being a shopping experience. Going forward, the next level is to entertain customers. We already have an eatery which is a huge draw and a children’s play den. We allow customers to bring their dogs into the store and we are making our business about the people in it. Our future lies in making sure consumers buy in to what we do, as well as what we sell. “So, our challenges are to continue to provide all that the online shopping experience can’t; separate ourselves from the bidding war with budget retailers; and attract footfall by being amazing! “The biggest growth area for us is food - which works well linked with housewares. In fact there is fantastic synergy between food and this category, which the trade shows should reflect on. “Plus, we are looking to source more sustainable products - and our chief focus this year is to develop our marketing strategy with a campaign called ‘One Simple Change’. To find more, watch this space…”
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twitter.com/Housewaresnews March/April 2020
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