LANDSCAPING
LANDSCAPING SALES SURGE N
Leeds builders merchants Milford Building Supplies has seen its sales in the landscaping sector soar thanks to increased supplier support.
ow in its second year Long Rake Spar’s merchant support package is helping independent builders merchants grow their range to offer imported, high profit landscaping products in their local market. The decorative aggregate supplier has been working closely with stockists nationwide to deliver bespoke merchandising and stocking packages to suit individual customer requirements. Last year Milford Building Supplies wanted to adapt their retail space to meet the change in demand. commercial and operations manager, Scott Finlayson says: “People are able to research their products more easily online, we recognised this and wanted to make ourselves more appealing to the general public. Long gone are the days when a merchant was just for the trade, we now see the general public and DIYers as a growing proportion of our customer base.” The change in shopper demand meant that Milford Building Supplies decided to dedicate 30% of their new Cardigan Road development to a specially designed
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landscaping retail yard. By doing this they were able to separate their traditional heavy goods movements from the consumer focused area, creating a ‘garden centre’ style experience with well merchandised products, clearly visible prices and a safe, traffic free, self-service area. The newly developed retail yard sits along the road where there is a constant stream of local and commuter traffic flowing past. Because of this Milford wanted to select a supply partner that offered strong consumer-focused merchandise as well as a wide variety of products.
With a range of decorative aggregates available in their Natural Selection, Long Rake Spar enables merchants to build their reputation as a go-to local landscaping stockist. For Milford this meant that they are now able to offer a product for every shopper’s needs, with the option to supply in less than full load quantities helping to maintain continually sufficient stock levels. Long Rake’s market leading product selection is further supported by the new merchandise package which includes a range of informative
and eye-catching sales POS tools specifically designed for merchants.
Long Rake marketing manager, Millie Ferns, explains how the merchandise package was developed: “Like Milford, we recognised that the merchant market is changing and that our stockists wanted to increase sales of differentiated products to existing trade accounts and new DIY/consumer buyers. We wanted to help customers showcase decorative aggregates as an integral part of a garden build or landscape project and ensure that shoppers had all of the relevant sales support to enable them to make informed purchases in a positive, stress free shopping environment.” Although merchandise varies according to the needs of the stockist, Long Rake are able to supply an industry-leading selection of marketing support. This includes product and category specific point of sale boards with engaging in-situ, wet and dry product images alongside handy hints, tips and suitability icons. In store, shoppers can pick up a consumer- focused brochure with corresponding suitability icons and packed with ideas and inspiration.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2019
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