RANGE REVIEW: GARDEN & WOODCARE


right language for your customer. Retailers are selling to them based on a need rather than offering up the end result of a beautiful garden. They need to look less to the grocers as an example and more to the aspects of DIY or even technology to see how you can do those things well.”


Missed opportunities Whilst indoor gardening and houseplant sales are still seeing double-digit growth, surprisingly, this has not given sales of plant food the boost you might expect. “We need to ask ourselves how we make more of that trend; and it comes down to basic good retailing,” says Ann-Marie. “I’ve never known a sector where attachment sales could drive so much growth.” More joined-up thinking is needed to get retailers siting relevant add-on and easy pick-up lines correctly in close proximity to plants to help drive these linked sales. “All of our products are by-products of something else being bought; they are always part of a greater project. As a supplier, we have got to show the retailer how to do attachment


sales much more effectively, as it is a missed opportunity.” Evergreen Garden Care is taking the lead with this and working more closely


with retail customers to


improve in-store merchandising in order to lift the category, as a whole. “The practice of good category management is not something that I’ve seen enough in our category. Whilst it will help drive sales of our products, we don’t have all the brands and all the solutions – this is about the category as a whole and helping to show retailers how to get the best optimum sales from their shelves.”


Tapping into trends Evergreen undertook a huge amount of


research last year, surveying DIYWK-22FEB19-BHETA_Layout 1 07/03/2019 13:46 Page 1


12,000 consumers across central Europe, including France and the UK. “We found that convenience and ease are two big elements for consumers,” Ann-Marie explains. “You have what is known as the ‘constrained gardener’ who wants to garden and has time but wants those two hours he or she spends to really reap results. We realise


we need to look at things like instructions on the pack because the biggest complaint is that they either didn’t use them or they spent too much time understanding them to do the job.”


One of the biggest focuses for


Evergreen is to help people make the best of their garden. “When consumers seek out the product to solve a problem, such as to treat fungi or repair their lawn, they want it to be easy to find the product and make it look better. People want bountiful, beautiful lawns, flowers and vegetables.”


“Another thing we’ve noticed is that gardens and outdoor spaces are getting smaller,” adds Ann-Marie. “In some cases people might just have a balcony to work with or even a pot on their desk. However, the packs and the products available still


reflect the old-style of big


gardens and lots of storage. That’s not relevant any more. You can’t expect these consumers to buy a massive pack, so pack sizes need to start shrinking.


Meanwhile, she notes that consumers are becoming more


aware of the chemicals they use in the garden – particularly in the UK, compared with other markets. Explaining this shift, Ann-Marie says: “In other markets there has been an awareness of Glyphosate for longer, whereas, in the UK it’s the court case that is raising awareness amongst she adds


consumers.”However, that gardeners


take a


pragmatic approach and want to be educated. “We know some people are seeking alternatives and we have worked to provide that under our Roundup brand. We’ve not seen a huge fall-out in terms of sales of our Glyphosphate products. We will continue to offer these products as long as there is a demand. With domestic use of products containing Glyphosate, gardeners are sensible, they don’t overuse it and they use it in the right way.”


She adds: “Our commitment


remains to look for different products as alternatives but still retain the quality. It’s in all our best interests to keep a strong weedkiller category. Weeding is the number-one activity in gardening every year, even with the most reluctant gardener!”


www.diyweek.net


26 APRIL 2019 DIY WEEK 19


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