RANGE REVIEW: AUTUMN & WINTER PREP


“Scarification and


aeration


during these conditions can be an opportunity to remove moss and improve the turf once the grass starts to grow again. Great care is needed, but it can be an opportunity to help the lawn, particular with overseeding, etc. “We’ve seen the dry conditions in many areas bring forward the leaf fall, so blower and vacuum business is going well. Similarly, hedge trimmer sales are still relatively strong despite the heatwave.


Manage your merchandising Commercial director at Tong Garden Centre, Sharon McNair says the garden retailer is expanding its merchandising to draw attention to autumnal plants and garden clean- up products, she says: “Bulbs have just started to arrive in store and we are creating an area to promote autumn so, alongside bulbs, we’ll merchandise tools such as lawn rakes, loppers and secateurs with autumn lawn care and other associated products. “We have increased the space typically allocated to this product category, and located it in a high footfall area to prompt customers.” Tong Garden Centre says it will use signage in store that will educate the customer around the benefits of lawncare at this time of year and Sharon says “Our autumn campaign will include hints and tips on restoring your lawn.” “We are currently in the process of selling garden furniture to make way for Christmas which we will start to put out from the 17th September,” she adds. “This is so we’re ready in time for our Christmas launch evening on the 11th October.” Sharon thinks customers will be looking to replace the plants that they have lost during the heatwave, “We expect customers to be looking


for plants to replace those lost due to the exceptional weather we have experienced. The only downside is that if we have a mild autumn, it can slow down early sales of Christmas,” she says. “Providing the weather holds and, at the moment the long-range forecast looks good for September, I am confident autumn will be good this year. After a scorching summer, when the state of our lawns hit the headlines, people will want to feed their lawns and give them some TLC.” Purchasing director at Dobbies


Garden Centres, Marcus Eyles says: “The long hot summer we’ve had has seen little to no rainfall falling across the country and this has had a massive impact on gardens. Our customers are now looking for solutions to help bring their lawns and greenery back to life and repair the damage done over the past few months. “Lawns definitely suffered over the summer but the weather is starting to cool and we’ve seen rain in different parts of the UK so they should be coming back to life,” Marcus continues. “Customers are trying to get their lawns back in order before the winter and are using products like lawn feed, grass seed and lawn dressing to do that.” There was a mixed response in terms of plant sales, with Sharon from Tong Garden Centre saying: “Plant


sales slowed because the


ground has been so hard but sales of furniture and barbeques have more than made up for this - the warm weather has definitely increased customers’ confidence to buy later in the season. Sales


of watering


have been strong although we did notice a slight dip when other areas started talking about hosepipe bans. Even though we weren’t affected, it was as though customers felt guilty watering their gardens.”


As we near the end of the summer season, we asked which category is the biggest for our readers in the build up to autumn and winter.


10 12


8 6 7%


4 2


0 6% 20% 21% 19% 15% 11%


Although Marcus believes the hot weather has contributed to customer confidence in terms of gardening, he says plant sales have actually increased as a result of this. “The great weather certainly encouraged people to enjoy their gardens, and we’ve had a fantastic summer with record sales in several categories, including garden furniture, BBQs and watering


says. “We have also seen our plant sales skyrocket over


equipment,” he the summer


- customers have spent more time outside enjoying their gardens so it’s natural to want them to look good.”


Spring brings new beginnings In preparation for spring flowering, the garden centres have plans moving forward in autumn/ winter. Sharon says: “We have a comprehensive range of products suitable for helping improve the condition of your lawn over autumn, all in preparation for new growth in spring next year. We have had some enquiries from customers already and, although it is still early for us, sales of autumn lawn food have started.” Marcus said at Dobbies Garden


Centres, “We have experienced a really good summer and have seen people across the country using their gardens much more


than


they would most years when the weather has been average. These people are therefore more engaged


www.diyweek.net


and invested in their gardens and want to make sure they keep the environment looking good going forward for the autumn, winter and into next spring. “We’ve also launched a fantastic spring flowering bulb range with some unusual varieties and are offering our customers a pre- ordering service where they can pick the bulbs they’d like online and have them delivered straight to their door, ready to be planted into the garden in early September. “We have a thoroughly


researched and well-planned range of gardening products for autumn and winter to suit any customer requirements. This range is supported in store with easy to understand point of sale information to help guide customers through the lawn recovery process and provide other tips and tricks to help get the garden ready for the colder seasons. In


the lead up to Christmas,


where the days will be shorter, darker and colder, plant protection will take precedence for gardeners, Marcus says: “Looking ahead to winter in the garden, we have brought in plenty of core winter ranges including plant protection, wild bird food and firewood. Last year was a hard winter and our customers remember that so will be stocking up on what they need to cope with the weather, both in and out of the garden.”


07 SEPTEMBER 2018 DIY WEEK 17


Garden Tidy Lawncare Woodcare Decorationg Security Birdcare


Bulbs, seeds and vegetables to be planted over autumn


No. of Votes


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