In This Issue
Notcutts Chairman Nicky Dulieu is stepping down
Dobbies Garden Centre, Morpeth wins Britain in Bloom Gold award
How Primeur is pioneering new material usage for a sustainable future
Cut the plastic – make the switch
AMES UK's approach to decorative planters opens up appeal top wider market
EPoS specialist Corby & Fellas signs award-winning Irish garden centre
October garden centres sales nose ahead of 2018 but trail previous two years
Squire's rolls out brand and image refresh across group's 15 centres
Ho Ho Ho! Christmas in October was up 6% but just misses record
Hot seat sessions explore key issues at Cultivating Retail conference
Garden products shine in October
New Botanica Houseplant department at Sunshine Garden Centre
Klondyke Christmas displays wow customers at launch events
John Hinde's new company brings unique German home and leisure range to UK
Wrap up...and plant away those winter blues
£2,500 funding up for grabs for research students
Tipping point at last for peat-free compost?
Wyevale Nurseries invest in the future
GCA Trust sponsored delegates say IGCA Congress ‘exceeded expectations’
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GCA to recruit a fourth standards inspector
New Sales Director sweeps Charles Bentley & Son towards growth
Wet weekends hit October plant sales
Funding for horticultural research students
Retail pay growth outstrips UK average
Helleborus Christmas Carol Celebrates 15th Anniversary
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Haskins offers first glimpse of Snowhill redevelopment
Could there be a bumper Christmas on the way?
Selby centre's extension set to double turnover in 5 years
Bottle Lights lead chart for third week
Greenfingers ‘Nest & Rest’ garden opens at Grace House, Sunderland
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Squire's rolls out brand and image refresh across group's 15 centres

London brand and design consultancy Perq Studio has completed a brand and signage refresh for family-owned Squire’s Garden Centres. Badshot Lea, Frensham and Wokingham are the first sites to sport the new look.

 

The project, currently under way across the company’s 15 sites, consists of a refreshed brand strategy and identity including new logo, typeface, colour palette and art direction as well as an improved way-finding experience and communications across the customer journey in-store.

 

From humble beginnings as a family landscape gardening business in the 1930s to a modern day horticulturally-focused retail group, Squire’s has evolved to meet the needs of the UK home and garden market. With multiple extensions to the core garden product including gifts, crafts, specialist pets and aquatics, as well as stylish Café Bars, Squire’s centres are widely regarded as retail destinations in their own right, with excellent brand recognition within the communities they serve.

 

Customer insights gleaned by Perq Studio showed that while customers were loyal to Squire’s, many were unaware of the unique heritage of the family-owned company and the rich history that underpinned the existing brand. Sold on the potential behind amplifying the family focus, Squire’s contracted Perq Studio to finesse its brand and story and optimise the stores through a consistent, modern brand refresh.

 

During interviews with the Squire family, the phrase “modern garden centres with a tradition of excellence” was uncovered. Perq Studio felt this perfectly encompassed the brand story – one of family and traditional horticulture but also a modern retail experience enjoyed by all generations of other families. This informed the wider brand refresh which focused on the authenticity of the company’s long history of expertise, local ties and the emotional and meaningful connections made with its customers.

 

Informed by the brand pillars of ‘expert, welcoming and inspiring’ the updated tone of voice makes a commitment to effective communication; providing the right information at the right point in the customer journey. A new simplified logo ‘with an ownable Q’ was developed and the new typeface – classic British 1930s font Gill Sans Nova – is a nod to Squire’s date of origin, but is also timeless and legible, feeling at once storied yet contemporary.

 

The primary brand colour was updated from a traditional burgundy to a vibrant berry hue and complemented with a fresh, seasonal colour palette that promises a bright, positive and optimistic retail experience. Existing standard plant-related imagery was replaced with new innovative photography, developed to not only include the wider products on offer, but happy people and moments of interaction to better reflect the customer experience.

 

Through a brand immersion and discovery process, Perq Studio identified each store had evolved organically over time, nurtured by the personal touches of their trusted and knowledgeable staff, yet resulting in some inconsistencies in the customer experience – especially challenges to way-finding throughout the stores.

 

Perq Studio worked closely with Squire’s to streamline its mixed approach to signage and unify the customer way-finding experience. A customer journey audit identified key signage touchpoints to deliver on brand impact and ease of navigation; from striking branded entrances down to the smallest ticketing touchpoints. The result was a professional yet approachable in-store experience, creating the feel of a modern retailer staffed by trusted, friendly experts.

 

Laura Giffard, founder and client director at Perq Studio, said: “It’s so rewarding to see our two-year collaboration with Squire’s Garden Centres taking shape.  As a creative agency, it’s always exciting to assist a heritage brand with a contemporary vision position itself strategically for continued success. Bringing the family history and brand heritage to the fore in a modern way, driving meaningful connections with customers through a balance of contemporary retail experience and personal tone of voice, enables the quality of the brand and its products to shine through.”

 

Martin Breddy, MD of Squire’s Garden Centres, says: “One of our favourite things about working with Perq Studio is that they have taken the time to understand not just our current market position, but the value of our heritage. The materials they have produced have given all our locations a shared identity, and the opportunity to re-affirm to our customers that their trust in us as a reliable provider of quality products is well placed.”

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