Since the age of 16, Antony Harker has worked in the sector he loves the most – the garden centre industry. His experience has brought him much success. The sale of his company Kelkay was the catalyst for him and his family to set up his latest acquisition, Altico Garden Products, which within just two years should have its first year of profit. This financial stability has also enabled him to quietly invest in garden centre sites enabling the next generation of family businesses to continue to offer a great choice of products for the nation’s gardeners.

The basis of the new aggregate business Altico, has its foundations in the purchase of Stone and Garden Ltd in May 2021, with excellent transport links near the M18. “It was a tough year last year. We picked up a lot of work but it’s rocking and rolling now,” says Antony. Heavy investments have been made in machinery and bagging lines because, says Antony: “It’s got to be 100%. We’ve got the latest, fastest automated lines of anybody in the country and there’s more to come which we’ll be ready to share at Glee”

Stock and transport have also been addressed with Antony describing higher than average stock levels having been put in place deliberately to ‘protect the customer’. “We’ve bought high risk products such as white pebbles and cobbles from Europe in abundance to ensure we don’t short anybody. The reality is our stock holding to sales ratio is completely out of sync, but the benefit of running an independent business is that you can remain agile - it’s run by people that understand the seasonality demands of the Garden Centre sector’ so we can take educated risks to grow the business and support our customer base” he says.

Transport planners can pull on thousands of lorries as and when needed to offer the flexibility of service that customers need. “If a customer orders on a Monday or a Tuesday, it’s a guarantee they will have it by Friday. There’s a low minimum order still which is good and bad. It’s a little bit more costly for us, but allows us to pair orders to get them out faster to the customer,” says Antony.

Packaging

As with all companies, Altico is looking to its plastic use and working to improve its environmental credentials. Currently packaging used for bagged product is created using 30% recycled materials and is fully recyclable (as long as bags are washed out by the customer beforehand). “It’s a difficult one,” explains Antony. “It’s not like compost where you don’t have to see the product, with aggregate you have to see it through a window, so plastic has to be as clear you can possibly get but it also has to be strong and recycled.” He goes on to explain that the technology around the amount of recycled material used in their packaging is changing quickly. “We need to take the lead and push this innovation as much as we can,” he adds.  When it comes to recycling the bags, Antony says the ideal solution would be to find a collaborative, industry- wide approach where garden centres could offer a simple collection service.

Plastic and packaging is now top of the agenda, especially for new products. For example, Altico launcheda range of 5 water features at Glee last year made from 50% recycled materials and with 100% recyclable packaging. “This was a bit of a risk for us as it was a completely new market concept,” says Sarah Winn, Marketing Director. “We’ve introduced specialist cardboard engineered inner packaging to completely remove polyfoam, which provides a protective layer for the product to travel safely. All the indications are that this is working well so far  and  the  recycled  product  has  gone down well with customers too.”

Instore promotion and new products

Altico used Glee in 2022 to introduce itself to the trade by displaying product and point-of-sale material which focus on inspiration and helping retailers create the attractive displays instore. “We are giving them the vision of how to sell it as an outdoor living product rather than a landscape product and are asking them to consider thinking about where it sits in the store environment,” says Sarah.

The Earth & Green collection of professional grits and sands plus the Stone Merchant, a new range of paving, were also introduced at Glee and other new lines are planned. Leaning on his experience, Antony approaches new ideas with an ‘adventurous controlled risk-taking attitude’. “I also encourage my team to do this because you can’t be safe all the time otherwise you go nowhere.” Products aimed at customers who need paving and aggregates to complete a small or weekend project are those currently being targeted.

Altico has another acquisition in the pipeline that, along with its existing range of water features, edging, stepping stones, aggregates and paving, is a natural development further enhancing its position in this market sector. “I don’t want to be, and never tried to be, a master of all categories. You’ve got to be very good at the ones you’re doing – that gives you the strength,” says Antony.

Sarah adds: “We’ve done so much in such a short space of time, starting with aggregates, moving into paving and landscape products and water features. What we’re very conscious of is not overloading the customer and the market by being agile. We are going to be growing in every single category and launch new product that sits naturally adjacent to the categories we’re already in.”

Why garden centres will succeed

Antony’s love of garden centres is clear and he believes they need to continue to bring their own individuality to the party. They stand apart from other retailers selling decorate aggregate because they are not just selling a bag of stone, they are selling solutions, growth and tempting customers to buy other related products. He says their high levels of service are a differentiator, along with the people and sites providing a pleasurable shopping experience. “They’ve just got to keep doing what they’re doing because what they’re doing is working.”

Investing in garden centres

As well as creating new businesses, Antony also invests in independent garden centres through Altia Estates. “I’ve got absolute confidence because garden centres are always very good at changing, developing, evolving and adapting.”

Centres Antony particularly likes to back are those which are family run. For example, if the owners want to retire but the sons and daughters don’t have the capital to continue to business, Antony can step in. They can then rent the centre from Antony allowing them to continue the business in the family name. Other examples are siblings buying each other out and garden centres wanting to buy other sites. By putting his capital to work either short or long-term, Antony can invest in these businesses allowing the families to rent or pay him back if they wish. He doesn’t get involved in any day-to-day business and is very much a silent supporter.. “My investment always goes to operators that understand it [the business]. It’s the experience of the operators and their passion – my pound always goes to back to people that can do it. I’m there for reinforcement, as a mentor and a backstop for the business and the team.” He adds he’s a bit likea bank, with a lot less complications, but only for garden centres, with lawyers and legal agreements in place, and crucially, the benefit of completely understanding garden centre businesses.

On top of financial incentives, the investments also enable Antony to keep on top of trends and shifts in buying behaviours, which keeps him tuned in to the market from a product supply perspective and helps to steer the future direction of Altico.