Hot on the heels of the HTA National Plant Show, GTN Xtra called into the third Bunnings UK store at Hemel Hempstead which opened two weeks ago.  Steve Pitcher, ex Wyevale Garden Centres and B&Q, who was also at the plant show, has now joined the Bunnings Homebase team.

The "garden centre" at Hemel Hempstead is not as large as the one at St Albans Griffith Way and as a result garden products including ferts, chems and tools are inside in the main warehouse store.  The majority of the outside area is covered and when we visited plant stock levels were high with dutch trolleys packing the compost and hard product aisles.

The extensive range of BBQ's, BBQ accessories and garden furniture was clearly driving volume sales with several product shelves awaiting replenishment.

Cardboard box in-aisle product placenents also appeared to be well recieved by customers, prompting impulse pick ups during a store visit.

See our photo gallery of the Hemel Hempstead store below.

The next Bunnings UK opening will be at Milton Keynes where previously used warehouse space has been converted to make the old Homebase store even bigger for it's re-opening as Bunnings in a few weeks time.  Watch this sapce for another photo tour from GTN Xtra.