With 140 garden centres under his control, The Garden Centre Group CEO Kevin Bradshaw knows that maintaining a high standard throughout the company's estate is a daily challenge for his team. So how does the company, which employs over 5,000 people, ensure that garden centre staff keep up the good work?

“We’ve invested very heavily in training, and we’ll continue to do so. A lot of that training is focused on service and standards.

“The standards have to be right and the centres need to be looking tip-top but equally we want the staff to engage with customers to help them in the decision making.

“Moving forwards our employees will be much more focused on offering support and advice to the less experienced gardener. It’s quite risky spending money on plants, which may or may not work aesthetically or flourish in a particular location. “Helping to give advice and support to customers, to give them confidence in their purchasing decisions, is a big deal.

“Of course, we will continue to serve the expert, but the real focus will be on helping all customers, irrespective of their level of expertise.”

Read the full interview with Kevin in the July issue of Garden Trade News