The Bunnings Warehouse garden centre area at their pilot St Albans store provided plenty of new ways of displaying plants and products as well as some surprising new product lines and new suppliers to the UK market, when GTN Xtra made a visit yesterday.

There are not any traditional plant benches, instead creative use of concrete blocks and metal shelving form tiered plant displays from the floor right up to eye level, with bold hand written price labels.  “We are aiming to be the lowest price retailer,” they told GTN Xtra.

Colour blocked displays of pots surround the plant area, which has a wider range of plants than stocked at Homebase previously with garden sundries also outside in the covered planteria.

An extensive growing media sales and storage area is adjacent to possibly the widest range of garden decoration/landscaping products we’ve seen in either DIY stores or garden centres.  Creative screening, tiled options for play areas, new ideas for vertical growing.

The Bunnings buying team have clearly been working hard to find product differentiation.   Whites and The Organic Gardening Company from Australia are the most prominent new suppliers, along with products from UK based Sprout Gardening (their barcodes relate to Apollo Gardening).  They are backed up by products from Westland – Smart Ground Cover in stock, Scotts Miracle-Gro – Black Magic Potting Compost on display, Briers, Mr Fothergills, Hozelock, Kelkay, Elho, Outback, Landmann, Panacea, Veg Trug, Fiskars, Spear & Jackson, Qualcast and Stewart.

Inside the store it has much more of a warehouse feel.  High shelving units packed with products and even BBQ’s and spa baths displayed up high above them around the edges.

As for prices, Bunnings are making a 10% lower guarantee, refunding the difference and an extra 10% of anyone buys the same product elsewhere.

Staff, as ever make the final difference when it comes to customer service.  At Bunnings St Albans yesterday there were staff everywhere, possibly three or four times the number you’d have expected to find in a Homebase previously.  With a big focus on training – the number of badges on their aprons indicates the in house and supplier training courses they have completed – some of the staff present were on secondment from other stores getting ready for the next stage of the roll out.

GTN now looks forward to re-visiting the store as the season progresses.  In the meantime enjoy our photo gallery below…

• Christmas sales +4% like-for-like
• January sales +14% like-for-like

John Cleland, CEO of Dobbies, said: “As the first Christmas trading period under new ownership, I’m delighted with the performance which is a credit to the work that the team have put into new ranges, better value, improved customer service and a new approach to digital engagement.

"The solid start to 2017 is extremely encouraging and represents a strong foundation for our new 3 year strategy plan and investment for long term growth.”

Dobbies hosts its first national ‘Customer First Always’ conference in February and later in the month John Cleland is the keynote speaker at Garden Retail Summit 2017.

• Garden Products - static 0%
• Veg-2-Gro - down 5%
• Growing Media - down 3%
• All Items Index - down 13%

karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

*GFK Management Report, Weedkillers RTU/CONC, May 2016 .

Resolva 24H and Path & Patio contain diquat & glyphosate. Resolva Lawn Weedkiller Extra Concentrate contains mecoprop-P and dicamba.

Resolva TV advert will air from April 24 to May 6, 2017.

It was an action packed few days for garden centres and suppliers attending the HTA Garden Retail Study Tour in Holland as HTA Communications Manager Gill Ormrod explains.

The tour began on Wednesday with a visit to the Elho factory where the group got to hear the latest trend information and ideas from this family company that was established in 1964. The offices themselves are a design masterpiece and the home from home showroom layouts are impressive, as is the factory itself which turns out over 60 million pieces a year. Fifty percent of the electricity generated by the company windmill runs the office and factory complex, with the remaining 50% being sold back to the grid! If that wasn’t enough they also have a number of bee hives onsite (and produce Elho honey) to educate visiting school groups about the role of bees as pollinators.

In the evening the group attended the Garden Retail Experience Gala Dinner returning the next day to tour the exhibition in detail. The Garden Retail Experience is not a trade show but an inspiration event using themes to bring together groups of products to inspire. The overall theme for this year’s event was ‘Growing Emotion’ highlighting that by creating the right emotion in customers can led to increased sales. Tours from Laurens Doesborgh and Romeo Summers provided great insight into the ideas behind the themes and the tangible ways in which garden centres can bring these stories to life. From an inspiring ‘back to nature’ entrance display, a mini festival with mismatched plants to a butterfly house instore and a rain garden feature there was plenty of food for thought. The day finished with a visit to a garden centre – Ranzijn Nieuw-Vennep – a family owned group which is expanding rapidly in the Netherlands. As to be expected there were impressive displays of early bulbs and house plants.

It was a case of being up at the crack of dawn on Friday to visit the famous ‘Clock’ plant and flower auction at Aalsmeer, hosted by Paul Moors and Brian Redman from Garden Centre Fresh. Paul, an ex-clock buyer provided an overview and the group was suitably impressed by the efficiency of the clock process watching stock moving through at a rate of knots. Flora Holland then provided a fascinating tour of the processing and distribution centre and the organised chaos of moving the trolleys to the right place prior to distribution.

The tour concluded with a trip to Hilverda De Boer, one of The Netherlands largest cut flower exporters, to see the operation in action as it gears up for Valentine’s Day and hear about the most popular flowers in different countries. Within 24 hours the flowers seen on the ground could be on sale in Japan, the Middle East or the US – no mean feat!

All in all a fascinating couple of days with plenty of learning and ideas. Many thanks to the very generous hospitality provided by all those involved including Elho, TPK and the Garden Retail Experience, Garden Centre Fresh, Flora Holland and Hilverda De Boer.

• •Lead and motivate the team to success
• Control costs on a daily basis to ensure the profitability of the store
• •Maintain the high standards expected of the centre
• Be able to deal with staff issues efficiently and compassionately
• • Increase profitability

• Good plant and garden product knowledge
• Be forward thinking and not scared to try new things
• Be target driven
• Have a good understanding of computers
• An enthusiastic and positive attitude
• Good customer service skills.
• Less than 6 points on their driving license and own a car as they will be expected to travel to trade shows and other events.
• Have worked in other garden retail environments and be able to bring new ideas to the business.

• Paid Monthly
• A Competitive Salary
• 32 days holidays
• Staff discount

Garden Centre General Manager (ref:DS9058)

• A practical, hands-on approach to Garden Centre retailing.
• Natural leadership skills and the ability to motivate and support the development of the whole store team.
• The willingness to go the extra mile for our customers.
• Excellent people skills
• A high degree of professionalism, especially when handling difficult situations.
• A proactive approach to solving problems, and the ability to deal with issues as they arise.
• Preferably, previous retail management experience.

• Support the Garden Centre Assistant Store Managers and teams in all aspects of your stores day-to-day operations.
• Manage the daily running of your departments, enabling everyone to inspire, educate and equip customers.
• Be responsible for managing cash and other daily administrative tasks.
• Constantly find ways of improving your departments and motivating your staff to achieve agreed company objectives.
• To drive performance maximising commercial potential.
• To promote staff ownership & accountability to create a positive & enjoyable working environment.
• To ensure that your department operates within current Health & Safety legislation.
• To contribute to the success of the business as a whole.
• Ensure the store is clean, both on the shop floor and behind the scenes.
• To undertake other duties as required.

To apply for this role click here

Plant Buyer | Essex (ref:DS9045)

• Experience of purchasing bedding plants on a commercial scale.
• Liaising with suppliers for the best possible terms and quality plants.
• Working with the Department Manager with regards to incoming goods.
• Informing stock control and accounts of terms and discounts agreed.
• Working as part of the Plants team.
• Buyer administration duties
• Undertake such other duties as may be required in the post.

To apply for this role click here

Plantarea Department Head Seasonal Plants | Essex (ref:DS9011)

Location: Essex
Salary: Excellent
Date: 18 Jan
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent


An amazing opportunity has arisen to join an expanding Garden Centre Plant team who are looking for an experienced Plant Manager to be their Department Head for Seasonal Plants, such as bedding and patio plants at their Essex based Garden Centre.

About the centre:

This traditional garden centre originally started life as a family-run nursery and became part of a nationwide group last year. They now have ambitious plans to transform this site from its current format, which generates £3m in sales per year, into a purpose-built Garden and Living Centre capable of generating £10m+.

This new centre is due to be developed during 2017/18 and once completed it will offer customers a truly unique retail experience, showcasing the very best in garden and home living products. With unique store design, product range and exceptional standards in visual merchandising, they will be the destination garden centre for North London.

About the role:

We are looking for a motivated and passionate individual to manage the Seasonal Plant Area, someone who can drive sales and maintain high retail standards, whilst at the same time provide a level of service that exceeds customer expectations. The successful candidate will have responsibility for overseeing the day to day running of the department ensuring that the highest standards of plant quality, visual appearance and maintenance are consistently applied.
You will ensure that customers are given the very best in service and you will provide them with expert knowledge and advice on plants. You will play an active role in the stock ordering and stock control processes for your sections and for training and developing your team.

About you:

The ideal candidates will:

• have experience of working in Garden Centres although we are open to talking to candidates from any horticultural background;
• have an energetic personality with an ability to easily engage with and connect with our AB1 target customers;
• have excellent knowledge of plants, plant care and maintenance;
• be able to recognise and act on sales opportunities;
• be meticulous to the detail in terms of product placement, standards, presentation, visual elevation and overall look and feel; and
• have an ability to manage and develop a team.

To apply for this role click here

• Proven sales experience in the retail or wholesale horticultural trade.
• Sound horticultural plant knowledge preferably with qualifications up to NVQ Level 2.
• Highly motivated with a strong work ethic.
• Numeracy and accuracy along with strong verbal and written communication skills is paramount.

• Excellent 13cm pot presentation for high impulse colour sales
• Naturally compact and cold tolerant
• Early season colour – flowers initiated in short days
• Also ideal for late season colour under high temperatures - stays compact and flowers fast
• Strong garden performance – mound forming habit
• deal for patio containers
• Pot to flower in as little as 7 weeks
• Available in 6 distinct rich colours as a Ball 84 plug, weeks 8-20

• Taylors Onion Sets Hercules F1 moved up to the top spot.
• Taylors Seed Potatoes Taster Pack Rocket was the highest re-entry at No 15.
• Taylors Seed Potatoes Nadine was the highest new entry at No 45.
• Mr Fothergills Beetroot Boltardy was the highest climber, jumping 36 places to No 11.

• Scotts Levington Organic Choice Farmyard Manure 56 litres, Westland Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure 50 litres and Bord na Mona Growise Organic Farmyard Manure 50 litres were all in the Top 10.
• Scotts Levington Seed & Cutting Compost 20 litres was the highest re-entry at No 10.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Pot & Basket 50 litres was the highest climber, moving up 22 places to No 16.

• Jasminium, which is smelling great, climbed from No 50 to No 4.
• Bacopa continues to be the fastest selling plug plant, moving up to No 5.
• Watch out for Hyacinth sales to increase as all of the planted containers start to bloom and exude that amazing fragrance – they need moving to the entrance next.

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2014 as well as 2015 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £195.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.