Cerys Williams has a huge passion for plants, and now she is a Rising Star from Perrywood Garden Centre who has applied the merchandising techniques learned in the Garden Centre Association Rising Stars Programme, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, to achieve phenomenal sales increases.

Plant Area Assistant Cerys told GTN Xtra: “I have been surprised by the results.  You wouldn’t think simple changes like just moving a bench somewhere else, like nearer a doorway, would improve sales so dramatically but it really does help.   Just keeping things simple goes so far in trying to sell things faster.  Don’t over complicate things and it makes life a lot easier for sales.”

Cerys joined Perrywood five and a half years ago after gaining a degree in horticulture.  She had worked at Woolworths since the age of 16 and was there at the bitter end.  “Perrywood was the only place that didn’t want extensive experience when I decided I should really get a job in horticultural retailing.  They were quite happy to train you on the job.  Everywhere else wants five years experience which for a new graduate is not always the easiest of things to have.  I’ve been here ever since out in the Plantarea in all winds and weathers.”

Cerys says that the merchandising skills from the Rising Stars Master classes work in the planteria as well as the shop.  “They work no matter what you do.   You have to adapt, I don’t have a roof so that does make certain things difficult to do outside but it’s the same principles.”

Cerys explained that learning on the job at Perrywood has been a great experience.  “There’s only so much Latin you can learn at university and suddenly here there’s so much more Latin to learn. Because you are looking at the plants you can absorb a lot more information.  And a lot of customer’s questions are the same over and over again so you’re teaching yourself as you go along so I’ve learnt a lot more just by being practically in horticulture.”

The management team at Perrywood nominated Cerys for Rising Stars so that they could help steer her passion for plants in a direction to get the most out of her and so she could learn some new things.  “She has really taken on board what they have learned at the workshops, particularly with hot spots, positions of plants and making sure customers can instantly see what plants can look good in their garden,” said Simon Bourne.  “In some of the areas where Cerys has worked the sales increases have been phenomenal.  From selling ten plants in a month to over 100 plants in a month,  the numbers show why it’s been helpful.”

As with the other Rising Stars interviewed by GTN Xtra growing in confidence has been a great benefit for Cerys.  “It has boosted my confidence.  I was always a bit scared of doing anything like this.  I would rather hide in the corner and get on with things but I’ve never had merchandising training even though I’ve been in retail since I was 16 years old so a simple bit of training has opened my eyes to how things should be done, and should be done better and how you can improve your sales dramatically as a result.”

Simon Bourne and Cerys’ colleagues agree: “It’s given her more confidence.  Cerys knows a lot about plants and she’s worked in a retail environment for a long time but this is putting it all together.  Everything relates to the garden centre, it really does work.”

Cerys, along with the other four finalists for 2014, will be presenting at the GCA Conference in January.  Delegates will then be able to vote for the winner of Rising Stars 2014.



The five finalists of the Garden Centre Association Rising Stars Programme, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, are: Kirsty Clark (Perrywood GC), Matthew Fay (Stewarts Garden-Lands, Christchurch), Lisa Waim (Haskins Snowhill), Hannah Mason (Chessington) and Cerys Williams (Perrywood) have all made it through to the final challenge, where they will present at the GCA Conference in Chester on 26 January. The overall winner will be chosen by conference delegates.

The results are the culmination of an eight month programme in which candidates attended three merchandising Masterclasses run by IBBIS director and training facilitator Ian Boardman. Thanks to Ian’s efforts, many of the Rising Stars went on to increase sales in their departments by keeping hotspots fresh, creating clear signage and organising themed displays throughout the year.

Ian Boardman said: “All the Rising Stars who took part in the programme were top notch and I’d like to thank every single one of them for their efforts and praise them for the progress they have made. The results of their achievements in their workplace prove they are all stars in their own right!”

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director for Westland Horticulture said: “On behalf of Westland I’d like to congratulate the Rising Stars finalists for getting this far. We now face a very exciting GCA conference final where delegates will get the chance to vote for the winner – Rising Star of the Year 2014.”

GCA chief executive Iain Wylie said: “The five finalists have some really exciting presentations prepared for delegates. It is always the highlight of the GCA conference and this year will definitely not disappoint.”

Twenty-eight of the most aspiring young representatives of the horticultural industry kicked off the Rising Stars Programme earlier this year.

The original list of 28 was whittled down to 10 in September before the final five were chosen.

GTN Xtra will be featuring a spotlight on all five over the coming weeks.




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