Recent years have seen a huge increase in gardening popularity and enthusiasm for communal green spaces. The People and Nature Survey for England 2020/21 reported that by their own admission, both nature/wildlife (40%) and visiting green and natural spaces (43%) had been more important to people’s well-being during the pandemic.
With the horticulture industry in such a good position, the timing has never been better to start a garden centre business. The ornamental horticulture and landscaping industry contributed £28.8 billion to the national GDP in 2019. Then — partly in response to the increased research into green space and the benefits of gardens — in May 2022, the UK government announced a dedicated £15 million funding to support the delivery of thousands of new homes in beautiful, green garden communities across England.
Getting Started with Your New Business
As with launching any business, the planning stages are crucial to starting a thriving garden centre. Whether you’re taking over an established garden centre or opening a new family business, many decisions must be made in the early stages. A comprehensive business plan should be your first port of call. If you’re taking a garden centre business off the present owner’s hands, this may dictate some of the terms of the business depending on your arrangement. A new business will afford you more control, but both should begin with a business plan.
What is your unique selling point? What will set you apart from the other businesses in your industry? These are highly personal aspects of the business that there’s no manual for. Consider what your values are and why customers would shop with you. Of course you want everything to be perfect; the best service, the best products and the best prices, but be realistic with what is actually most important to you. For Chartrent, supporting independent garden centres is at the heart of what we do. It informs all our business decisions and ensures we’re aligned with our values.
Location is a huge factor in opening a garden centre and will go a long way to determining your market. Consider if you’ll attract passers-by, or if there will be no passing trade, how you will drum up footfall. A strong social media presence can help increase brand awareness resulting in new customers discovering your garden centre. Think about whether or not you want to sell online (and if that’s an area of business you need help with) or if you wish to trade in person exclusively.
Opening a Garden Centre
There are a massive number of resources available to help new businesses, but what precisely do you need to know about starting a garden centre business? It’s advantageous to conduct competitor research in the early stages to help you form an idea of what you do and don’t want your garden centre to be like. Some garden centres lean into being a beautifully presented florist business, and others treat their customers like friends and create an atmosphere around that. There are plenty of plant nurseries, but what would set your business aside and make you stand out from the rest?
You may want the widest selection of plants in your local area. Selling plants is a very general idea, so get specific with what you want that to look like. Will you stock bedding plants? Are you growing plants on site? Do you want your plant nursery to offer unusual and exotic plant species? If you want to go down the rare plant route, bear in mind there are some plants it’s illegal to sell. Whatever you want your plant nursery to offer, make sure you’re checking against the UK guidance on selling plants, as there are plants you need a licence to sell. The Economic Impact of Ornamental Horticulture in the UK Report found that UK households collectively spent around £7.5billion on garden goods in 2017. This includes goods like ornaments, furniture, tools and equipment. Fortunately, it’s not just plants that garden centres sell!
Diversifying Your Garden Centre Business
As well as a plant nursery, you can count on garden centres offering materials and supplies for every eventuality. Whether that be plant care supplies, garden tools, hard landscape materials or a full hardware store, as your offering grows, so too will your customer base. Having varying product ranges means more opportunities to sell and will bring customers to your garden centre that you may not have previously anticipated. While overall industry statistics are promising, one in eight UK households does not have a garden, and in London, that figure rises to one in five households with no garden access. If you narrow your offering to be exclusively a garden plant shop, you exclude a vast number of people. By branching out into different market areas, you can serve a wider consumer base.
When you think of any garden centres you’ve visited, there’s often an extremely popular separate cafe. This is another way to diversify your garden centre business, thus diversifying your income. A well-presented garden centre that offers a cafe encourages customers to spend more time in the building and can increase spending. A garden centre is also a prime trading position for a cafe because many customers will make a whole afternoon out of their plans to visit!
What to Stock in Your Garden Centre
Having a bricks-and-mortar retail space can help you to get direct feedback from your customers. You’ll see on the shop floor which products the customers respond to, hear feedback directly from the source, and your inventory should inform your buying decisions.
The key is to be reactive and make sure you’re quick to notice low stock so that you’re never sold out when it comes to customer demand. If you notice some products aren’t selling, ask yourself what is contributing to slow sales in that area. Is it accessible? Is it clear what the product is for? Is it priced in line with your competitors? View this as an opportunity to increase garden centre sales by observing customer behaviour and implementing change when there are areas that could be improved.
If you’re going to commit to being a reliable provider for your customers, it also means you need your suppliers to have the same values. Promising your customers a speedy restock is no use if your suppliers aren’t able to deliver. At Chartrent, we’re committed to providing a reliable service, offering great value for money and keeping things simple for our customers. Your business is only as strong as your supply chain, so build your business with other like-minded brands.
Prioritise the Customer Experience
What customers expect from any established garden centre is knowledgeable staff. The customer experience should include staff who can understand customers’ needs and make recommendations.
It’s vital that your staff are trained on all the products you have for sale, so you know they are equipped with the knowledge to help a customer. Your customers may have questions about the difference between two products that are the same but by different brands. They may well come in with photos of wilting plants looking for answers. Being able to respond to these queries all adds to a highly positive customer experience. As a garden centre business, you put a lot of research and time into selecting the products you sell, and in an exceptionally well-run business, even your part-time weekend staff will have as much product knowledge as you absorbed in the research stage.
Prioritising the customer experience is also a great way to influence positive reviews. Whether that’s literal online reviews or positive discussion happening word of mouth in your community, making sure your customers are happy will result in both repeat and new custom.
Start Your Business as You Mean to Go On
How will you launch your new business? Everyone loves a party, so hosting an event to mark the occasion is a great way to introduce yourself to the community.
You may choose to have introductory offers, items with the price reduced for your first day or week of trading. Gifts with purchase are another way to incentivise customers to buy and can help you make your first weekend trading a big one! You may want to officially open on a Monday, iron out any teething problems on the quieter weekdays and then save your festivities for the weekend when footfall is higher and you’ve had a few test runs in the week.
Find out more about buying wholesale for your new garden centre business by reaching out to our friendly team today — call 01603 426167 or email sales@chartrent.co.uk for more information.