Gardening has been a national passion in the United Kingdom for centuries. Matthew Mein, event director at Glee, the UK’s largest garden retail exhibition, explores the British gardening phenomenon and how international buyers can use it to do better business.
In any market, successful retailing requires great products that tempt consumers and give retailers an edge over their competitors. International retailers, online and mail-order suppliers of gardening products are no exception, under growing pressure to deliver appealing, on-trend, high quality and affordable product ranges to their customers.
With gardening pride and passion ingrained in the UK’s heritage, British gardening ideas, designs and products are in high demand, from Europe and the U.S. to Japan.
“No other country leads the way in gardening and garden retailing quite like the British do,” Mein says. “Our heritage and role in the development of gardening’s history is something that we are incredibly proud of, and something that other countries respect and envy in equal measure. Glee is a great place to see UK suppliers in action on home soil.”
Despite facing the same economic, demographic and weather challenges that have affected most of northern Europe in recent years, the market is growing, with 8.2 percent growth forecast year-on-year. Product innovation, the growth of "destination" garden centers, industry-wide marketing initiatives and a renewed media profile are all playing a part in this.
The UK garden retail sector is highly varied and becoming more complex, but there are success stories across every channel. Despite the growth of online and mobile shopping, it is still bricks and mortar retailers that are leading the way. Garden centers and retail nurseries still lead the UK garden retail market. Particular strengths are garden centers’ plant ranges and expertise, which appeal especially to older, keen gardeners. Garden centers are also increasingly expanding their thinking to offer a ‘destination center’ experience that sets them aside from other types of retailer – adding value to their plant offerings with lucrative cafés; franchised craft, clothing and cookware retail spaces; and extended gift and lifestyle ranges.
UK garden centers’ product merchandising has become more sophisticated, taking inspiration from the cross-category presentation techniques used by High Street retailers, as well as audio-visual selling techniques and special promotions to boost sales.
Personal service too is a key element. From garden design and horticultural advice to offering convenient home delivery and product construction help – often hand-in-hand with their suppliers – British garden centers are finding new ways to build customer sales and loyalty.
In short, the economic and population challenges faced by the UK are little different in many ways to those in Europe. However, the combination of British gardening heritage, innovative manufacturers and with a progressive retail streak means the country offers much ‘food for thought’ for garden retailers beyond its shores.