Pricing Perceptions and Increasing Plant Value

anthonycurnow.com
Pricing Perceptions and Increasing Plant Value

The cost price to the consumer of plants is often unmatched with industry expectations given the cost of production, and most importantly the actual ‘value’ of the plant. Few consumers understand that plants grow at varying speeds and the requirements for cultivation may vary significantly. This lack of understanding, combined with varying retail experiences has the expected and natural effect of consumers buying based upon price alone. This makes for a volatile retail situation.

Back in the 1620/30s, Tulipa bulbs held more monetary value than any other commodity in the world. The record sale was in 1636 for a single bulb of 'Semper Augustus', a striped carmine and white variety, for between 5000 and 6000 florins (depending on the account you read), which equates to between $1.67 and $2 million. The actual price for this small bulb, thought to not even be of flowering size, was 4600 florins plus a coach and 2 dapple-grey horses.

Similarly today, there is a huge element of pride and awe that comes with a British person being able to grow a single lemon per year in their frost proof conservatory – there is significant value placed upon particular groups of plants. These two examples demonstrate that plants in other parts of the world are in fact valued. I can only envisage that it is our lack of history and the loss of information passed between generations, which accounts for the minimal value which we place on green life. This is changing with the ‘grow your own’ revolution, where functional (as opposed to sole ornamental) value is proving to be a driving force for this boom.

Retail Culture

The consumer’s perception of our industry is ultimately founded upon their experiences with all sorts of garden retailers. This might include premium independent garden centres, boutique nurseries, big box chain stores or plant discounters. In each of these groups, the methods of retailing will vary – ‘pile it high and sell it low’ or ‘quality over quantity’. Depending on the methods of retailing, a customer’s price expectation is often skewed by their individual experiences. We (the industry) provide customers with a choice of experiences; but is this to the overall detriment of this industries future? I don’t believe so. The consumer’s perception of price will forever be justified by your ability to market your business. That may mean the professional advice that you offer, the locally grown product, or the ‘environmentally friendly’ attributes to name just a few.

Mr David Daly (Conifer Gardens Nursery) stated to me recently that ‘it’s not the pot the customer is buying – it’s the plant’, and this rings true to my ears, as I am sure it does yours. The issue the industry has here is again with the ability to shift the customer’s paradigm – bringing ‘value’ back to the actual plant in the container being sold. I detailed in last months article the trend in Tasmania’s retail nurseries of containerising bare root stock (specifically roses) – this demonstrates a shift away from the value placed previously on a ‘bare twig’, but the proactive approach to maintain plant value and increase margins through containerisation.

One way to overcome this issue of plant value is by profiling plants and growers. A garden centre I once visited in the UK profiled the producer, placing a ‘locally grown by Mr Griggs’ sign next to stock with a full colour profile (photo included) of Mr Griggs’. This has benefits on multiple levels. It is a means of not only showing the consumer it is locally grown – but its about building positive relationships between you and other members of industry. Another step with this might be to profile the breeder (of a particular cultivar) – By educating the customer we will develop their knowledge, and barriers of price are broken down when the chain of production is understood. With this in mind, I encourage as many retailers to visit production nurseries as well.

Price Points on the Shop Floor

When it comes to the labelling of plants, keep it simple. Having too many price points can be confusing for the consumer, and as such continuity is essential. Without going into price points in too fine a detail, first look at the margins of each of your stock category groups. It is ok to make sacrifices in some category groups, while reaping healthy margins in others. Judgement is important when determining the price of a stock line, and having the right people in the roles is critical. Understanding stock quality by cultivar is also a rare talent. For example, being able to identify the difference between a Dianella tasmanica and other Dianella cultivars (that may or may not hold a PBR) that look the same, and are presented in the same pot size - again, it’s the plant that is being bought not the pot. There are many variables to understand, applying a general mark up does not work in our industry. These issues become even more prevalent when a barcode EPOS system is utilised on site.

When it comes to merchandising the plant, creating a setting which will present the plant at its best is also important in improving perceived value of the product.
You will have heard it before, ‘retail is detail’. It sounds corny, but there is a lot of value in what this statement is suggesting. Presentation and quality standards are everything in retail, from signage through to fixture – the staging of your stock will make a difference in how your plants are sold.

When it comes to signage, the smallest of signs (plant price labels) are just as important as the sign on at the front of the nursery that sells the name of your business. In my travels I see many variations from the poorly displayed price points (hand written on the side of pots with a chalk marker) to the premium (glossy printed labels with your nurseries logo and a clear price point). Hand written labels suggest cheap, while a printed label suggests a premium product. While there may be a cost involved here in improving the perception of value, you must invest in the outcomes you are aiming to achieve – a healthy margin (for the producer and retailer) from a quality plant.

Stock Quality and Accreditation

Maintaining stock quality in the retail setting is crucial. The Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) is the industries Best Management Practice programme, building the professional quality standards of producers. With 57 NIASA businesses across Victoria and growing, you are more than likely buying plants from these nurseries already. As stock quality from these nurseries is expectedly high, there is also an expectation from industry for you to maintain that quality while it sits in your sales area. The easiest way to keep on top of quality is paying close attention to your stock turns and margins.

Many retailers have a holding area for stock past its use by, however the accumulation of stock to the point that you have a ‘nursery’ in a nursery should be avoided. These holding areas are money pits (labour, time, water, fertiliser, space and money) as you are investing further inputs to reclaim that stock. More often than not, making the judgement call, cutting your losses and recording these for the future is a positive step forward.

Addressing and maintaining quality standards within your business will be the biggest step you can take in shifting the customer’s perception of the price which you have placed on the product. The Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme (AGCAS) is an excellent development tool that may be utilised to improve your business operations as a means of improving overall stock quality and customer experience.

A Retirement Village in a National Park - TAS

anthonycurnow.com
‘A retirement village in a national park’
Anthony J Curnow

Mention Tasmania to somebody, and they will likely conjure up thoughts of the unique forests and gastronomic delights (Kind Island Cheese, Leatherwood Honey, Huon Valley Apples) that comprise Tasmania. Few however might recognise Tasmania as a state with significant horticultural wealth. Developing demographics, small markets and communication with communities are all key drivers to the stronghold of retailers in Tasmania’s horticultural retail industry.

The Market

A brief look into Tasmania’s demographics reveals reasons for which might explain the strong nursery industry. Tasmania has roughly 500,000 inhabitants, and is Australia’s ‘oldest state’ by average age. This has come about for a number of reasons. Generally, at interstate level, Tasmania tends to lose younger migrants and gain older ones. If we take for example the 2003/04 period, the greatest net loss on average in migration is in the age brackets of those 20-24 year olds, with the greatest net gain in the 55-59 year old age bracket. This generally typifies the ongoing population interstate migration between Tasmania and the mainland.

Positive Challenges

Tasmania’s retail horticulture industry is exciting. Having visited nearly 15 retailers across the state, generally most are reporting excellent sales in recent months. With the influx of bare rooted stock due to hit the market soon, sales are expected to continue through until a potentially booming spring season.

As you know, the retail horticulture industry is highly seasonal which sets a wide range of challenges from the get go, particularly in Tasmania with its separation from the mainland by Bass Straight.

The majority of trees sold in Tasmania are sourced from producers in Victoria. This makes replenishment of quality stock throughout the year difficult and mostly economically insensible. The years’ supply of stock is bought in one large batch and shipped over at the end of autumn. This is not surprisingly a huge gamble, attempting to predict the potential forthcoming years’ trends in ornamental and fruit trees.
The bare root stock is divided; some being sold off in the traditional bare root form, while increasingly the majority are potted up into grow bags (Garden City Plastics) as freight works out far cheaper on this form of growing container.

In addition to the irregular supply of trees comes an irregular supply of general shrub lines. So, while servicing Tasmania is in many ways no different to that required by regional parts of Victoria, some retailers in Tasmania continue to grow some bread and butter lines. Many Tasmanian retailers believe that by growing lines which require low levels of management, they are able to control and supplement their supply through self reliance while maintaining comparable margins. In contrast to this, is a group of retailers who have stepped back from production. This decision was made with the realisation that predicting markets is difficult enough as a retailer, let alone of production too. As Gregg Chandler pointed out, there is a significant difference in selling the stock you’ve grown over what the customer wants. This rising shift away from production on retail sites I believe will continue to diminish with increasingly efficient supply chains and smarter retailing.

There is a prominent shift in the way in which bare root stock is marketed and sold. In addition to trees, soft fruit (berries, currents and strawberries) is also seeing change to meet consumer expectation. The largest development here is that retailers are increasingly preparing the stock for the consumer by pre-bagging it. This is not only more user friendly for the customer (cleaner to handle) and easier for ongoing stock management, but it saves time at point of sale, is hygienic, and doesn’t require planting immediately – it improves shelf life. For example:
- Cane fruit is root pruned, potted into plastic pots, and backfilled with well composted pine bark, and labelled both on the pot and canes.
- Strawberries are root pruned, wrapped in wet newspaper, placed into a small plastic pocket and labelled.
- Roses too are bagged and increasingly being sold potted up with the customer reportedly happy to pay that little bit extra.
These changes are coming about by a new generation of consumer interested in gardening, but without the cultivation knowledge of plants. We need to provide idiot proof solutions, and these are just a few of them.

Supportive Communities and Opportunities

The garden centre scene at first glance may appear saturated; however all service their own local niche markets. These markets are similar in many ways, and are characterised by the following points.

A number of business owners/managers claimed that there is money to be spent in Tasmania. Given the aged population there is no doubt a lot of truth in this. Money is somewhat expendable and greater value is placed on green life than what I have experienced in many parts of Victoria. With this strong financial position comes the desire for the consumer to want instant gardens, and the majority are very happy to pay the extra for a larger ticket item. A number of garden centres all stock a surprising amount of eight inch (and larger) stock lines, to meet this demand.

Community spirit and support is strong. With smaller population numbers brings strong personal relationships between all sorts of business owners (similar to rural Victoria). It’s a complex hive of businesses all working together for the greater benefit of their surrounding community. Garden centres too, seem to play a key role as the environmental advocates of the community, servicing landscapers, developers, new home owners, renovators, schools, churches and gardeners.

A current promotion throughout Launceston demonstrates this sense of community. There is push for the consumer to ‘buy locally’, which is for the benefit of locally produced and managed businesses. This undoubtedly includes the environmental advocators of the community – the independent garden centres. This is a fantastic opportunity for local business with free promotion (sponsorship by the local newspaper) and a strong positive attitude driving overall community development.

Old Style Marketing

You might be wondering what I mean by old style marketing. The strongest example of this is the availability of bare rooted rose, fruit and ornamental tree lists. These lists are often produced when stock is ordered well in advanced. For consumers who are proactive in their approach to selecting the cultivar of their choice, they are invaluable tools of reference, and an excellent way to generate reservations on stock. They are made available online through the retailer’s website, and also in-store. Expectancy of these lists being available in advance is so high that more often than not, many cultivars sell out well before they are even lifted from the ground at the production nursery.

The Way Forward

The important role of community has been discussed, and as such the result is a group of retailers who all in all will be happy to share information with their competitor (the Plants Plus group is particularly strong here). Most retailers were very open to the suggestion of sharing information, as they are all working for the same purpose – that being the development of the horticulture industry.

The question which is on the tip of everybody’s tongue is whether or not this positive industry is sustainable for the long term. It is something which requires balance. Population growth is predicted to remain steady while migration trends continue. As such the demand will always be there, and the market over time will shift as new retailers open (the next generation), some are businesses are passed on and others close. This is an industry which will continue to develop with respect to improved systems, logistics and business management techniques as they move towards meeting the expectations of the average Tasmanian consumer.

Reference:
http://www.taspop.tasbis.com

New Era in Retailing with The Gardeners Corner Store

The Next Era in Retailing with…
The Gardeners Corner Store

'An investment in Garden Centre Excellence'

Being relatively new to the industry, I am often amazed by the stories and history behind some of the places that I visit. A recent trip to the Gardeners Corner Store was highly insightful, inspiring and incredibly interesting. A story steeped in botanical knowledge, inventive business management, and some sound philosophy has helped David & Helen Grodski and the team at the Gardeners Corner Store get to where they are today.

The Gardeners Corner Store (GCS) had been trading in Brighton for 21 years up until the end of June 2008, when they unknowingly at the time, temporarily ceased trading in their present form. The idea of closure came about some time earlier, and was an accumulation of a number of factors. After winning Best Medium Garden Centre in Victoria for 2004-06 they felt that they were peaking as a business, and the desire to ‘step back’ and enjoy life led to the development of a detailed exit plan. This was also coupled with the realisation that difficult times may have been ahead, with increasing water security pressures (looming Stage 4) and a noticeable decrease in the amount of ‘gardeners’ in the area, as those with gardens were hiring the services of maintenance teams. With the retail sales component in the business’ overall profile shrinking, compared to their landscaping team (with fewer gardeners in the garden centre buying plants), the implementation of the exit plan came to fruition.

Having never held a ‘Sale’ in the 21 years of trading, they were now faced with the closure of the nursery, and the need to sell off stock prevailed. This was tackled in a unique way over a period of four months. Having spent 25 years in the industry, David quite understandably decided it was something to be celebrated, and so large signs plastered across their fences were put up stating “Salebrating 20 years”. This created an unexpected frenzy with the public. This came about not only by the positive message which was sent through the celebration of their garden centre, but also through the supply of good quality stock which customers had come to expect from the garden centre. In doing so, as David points out, this creates a Win:Win situation for everyone, which ultimately has positive effects all around – there would have been no point in selling off poor quality stock as this may lead to a Win(seller):Lose (buyer) situation which wouldn’t have reflected well on the business’ namesake.

The important things David learnt about this closure were the following:
- He would encourage anyone to run ‘events’ as opposed to ‘sales’ – you chose the stock, the time, and control the environment, don’t allow seasons and expectations from the consumer to do so.
- As it is an ‘event’, a positive message must be purveyed.
- Ensure you offer a true bargain for the customer and one of the best shopping experiences of their life - and let them know it. This has a strong focus on staff training and providing high quality customer service. Teaching staff ‘What do I have to do to make that customers life better?’ – How do you train staff to be enthusiastic but not pushy?
- If you are in a positive position to do so, obtaining good quality stock on consignment gives you the stronger selling position to push volume without the initial outlay.

Following the sell off of green life, 250 items consisting of the larger ‘props’ and hard landscape pieces were auctioned off by an auctioneer who came on site for the day. Once these items and the last few plants had been sold, the gates were closed.

In the following few weeks, David was invited in as a consultant to assist in finding a new garden centre tenant for a site previously owned by Gills of Brighton. Following a number of discussions, a proposition was made to David to take the site on himself. After 24 hours of thinking about the opportunity, and some phone calls to his previous employees who are now partners in the business, they signed the lease. The following day David and Helen boarded a plane leaving Australia for six months on an extended holiday. With David and Helen now considering themselves as mentors that work on the business and not in it, Cathryn McEwan and John Parish (Managers and business partners) were left to get the new site up and running.

At the beginning of August 2008, they opened their doors to a new era. With minimal capital at start up, close attention to stock turns has played a key role in their overall current gross profit. Having many years of plant knowledge also was significant in getting started. David noted that knowing what plants to buy based on those that will succeed and those that won’t in that given area was incredibly helpful.

David notably made the point that in a small garden centre, it is difficult to stock everything. This is why the Gardeners Corner Store has the ‘5 F test’. Stock being bought must possess three out of five of the following plant characteristics:
1 – Foliage
2 – Flowers
3 – Fruit
4 – Fragrance
5 – Free from Pest and Disease

Re-opening onto a previous garden centre site had two benefits. Many of their old customers rekindled their relationship with the GCS while they also found an entire new customer base – those being the ‘gardeners,’ plant people whose numbers were diminishing at the old GCS.

With a small but strongly committed team, including David, Helen, Cathryn, John, Alyson, Josh and Tim, they are able to make a large impact in what they do as retailers. The Gardeners Corner Store is committed to continual development onsite and also the industry as a whole. David’s desire to see a set level of expected professionalism and quality assurance from the consumer in the future is something I hope we are all striving for, through the accreditation programmes, and our own desire to take that next step towards the bigger picture in retailing plants.


David Grodski & Lost Languages

Having been a practicing doctor for 20 years, David’s friends thought he was mad when he made the decision to open a Garden Centre. Having a family farm, David acquired many landscaping skills, and these combined with skills learnt as a silent partner in a family nursery inspired him to open his own. With his medical history, a sound understanding of plant names gave him the knowledge about plants which today is almost lost – taxonomy. David understood that you could often determine the many cultivation requirements and characteristics of plants, all by understanding some Latin.

For example:
1 – Habit - elatus (meaning tall), palustris (from swampy regions)
2 – Cultivation Requirements – montanum (from the mountains) or rivularis (prefer moist soils over dry), capensis (from the Cape, so plant in the open)
3 – Origin – japonica (originating in Japan) and chinensis (originating in China) – from this you could also determine whether to plant it south/north, east/west facing
4 – Leaf and Flower – multiflora (floriferous and required sun, not shade), alba (white in colour)
5 – History of Cultivation of the plant – people’s names are often used in honour or memoriam. Such as Fuchsia is a tribute to Leonhart Fuchs, a German physician and herbalist.

As David is now in a position that is best described as a business mentor to the Gardeners Corner Store, there is no doubt that there is a wealth of expertise and knowledge which will be passed onto the next generation, with respect to knowing your plants, and developing good business management skills.

Plant Trends at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is the trend setting event of the year here in Australia. The industry is displaying plants of future interest, tempting customers in the hope of spurring sales into the forthcoming season. If there’s a plant on display, people will be coming in and asking for it tomorrow. Three standout exhibits this year were inundated with punters wanting to know what the latest and the greatest in the plant world is. Of these three displays there was no doubt a concentrated focus on natives.

‘Cooling the Planet One Backyard at a Time’ – Tree Shrub Growers of Victoria

Highlighting plants by planting en masse, this display utilised a variety of species selected for their ability to ‘cool the planet’. For example shade trees (Fraxinus excelsior ‘Aurea’) were used to complement the variegated privet which stood over the exhibit and stage. Lawn was included, but so too were small ground covering plants such as the new release Dianella ‘Petite Marie’ and the strong selling and popular Banksia ‘Birthday Candles’. Other tufting beauties such as Libertia ‘Gold Fingers’ and Lomandra ‘Seascape’ (or ‘Silver Grace) add further colour and interest to the design. Structural plants were also significantly featured, and Xanthorrhoeas continue to be used as stand out features in garden designs.

Aloe plicatilus added further interest with their succulent bodies and unique architectural forms. Three other notable plants featured within exhibit included Yucca ‘Silver Sword’ and Acacia ‘Fettucini’. Espaliered citrus and olives from Merrywood Plants also created a bit of a storm with many questions on the stand focused on these trained plants.

‘Imagine’ – A joint garden by Humphris Nursery, Dirtscape Dreaming, Austraflora, Arbor Constructions and Swinburne

I spoke briefly to Barry Humphris of the ‘Imagine’ garden, a joint initiative between Humphris Nurseries and Swinburne University. Barry pointed out that grafted natives were incredibly popular, and that the public who know their natives, generally know their plants. The result of this is that there is a knowing expectation that a ‘grafted plant is a better plant.’ With these plants increasingly being used within designs, they are being engrained in the consumers psyche. With this in mind and demand high at the show, we will no doubt see this trend continue within garden centres post MIFGS – it seems everyone is going to want a grafted Eremophilla or Corymbia cv.

Another plant featured in the garden includes the newly released Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Vintage Red’ which has deep red juvenile foliage, potentially an ideal plant for coppicing – an increasingly popular horticultural practice here in Australia.

A wide range of other plants were featured including the ‘King in the Garden’ Range such as Acmena ‘Moonlight Flame’ and the increasingly popular fluffy pink heads of Ptilotis exaltatus ‘Phoenix’. Some other more unusual plants included in the large planting scheme were Pimelea physodes ‘Qualup Bells’ and the silver foliage of Marieana oppositifolia ‘Dwarf Silver Shadow’ and the Acacia cognata cultivars with their graceful weeping lime green foliage are proven winners.

Habitat – ‘Phillip Johnston’

This garden won not only Best in Show, but a Gold award for Best Show Garden. It was an incredibly impressive piece, and certainly stopped people in their tracks with their interesting selection of plants and massive feature boulders, intermingled with the key environmental messages about living a sustainable life. The garden itself comprised of a diverse plant selection, incorporating not only edible gardens (vegetables, fruit and citrus) but riparian vegetation including sedges and ferns and xeriscape plantings – the entire design wassegregated by ecological zones, with the water as the fluid entity and life
blood of making the site work. This is something which Phillip Johnston Landscape Systems designs around – building a sustainable habitat to be enjoyed.

To mention just a few of the stand out plants that stood out in the landscape – Bachychiton specimens, no doubt chosen for their spectacular structure, their ability to conserve moisture is also a drawcard. Doryanthes excelsa, the spectacularly large flowering Gymea Lily was also utilised in abundance, their phenomenal size and impact within the landscape added scale and stirred interest amongst the visitors. Other plants such as a number of cultivars of Anigozanthos, Dampiera, Eremophilla and a wide variety of fern species were utilised to create this impressive display of Australian flora.

E-Marketing for Garden Retailers

E-marketing makes reference to one of the many methods of advertising your business (i.e. selling of goods and services), specifically through digital forms of communication. This may include email newsletters, websites and online advertising through search engines and/or banner/link advertising. E-marketing is a growth area with online social networks such as Facebook demonstrating targeted advertisements based on user’s personal information. You also see these ‘personal recommendations’ on websites such as Amazon, where user targeted marketing techniques are heavily put into practice. E-marketing eliminates the downtime in spreading your message to the consumer who is increasingly short of time. This means the consumer must have buying decisions made as easy as possible for them. In addition to your normal marketing techniques, e-marketing should be an enhancing supplement to your regular marketing strategies with the aim of reaching a larger target area.

In considering the benefits of e-marketing and whether you think it will be of benefit to you, it is important to sit down and develop a plan.

Characterising the Consumer

To begin with, if we think about the varying demographics of our customers, we can come to some immediate conclusions that certain generations are most likely going to be influenced by varying marketing techniques. Therefore, by characterising your consumers and determining what drives sales of that area, you will be able to see which methods of marketing are likely to be most effective for your nursery. How many people don’t have an email address that they check regularly? Most do, and as such there is huge potential for e-mail newsletters to be a regular cost effective form of regular communication with a vast number of potential customers. So, ask yourself – Is there potential to tap into a growing market (such as the Generation X with their love for home grown produce or the young families who want to enjoy their ‘outdoor room’)?

Planning for Positive Growth and Return

Addition of e-marketing to your existing marketing plan/budget will enable you to effectively develop a holistic approach to advertising that has a positive return to your business. There are a number of steps in developing an e-marketing plan:

1 – Ensure you have the expertise on hand. Basic email knowledge is bare minimum, with other specialised requirements such as construction of a web page easily contracted out.
2 – Define your objectives and ultimate goals. Here you will be specifically targeting the audience which you have determined will bring most value in return. In doing so, specifically defining your set objectives and outcomes will help you lay out your plan of attack. Do you want to increase your footfall? Or are you aiming to improve exposure? Are you looking at developing a loyalty program of sorts? Is the primary goal dissemination of information, with the aim of increasing professional profile? All of these objectives will no doubt need to have an effect on the bottom line, but you do need to think about it strategically to get the most out of your e-marketing campaign. Sending a clear consistent message is important.
3 - Include the costs of e-marketing into a budget – This includes the skills required and potential ongoing contracting costs of maintenance.

Monitoring the Method

Having the ability to monitor your methods of e-marketing will give you the ability to critically assess the return on investment. Realistically, you are making sure that the electronic form of marketing is worthwhile – is it working to your advantage? If not, is there potential for it to work to your advantage?

There are numerous ways in which people monitor such systems. For example, with an e-newsletter you might include a redeemable coupon in each mailout. This is a very simple form of monitoring, but will give you accurate results by determining the amount of repeat custom you are receiving.

So ask yourself – What techniques can I implement to monitor the effectiveness of the method? And how can I use these findings to my advantage?

Practical Application

It is a good idea that retail nurseries in Victoria have at least:

1 A basic website
- This will be a point of reference with photos of your business offerings and contact details as bare minimum. A sign up to your e-newsletter would also be of benefit.
- Don’t put unnecessary information online, it should send a clear message and not be weighed down with too much text.
2 An email newsletter
- As above, develop a set of objectives.
- Be consistent – make sure the content is clear and the message you are sending across is simple. Most people will flick their eye over an email, so don’t bog it down with too much fanciful text.
- Understanding technical issues such as bandwidth and the range of issues involved in sending an email to multiple people is important at set up. For example, each email is a particular size, and with the addition of images to an email, you will quickly eat up bandwidth which your service provider might not support, or at the least increase your costs substantially.

Combined, these two e-marketing methods offer the online consumer an insight into your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - and also a point of contact.

The Next Step

1 – Most importantly, do your research.

2 – You may have seen that the NGIV and the Garden Gurus have partnered together and have begun to build an online Virtual Tour database of independent retail garden centres. The idea behind this is to promote independent retailers by offering consumers an online experience.

In joining the programme, you will have your business’ virtual tour made available to you. Imagine a virtual tour (video) of your garden centre on the front page of your website. This would be an unrivalled experience for the consumer and the first step to opening your doors to their custom.

To view the Virtual Garden Centre Tours, logon to www.ngiv.com.au and click on the banner on the front page. For further information, contact Glenn Thomson (e - glenn@thegardengurus.com, m – 0438 584 816).

Resources:

There are many excellent resources online, but one of the best which I came across was this online tutorial by the Small Business Development Corporation
http://www.e-com.sbdc.com.au/e-marketing/one/index.htm
The second is a Training Module produced by Multimedia Victoria (Victorian Government)
http://www.mmv.vic.gov.au/Assets/220/1/eMarketing.pdf

Generation X, Generation Y - the Nextgen Employee

The National Conferences topic of ‘Ingredients for a Brighter Future’ yielded a variety of discussions and references to the younger generation of the industry. The terms Generation X and Generation Y were coined loosely as those in the age group from apprentice level up to roughly 35 years of age. This group encompasses a large proportion of our industry. Therefore when it was noted the limited numbers of young people in attendance at conference, there was an evident issue at hand regarding the potential ‘brighter future’ which the conference aimed to assess.

There were a number of key questions addressed by a panel of distinguished guests including Brian MerrickCNP (Gardens R Us), Andrew White (Oasis), Anthony Kachenko CNP (NGIA) , Ross Wilson CNP (2008 Young Leader), Kate Malfoy CNP (Jambaroo Native Nursery). Participation from business owners in attendance also formed a significant part of the debate. In addition to these discussions, I recently spoke with Glenn Fenton (Nationwide Trees Pty. Ltd.) to further grasp his thoughts on this issue.

Generally, apprentices were considered to be a difficult group of young people to retain and train, with a number of business owners raising the issue of neediness. It was nearly stated that a level of ‘mothering’ is expected particularly from this level. This was disputed by a number of people including Mr Fenton who strongly believes that you must take your employees on a journey. You are investing in them as long term candidates of your business. A level of support, not mothering, is a critical part of the development of your employees, and inevitably the business.

In addition, Ross Wilson CNP (Young Leader 2008) characterised this by offering his personal time to those younger members by assisting with such aspects like personal budgets. This is something a young person with limited life experience has little to no exposure to, and with an increasing number of pathways to the work place, it is inevitable that you will encounter a diverse range of people with significantly varying backgrounds, skills and knowledge. With this in mind, offering support builds trust, and in turn, a level of commitment from the employee.

So ultimately, how do we retain those young people with potential in industry? The suggestion was made to figure out ways to increase your margins and essentially pay above award rate with the aim of resulting in a higher retention rate. This was just one method of retention as it was obvious that remuneration is not the sole motivator for the next generation.

The key issues raised formed a consensus that it is difficult to motivate the younger generation. In contrast to this, Mr Fenton clearly stated that it was not as difficult as was being suggested with opportunities for development and a career pathway as key drivers for the younger generation. It was noted that remuneration of a fair wage was also essential in attracting and retaining employees. By offering such opportunities, you should as a result be left with a committed staff with skills which are retained in house. In going forward with this, those particular skills will be shared into the future as they are honed and developed with the guidance of the business owner.

With such a diverse group of people, motivations will inevitably vary. With some young people, a desire for vocational education through schemes such as the Australian Apprenticeships programme offers young people an opportunity to not only earn a wage, but learn on the job in a manner which suits their style of learning.

It was suggested by Mr Fenton that there really is little difference between the generations and the most important issue with many current business owners is that ‘they manage, they don’t lead.’ The call for change appears to need to come from the business owners and managers themselves. This concept is one which has been exhausted by many business gurus, and a trip to your local bookshop will demonstrate this with piles of literature on the topic. In addition to reading literature, networking with others who are seen to be leaders is an excellent means of building and developing the skills of leadership which have a positive effect on business and industry growth.

So what practical measures can we begin to adopt as we start learning to lead?

Common tasks like weeding are essentially highly rated tasks by necessity but which holds with it a low ranking credibility for skill base required to undertake. With this in mind, it is a perfect exercise to team build. Once a week instead of delegating tasks, get out there alongside your staff as a group and knock over those sorts of tasks no-one enjoys doing together. By leading in this manner, you will not only finish the common tasks quickly but it gives you regular opportunity to interact with your staff. Again this builds trust by interacting on a more sociable level, which will be seen by employees as supportive to their needs.

Listening too, can be a simple yet very effective tool. By listening and engaging you learn about your staffs interests – this is something which you will do while weeding alongside staff. In turn this gives you the knowledge you need to harness their capabilities and get the best out of them. In doing so you will provide them with the opportunities they need to excel both in the workplace, as valuable members of the industry, and finally throughout their professional careers.

Finally, in training the younger generation to be valuable members of staff, it is important to trust them and offer them ownership of their position in the business. In doing so, let them make mistakes which they will potentially learn from. This can be sometimes at a minimal cost to the business, but all in all your investment and trust in them will build a solid foundation for the future. In addition to this, by allowing your staff to be accountable and have a sense of ownership, you as a business owner will be able to step back a little and take the breaks that you deserve and have worked so hard for.

So what can we take from all this? Essentially young people ‘want to work for good people who lead them well’ (Fenton).

A table characterising the various generations is available at:
http://www.leadership.org.au/briefs/GenYEmployees.pdf

Botanical Splatter Merchandising

anthonycurnow.com
In the past month of my starting at the NGIV, I have been getting out on the road and visiting a range of retailers to see what is happening out there. Responses have been positive and it sounds as if the prolonged seasonal spring like weather which brought cooler temperatures and a bit of rain over December, has spurred positive sales forward into the New Year. At the essence of this good trading, is having the quality stock on hand to meet demand. Fantastic merchandising (making stock available for sale in an appealing fashion, as opposed to simply ‘displaying’) of this stock will no doubt have played a key factor in your sales figures and having been out and about, it is clear many of you are proactively tackling consumer demands.

Consumer interest in growing their own fruit and vegetables is being met by many of you. Kuranga Nursery is targeting a specific native bush food market linking live stock to products within their café. They are finding that they are gaining repeat custom through their marketing of traditional Bush Foods, firstly by sparking interest with edible products in the shop with people returning in the hope of growing their own Kunzea pomifera!

Botanical Creations on the other hand are targeting the newcomers (and the old) to gardening who are horrified with increasing prices in the supermarkets. They have created an edibles area with an emphasis on providing the customer ideas through inspirational living displays (such as herb and vegetable patches, which were also viewed at Bay Road and Gills of Beaumaris). Botanical Creations however appear to have taken this to the next level by not only including vegetable and herb seedlings, but cross merchandising this with many edible plants and related products to create a very effective new age department of the nursery. Not only will you find vegetable seedlings, but with this you will find potting mix, fertiliser, instant vege gardens, pick and eat herbs, containers and more.

As a retailer, it is safe to say that it is a common misperception amongst the public that natives can be ‘dull and boring’, but this is far from what I experienced at Kuranga Nursery. Their bold use of seasonal stock such as bright pink flowering grafted gums (Corymbia sp.), dusty pink Ptilotus intermingled with yellow wildflowers and orange Anigozanthos is a striking flowering colour combination which one might never normally think to use. But through effective merchandising with the use of inorganic props like large stones, old wooden wagon wheels and birdbaths, combined with its impulse location, this ‘botanical splatter’ creates a highly stimulating display that paints a desirable representation of what the impulse buying shoppers garden could look like.

Another common method of merchandising stock which is a technique used most commonly by supermarkets is that of mass numbers. Like the large quantities of single item stock on the ends of isles at supermarkets, a lot can be said about the similar use of single variety displays in garden centres – they tend to sell themselves through impact and impulse. Kuranga Nursery, producing much of their own stock have the market ability to display large numbers of seasonal (often flowery) stock in hot impulse locations around their nurseries creating a grab and go scenario for the consumer. Bay Road on the other hand is enticing consumers with large instant colour displays on the main street. This not only creates a show stopping display, but will no doubt trigger impulse purchases too. Be aware though of the cost involved in buying large numbers - understanding stock turns and discounting will aid in maximising your gross profit.

Room sets were also a fantastic way of selling an idea (and all associated components) to a customer. Bay road for example have a number of thematically schemed room sets which reflect various styles of outdoor living, bringing ideas to life. With their latest booming sector of the business, a landscape construction department, they now can actually guide the customer through all steps of the process from the in store idea to construction.

In passing through these businesses, I believe it is important to note that paying attention to fine detail is a must. Increased temperatures and potential dwindling footfall gives you good opportunity to do those ‘Summer Cleaning’ duties (cobwebs/painting benches/general housekeeping – and need I mention stay on top of weeds during their peak period) in preparation for the upcoming Autumn months. One method I’ve found and seen to be most successful in maintaining these standards is ‘the walk around’. By this I simply mean each morning walking around your plant centre and taking note of the detail (perhaps create a departmental checklist addressing housekeeping issues, faded/out of date P.O.S, quality control and OHS) – put yourself in the customers shoes.

So what have I learnt from the first few weeks? Firstly it’s an exciting time to be retailing in such a diverse industry! Secondly, assessing your hotspots within your garden centre and cross-merchandising your quality stock in an attractive manner may increase your overall margins. I encourage you to do as I do, and get out and visit some other retailers as a means of building ideas and positive industry relationships and developing your garden centre and the industry as a whole to the next level.