Those retailers still running to catch up with this really have got to raise their game. Just putting a few bags of compost (even if it is organic) beside your seed racks will not satisfy the demand or realise the potential this product sector has to offer garden retailers.

Even for retailers who have embraced the concept already need to raise their game. Consumers will be even hungrier for knowledge and product in spring 2009 than they will be for the food they grow. Everything is right for this to be a huge revenue stream for retailers. The product is available, the media is behind it, the consumer wants to be healthier, mothers want to do better for their children, and the economy is under pressure.

There are 2 things you can do to capture your share of this growth:

• get your product offering right
• have your staff briefed sufficiently to be ahead of your customers

Suppliers are there to help with both aspects. The number of products and suppliers in this sector is vast. Everything a retailer needs. Your GIY department needs stocks of:

• Composts - organic and conventional, in bags and as planters
• Pots and planters - from the basic growing pot, through the latest natural types made of bamboo pulp, to the largest Palladian pot the Stewart Company can supply. And do not forget the add on products in this sector - saucers, gravel trays, scoops and sieves and more
• Tools and equipment - trowels and forks of course but labels, supports, ties, plant rings, gloves, kneeler mats and stools too
• The seeds, the plants, and the various combinations of growing kits, speedy seeds, seed mats - because remember this is not a traditional gardeners market, this is a modern market, often younger, for whom speed and success are driving forces, where time (convenience) is more important than money (cost)
• The plant foods and fertilisers to enrich the soil and add flavour to what you grow along with the other support products to maintain healthy growth and deter pests. The traditional "chemical" solutions need to be there (all be it most probably in RTU formats) but again this is a "time poor cash rich" market for whom one of the key drivers in this "hobby" is health, so environmental mesh and fleece are just as important

GIMA

01905 381142

www.gima.org.uk