The farm shop stocks a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, while its modern Garden Centre is home to gifts, furniture, sundries, houseplants and a restaurant. A spacious Planteria is stocked with a wide range of outdoor plants and bedding. From May to October Garsons has more than 100 acres of crops exclusively for pick-your-own harvesting.

A choice of over 40 crops and five types of flowers can be picked throughout the warmer months and many new varieties of certain crops mean that they are available for a greatly extended season.

How long have you been established?

Garsons established itself as a market gardener in 1871 then in the early 1970's the farm shop was introduced. We bought Titchfield Garden Centre 2000, having extended the site at Esher in 1991.

The family background is in vegetable growing and we have a pick your own farm that has everything from strawberries to raspberries, cherries and other fruit and vegetables. Customers can also pick their own flowers.

How would you describe your store?

We have diversified over the years and are very strong on gifts. Our farm shop and pick your own fruit, vegetables and flowers gives Garsons a point of difference, making it a destination site. I give my buyers a lot of autonomy when selecting products for retail. We have individual buyers within each of the stores - department supervisors are responsible for delegating buying responsibility among the team so that every individual is responsible for sourcing a particular type of product. In Gifts someone will be solely responsible for selecting candles, for example. Inter-site meetings are frequent, enabling departments to talk and share ideas. Being independent, we can act quickly and negotiate with suppliers to get the best deals. The consumer benefits from this way of working, as every member of staff has extensive product knowledge.

What has trade been like so far this year?

What are the busiest months and why?

In the last couple of weeks business has been fantastic, but that's largely because of the weather. We are already slightly up on same quarter last year and that's down to the sunshine - if the sun is shining people will spend, regardless of the economic climate. A poor exchange rate and an increasing strain on finances will mean more people stay in the country and spend in the garden this year.  We are always trying to identify good saleable products and work regularly with suppliers on cost and product development. Our buyers are constantly talking to suppliers - communication is vital in keeping ahead of the competition.

Garsons' biggest months are November and December as customers flock to purchase Christmas gifts and decorations - we are strong on this, it's been a big sector for a number of years.

We are good at identifying emerging trends.

It depends on the weather, but usually our biggest months are April, May, part of June and then November and December.

Do you belong to any buying groups/associations?

We belong to the Garden Centre Association (GCA), Horticultural Trade Association (HTA), Future Marketing Group (FMG) and the Garden Retail Association (GRO). Each of these associations does different things; we are part of the HTA's garden vouchers scheme, for example, which is of benefit to us as we don't have a voucher scheme of our own currently.

How do you compete with the multiples?

We have highly trained staff who are passionate about what they do and a diverse range of products. We can also identify emerging trends and act quickly. Our pick your own farm products and farm shop are also a big draw for customers.

Do you have an online platform?

We have a website which acts as an excellent shop window for our products and services.

What are your main concerns as a garden retailer, in the current economic climate?

People are generally watching what they are spending and want value for money.

We are trying to address this need and thankfully, we can achieve this far better than many of the larger garden retailers.

Garsons Farm

01372 460181

www.garsons.co.uk

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