How would you describe your store?

Bents is more than just a garden centre.  Passion, experience and an understanding of exclusive living have earned Bents a reputation for quality, style and innovation. We continually focus on providing a quality service in relaxing surroundings and by travelling the world to find new and exclusive products Bents has evolved into an award-winning lifestyle destination, recently winning the title of Garden Centre of the Year 2009, awarded by the Garden Centre Association.

Premium quality plants and expert advice remain at the core of our business and outdoor lifestyle remains a priority with one of the largest collections of exclusive garden furniture in the region enhanced by an extensive range of barbecues, outdoor heating, garden lighting and stylish accessories. 

Through a creative and dynamic approach we have successfully created a lifestyle experience which includes stylish outdoor clothing; ladies footwear; gifts; Children's Boutique with a range of clothing and toys for babies and toddlers; a new interior furniture department and a recently launched food hall featuring specialty foods and ingredients from local and international suppliers. These new lifestyle departments further extend Bents' expertise from the garden into the home, increasing its appeal as a one-stop retail and visitor destination.

After seven months of construction and a £3million spend we opened the UK's first Open Skies glasshouse in March 2007.  This revolutionary new building is a pioneering step for the garden centre industry and it is anticipated that it will change the face of traditional garden retailing. Covering 50% of the external plant area the new undercover retail space enables us to control our own environment.  When the sun shines the glass roof opens fully, bringing the outside climate in, but if the weather changes the roof automatically closes, using a high-tech sensor system, protecting shoppers from the rain whilst still retaining the feeling of being outdoors. 

The origins of our Fresh Approach Restaurant and Italian coffee caffe, Caffe nel Verde date back to 1981, when their forerunner - The Balcony Coffee Bar - was opened to sceptical comments from the industry.  Despite this feedback it quickly established an excellent reputation for quality home made food, wonderful flavours and speciality coffees, and was a forerunner in what is now an expected element to the garden centre experience. The new restaurant and caffe offer quality food freshly prepared on the premises, combined with great customer service.  They are now leaders in their fields and award winners, having taking national titles from the Garden Centre Association for best catering outlet 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009. Since their establishment there has been no looking back.

Talk us through your products?

Bents is committed to offering the very best products it can. Our team of dedicated buyers travel the world to seek out innovative designs and stylish lines, ranging from garden and conservatory furniture to BBQ's and lighting as well as gifts, homewares, outdoor clothing, Christmas, lifestyle accessories and products for the Food Hall.  In the UK we work with the very best suppliers to provide the latest and most up-to-date products for the garden including landscaping materials, garden care products and full-scale garden buildings.

As a garden centre, one of our most prominent retail areas is the external Plant Area, which has held the GCA Award for Best Plant Area in the UK on many occasions.  Our range of plants is extensive and beautiful with over 60% of plants grown exclusively at Bents' own on-site nurseries; providing a confidence which enables us to offer a five-year no-hassle replacement guarantee on all hardy plants sold.

What has trade been like so far this year?

So far this year has been like a roller coaster. February was very hard due to the poor weather, April we had fantastic sales as the weather improved. We can do everything in our power to try and increase sales but are still at the mercy of the weather, if the weather is not good then sales are not going to be good.

What are the busiest months and why?

Our busiest months in the garden centre are May, due to the Outdoor Living season followed by December and November, when the majority of the centre is turned over to Christmas. In The Fresh Approach Restaurant, the busiest months are October, November and December. Again this is due to the opening of our Christmas department, and Christmas dining.

Do you belong to any buying groups/associations?

We belong to the Garden Centre Association (GCA), Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and also the Tillington Group of garden centres, a buying and marketing group.

How do you compete with the multiples?

We realize that we can't compete at every level with every retailer, so we have  identified a number of points of difference which we hope set us apart; range of products, branding, our Fresh Approach Restaurant, Christmas, visual merchandising and our range of services which include Personal Shopper, Garden Design, Planting Service, Self Drive Van and Delivery & Build Service. Along with our high level of customer service, constantly striving to surprise and delight every customer.

How important is your online platform as a source of revenue?

We have a website which details the range of products we sell, along with the services we offer. We are currently looking into moving into e-commerce at the end of the year and have just started e-marketing, linking in to our advertising campaigns.

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

The unknown, everything is changing so quickly this year, both weather and the downturn in the economy, it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen.

Bents Garden and Home Centre

01942 266300

info@bents.co.uk

www.bents.co.uk

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