An opportunity...

I think for most businesses to survive nowadays, they have to sell online, as well.

 

don't think there will be much business until next spring, as we are nearing autumn ...so bear that in mind if you are targeting to get the locals to shop

but, good luck, and if you do opt to start the business, try and specialize in exotics/palms aswell .... this is a huge market IMHO, and I am seeing many people removing the old traditional plants and replacing with palms/hostas/tree ferns etc, and going for the 'exotic look' ... even here in cambridge, it is becoming very popular (most of the landscaping that I have done in the past few months are in this style)

this can be seen in some afluent suburbs of London aswell

it would also be wise to market your plants on ebay and get your own website and sell online .... get someone to design your webpage and someone who knows how to use google adwords etc

I shop often at our local garden centre (Scotsdales in Cambridge) .... they have a coffee shop/canteen that rakes in thousands ... some people go to Scotsdales just to have tea and scones/cake ... as the parking is free ... the cakes and food is really good

a very good garden centre and always enjoy going there ...

one thing that they offer is a 12 month guarantee ... so if you are spending £45 on a tree or shrub, you have peace of mind ... I have never had to replace anything bought there yet

good thing about sites such as ebay, is that if you are buying in bulk, you have massive savings

so keep these points in mind

 

I would love to set up a retail nursery, much more profitable and no hassle of transporting plants all over the country.

 

Andy, whereabouts are you situated?

 

Hi Loofah,

Great to see someone new thinking about the nursery business, it seems to be a very core group of people in the industry and newbies are rare.

I am an advisor in Ireland and get many queries every month about setting up nurseries - most hobby gardeners thinking it's a nice lifestyle to get into, some landscapers who want to give their staff something to do on a wet day, and others, well, the others are the one's who might make it work.
First things first! - Is it retail or wholesale?

Each presents their own challenges - wholesale - narrow margins, high wastage, high skill level required, industry knowledge very helpful and a potential customer base amongst GC's, landscapers and other nurseries essential! Getting to know others in the industry will be invaluable.

Retail: Planning issues are massive - council levies and rates, parking requirements, health & safety. These are by far the biggest problems you will face. If the centre is good the customers will come.

You don't necessarily have to have much experience with horticulture to run a successful GC as long as someone trustworthy is there to guide you. Workers from the existing nursery may be good, however, be careful, they might have a lot of bad habits or dated view points and if you have no experience you may not be able to spot what is going wrong.

As for specialisation - as attractive as it might sound, be wary. To make specialisation work you have to really be the best in the country at it. There is a reason it is called specialisation! You sussed the exotics fairly well in your own thread - two harsh winters means sales have dried up. There is a big push towards the more traditional frost hardy temperate species. However, 2 mild winters and this will surely reverse again. Its not easy predicting the financial market, its almost harder predicting the garden market, however, if you get a feel for it you're onto a winner. To keep your range more generalist will attract a much broader customer base and really help keeping the cash coming in when fashions suddenly change or weather puts a halt to particular gardening pipedreams!!

Best advice, hire a GC or nursery consultant for advice. There are a few really good guys in the UK and they are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. If you want some contacts for this PM me.

Best of luck with this,

Matt

Gardening Cured | Facebook

 

Why is the last nurseryman willing to help out, why isn't he still running it, why has he walked away from it for 5 years ?

 

I am not really the best person to judge because my knowledge of nurseries is zero. But I nevertheless would suggest to research the competition in your area again again and then again, not only of business similar to the one you want to open but whoever sells products that you potentially would sell. Then ask yourself who is going to buy from you and why. The online presence is not a big deal to set up, once you know what you are doing.

 

to be succesfull at running a business, one needs to stock items that are in demand, and move them quick or else it costs you money for the shelf/floor space

so, one can 'guess' to a degree and go with 'gut feel' as what to stock, ... however, one needs to do research aswell, as trends change constantly

just a quick search on the internet brings up ebay pulse ... this site informs the user what items are in demand, based on the searches by ebay members in the UK and is based on thousands of searches in all areas of the uk ... these will be the top sellers (assuming that the prices are competitive)

so looking at ebay UK, on the 9th august 2011 (today), we find the following items that can be sold/stocked in a garden centre:

eBay Pulse: Conservatory, Patio Barbecue trends, hot picks, cool stuff and popular searches on eBay.co.uk

conservatory
BBQ
garden furniture
gas BBQ
weber
conservatory furniture
gazebo
-------------------

take it one step further, ... looking at DIY materials, we find that the top sellers are:

eBay Pulse: DIY Materials trends, hot picks, cool stuff and popular searches on eBay.co.uk

wallpaper
timber
paint
etc
-------------

etc etc etc

and ... looking at ebay completed items, exotic plants such as chusan palms still near the top of the list (as of today), and get the most bids and the highest prices

there is also big demand for plants such as Agave Parryi Truncata aswell as hydroponics stuff

those are just 2 quick searches to see what is in demand by the public ... obviously there are other ways of finding out what is popular, however, this will constantly change and needs to be monitored especially if you are planning to sell in a garden centre aswell as online .... some of the larger items such as conservatories and garden sheds can be sold via internet using drop shipping (i.e. find a manufacturer, negotiate a trade discount, sell on sites such as ebay without having to purchase first and stocking the item .... you sell an item, you pay the supplier, he does the shipping and you make profit)

many sellers of electronics goods and furniture use this method on ebay


I suppose drop shipping will work aswell when selling plants/shrubs via internet) ... find a few specialist growers/suppliers and sell without having to stock it yourself (you become the middle man)

shop space can be rented to some suppliers of higher cost items (such as lawnmowers etc .... they display their goods in your shop, you don't need to pay for the items, but get a commison when it sells)

this will generate more money to keep your business operational ... these are just a few of my ideas that may help/work?

good luck and keep us posted!

 

Hi *dim*

That's some really good advice, you could learn a lot from searching that way.
My experience with GC's is 95% of them don't sell on line, even thought they probably should, and most customers prefer to see a plant up close before purchasing with the exception being very familiar lines such as veg/bedding and more unusual hard to get lines such as exotics.

Saying all that there is clearly a great market oppurtunity for web sales if thought out in that manner.

Thanks for the tip.

Gardening Cured | Facebook

 

There is one rule of thumb in retail plant sales, if it`s in flower, it will sell.

 

As a keen gardener, local to Guildford the first thought is the presence of the 'mighty' Crocus organisation and the other Nursery/Garden Centres north of the town so I think that geography would be an influence as well as the general/specialist debate. For myself I would welcome a real nursery (not coffee shop style) with a wide range of Perennials as there is no nearby nursery of any quality.
The fashion for 'exotics' may be just peaking after the last two winters and I guess the very competitive nature of this business would give me serious pause for thought.
I wish you well Loofah and look forward to visiting when you 'open up',,,,