GCA Competition 2015 Presentation

1. Garden Centre Competition 2015

2. The Aim of the competition.
“To raise the standard of Garden Centres and Home stores and to
“enhance” the customer experience!

3. • THE EVALUATION PROCESS:
• SCHEDULE WILL BE ROTATED….. You have been warned.
• Evaluation Tuesday- Friday. Not after public holiday.
• “Everyday should be a gold medal day” Fiona Delport.
• Very few “complaints” this season re evaluators.
• Points difference between evaluators: 5 marks allowed and remember they are
then averaged out.
• Only evaluate what we see.
• The strict evaluator. New eyes = new vision of the process, not always negative.
• Feedback on forms better than in the past? I think so.
• 1st round is not a feedback session, but an evaluation, so input from evaluators
(verbally) will not be time consuming.

4. “Being as good as you were last
year; is not good enough. You
must strive to be better.”

5. Changes have been made to this
years forms. These will be
highlighted during this session.
“Responsible retailing must be at the core of each home store
and garden centre” Ryan Godwin
Do customers feel that the retailer takes their needs into
account?

6. All independent stores to be
evaluated on the SAME FORM!
Marks allocated as “relevant to store size”
This change pertains to small stores only, as medium and large have
previously been on the same form.

7. The 1st thing your customers see……..Entrances

20. Bedding plants.
Food gardening
(new section).
Perennial plants.
Outdoor plants:
Now divided as follows:

21. Mark allocation Food
gardening:
• Product range (10)
• Plant Benching (10) Stock management (10)
• Plant Quality (10)
Merchandising:
• General Merchandising.(10) Inspirational displays. (10)
• Hot Spots (10)
• Cross Merchandising (10)

31. Food courts…

40. Bedding plants: The Bread and Milk of your
store!

47. Great header boards!

57. Outdoor plants.
Perennials:
It’s not just about selling plants.
Think of creative ways to increase add on sales.
Inspire your customers.
Have good information…. And good sales
people
make customers WANT to need it!

80. Indoor plants. Décor meets Green design!

88. • A very clever cover up of a very
bad previous environment!

115. Clever and interesting……

116. Simple and elegant, but inspiring to
customers?

120. Garden shop!

137. Create the need..

138. Getting Garden care right!

139. New items added:
FERTILISERS (10)
This pertains specifically to fertilisers (mainly granular) that often are
merchandised in a separate area from other garden care products.
Your liquid fertilisers (if still in the old garden care section will be
evaluated as part of this section)

149. HARD LANDSCAPE

150. Garden Care: Seeds
New item.
Driving sales; Innovative and creative; easy to shop; price
clarity. …….and condition (10)

159. GARDEN CARE:
Tools. Power tools. Pots.
Pesticides. Insecticides. Irrigation;
watering equipment and
accessories.

170. We
Make
it
Happen!
  

181. Organics.

191. Hard landscape………

211. Transport for your plants!

217. ENVIRONMENT
Its about a social responsibility…..
And making money!
Water-wise.
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle. Upcycle.
Think of ways to encourage customers to do this, which
doesn’t cost you the earth increases add on sales.
Composting, mulching, water wise plants

218. Points allocation:
Water partnership:
15.1.1 Consumer awareness: promotion of water wise initiatives: (10)
15.1.2 Staff awareness. Water run off management, rain water harvesting,
responsible irrigation methods. (10)
Biodiversity:
15.2.1 Board informing consumer of plants status with suggestions of alternatives.
ie use it as an opportunity to educate and then sell alternative plants to replace(10)
15.2.2 Promotion of environmentally- friendly products/ concepts/ visible
educational displays. Range, additional info. Add on sales. Prominence of display (10)
Green living (Recycling)
15.3.1 Consumer awareness: - promotion of recycling initiatives. Reduce reuse
recycle. Range of products. (10)
15.3.2 Staff awareness: Recycling management, stores own initiatives (10)

219. •Suggest
alternatives to
your customers.

236. Excellent idea to educate and encourage sales!

239. Really?

240. LIFE IS A GARDEN.
A disappointing response….
Now looking at:
1. PROMOTION OF LIAG INSTORE: ON LIAG POSTERS (SEASONAL) OR ON OWN P.O.S.
AND LIAG ONLINE (10)
3. GENERAL IMPRESSION OF WHAT WE SEE AND YOUR PROMOTION OF LIAG. (10)

246. ATTRACTING YOUNG
GARDENERS

247. Playground or activity centre
• Play equipment and /or kids
activities must all be safe to use
and help promote children
wanting to come to our stores.(
Kids Gardening
• Kids gardening: ie gardening
tools, gumboots and other
products that aim to get kids
into the garden.

260. Public toilets………………

262. WE
MAKE IT
HAPPEN!

267. 10/10
for effort! 

269. AND THEN…….

274. Social media in store
• Facebook.
• Twitter.
• Pinterest.

278. DISPLAYS.
The showstoppers of the floor.
This is what draws and inspires customers.

322. The core of your business!
SERVICE
Information
SALES

330. “The evaluators”

331. Di Hattingh
•“I thought it was
wonderful…… they
try so hard !
How can I give them a
2? 

332. Gina Raves
•Really; seriously, you
want me to give them
a 10?
Get out of here…………

333. •How I feel
after the
competition!