Vanderwees Garden Gallery - 2019 Canadian Greenhouse ...

Vanderwees
Garden Gallery

Diversification
in the Market

Today’s Topics
   Destination
   Marketing / Signage
   Product Mix
   China Direct Purchasing/Pricing

Marketing Trend – What are you famous for?

Know Your Market: Thunder Bay
   120,000
    people
   8 hours from
    Winnipeg
   18 hours
    from
    Toronto

Who We Are: A History
   The business began in 1960
   Year round Garden Centre and wholesale retailer
   12 years ago we added a 1.8 million expansion
    ◼   Annuals & Perennials
    ◼   Nursery stock
    ◼   Giftware
    ◼   Gourmet
    ◼   Furniture – indoor and outdoor
    ◼   Fashion & Crocs Footwear
   We are a broad spectrum Garden Centre

What are we famous for?
  Ontario’s Largest Retail Christmasland
 Spring Retail Shopping Experience
 Seasonal Events
 A place to shop with something for the whole family
 Fudge & Tomatoes
 Funland
 Tulips Café
 Ladies’ Fashion
 In today’s market, we have to be more than just $1.99
             geraniums and $9.99 poinsettias!

A Quick Tour…

Meet Spruce the Moose!
  Spruce
greets
customers
and gives
them the
latest news!

The Theatre
   This is the first
    display our
    customers see

Silk Flowers
 This front
entranceway
display has a
fresh change
with each
season

The Gift Shop

Tulips Tasting Bar
Over 40
flavoured Olive
Oils & Balsamic
Vinegars.
Customers can
sample before
they buy.

Crocs! - Volume Display
Make a
statement
with the
product and
watch
sales

Fashion
Corner
an in
demand
market

Tulips Cafe

Enjoy a light lunch at Tulips Café…
Soup, Salad, or Sandwiches…

Easter
   Hydrangeas, Mums, and Lilies

Spring at Vanderwees

Fall Displays
    A great time to make
     great displays!

Garden Mums

Christmas at Vanderwees
   We are Ontario’s Largest Retail Christmas Land

Poinsettias

Marketing Trend – Be a Destination
   Create a destination or a place where people
    want to come and shop, rather than at your
    competitors
    ◼   Better Displays, Great Signage
    ◼   Easy Return Policy
    ◼   Friendly, Helpful, & Knowledgeable Staff
    ◼   Café, Seasonal Events, Animal Farm
    ◼   Clean Washrooms

Marketing Trend – Be A Destination
   Offer more and do it well.
   Get them to the site first
   Once at the site, signage and
    merchandising should aid for sales
   Have to be more than just plants

Family Fun - The Animal Farm
   Families
    love our
    bunnies,
    billy goats
    and geese

Funland
   Families
    love our
    bunnies,
    billy goats
    and geese

Events at Vanderwees
   Christmas Craft Fairs
   Ladies Night
   Photos with Santa
   Easter Egg Hunt
   Golf Tournaments

Christmas Craft Fairs
   Two
    annual
    craft fairs
    in
    November

Ladies Night
   Raised $6500 for
    Northern Cancer
    Fund

Santa!
   Santa
    visits for
    free
    photos
    multiple
    days in
    Nov &
    Dec.

Golf Tournaments
   Over
    $43,000
    raised for
    local
    charities

Easter Egg Hunt
   Over 15,000
    chocolate eggs
    hidden, plus free
    children’s
    activties

Demos!
Customers love to try
  before they buy!
Teri demonstrates
  great ways to use
  dips, oils, and
  drink mixes!

Chef Herbert
   Chef
    Herbert
    demos
    with our
    gourmet
    products

Fudge!
Over 40
flavoured Olive
Oils & Balsamic
Vinegars.
Customers can
sample before
they buy.

Tomatoes
Cherry,
Cocktail,
and
Hothouse
tomatoes
grown right
here!

Marketing
❑Can take on many different forms -
newsletters, websites, demos, volume displays,
advertising, promotions, value-added signage,
seasonal signage, in-house information, live
media exposure, branding, annual and seasonal
events

Newsletter
   Sent to over 10,000 customers
    ◼   Three groups: fashion, café, general
   Features info on new products, gardening tips,
    events, contests, and coupons, giveaways
   Customers subscribe by entering a free draw
    on our Welcome Sheets or on our Web Site

Website
www.vanderweesgardengallery.com

Ads
   Fall Flyers

Ads
   Event Flyers

Extra Coverage
   Name drops
    and photos in
    the paper

Gardening Column
   Position
    yourself as an
    expert
   Published every
    second sunday

Promotions
   Customers
    collect dollars
    and use them to
    pay for half of
    their total
    purchase
    during a
    specified time

In Store Signage

Perennials
   Perennial of the
    week
    ◼   Each week the
        perennial
        department
        chooses a plant to
        feature

Product Mix
   Offering a range of products appeals to a
    wider customer base.
   Be sure it is a product mix that you can
    market and sell well.
   You cannot be all things to all people – be
    selective - based on your staff and facility
   Remember…20% of what you purchase to
    sell, should not necessarily appeal to you.

Tell the story
   Private label gourmet
   Over 3000 pairs of crocs in stock
   Over 5000 seed packs in stock
   Homemade soups, vegetables from the
    garden, local bread
   Pesticide free tomatoes
   Funland/Family Experiences

Our Branding
   Brand yourself first, then others – your name
    should always appear before brand names
   Brand your name on products
    ◼   Signage and Banners
    ◼   Care Sheets
    ◼   Soil Bags
    ◼   Gourmet Products
   Be consistent with your logo

Care Sheets
   Customers
    can find
    information
    on anything
    from bugs
    to grafting

Pricing for Profits
   Do your homework / keep good records
   Set next year’s prices just after the finish of
    each season
   Customers want and will pay for bigger plants
    – top quality plants must be grown to receive top dollar
   Customers are very willing to pay for quality
   Differentiate your plants and your containers
    from your competitors

Pricing for Profits
   Products with good perceived value can be
    priced for higher profits
   The blanket formula for pricing ie. 2.2 or 2.5
    does not always apply. Often product can be
    priced at 3, 4 or 5 times, depending on
    perceived value.

Pricing for Profits
   Showing the “value added” aspect of a
    product will raise its perceived value
    You must let the customer know the added
    value!
    ◼   Freshly ground gourmet coffee
    ◼   Soil - guaranteed to grow
    ◼   2 year tree and shrub guarantee

Pricing for Profits
   Multiples
    ◼   4.5” Perennials – buy 10 or more for $4.47 ea
        (reg. $5.99)
    ◼   12” Planters – buy 2 or more for $26.97ea (reg.
        $29.99)
    ◼   4.5” Annuals – buy 5 or more for $3.97, 10 or
        more for $3.47 (reg. $4.49)
    ◼   Buy 3 Get 1 Free

Pricing for Profits
   Watch for Sleeper Products
    ◼   Cards: $10,000
    ◼   Crocs over $200,000
    ◼   China Buys
    ◼   Gourmet Products over
        $50,000

Pricing for Profits
   Driving Sales
    ◼   Pick Feature Products
    ◼   10 products that yield $5,000 each = $50,000 in
        sales
  Buy Close-outs
- It’s only a deal if you can sell them,but can be
   a big boost to sales

Known Value Products
Be Careful!

Summary
   Destination
   Product Mix
   Marketing
   Pricing

Thank You!