Sales in garden centres reach €149m

SALES in independent garden centres have risen to €149 million for the year ending March 2003 — an increase of 9% on the previous year.

Bord Glás chief executive Michael Maloney also revealed that 34% of all gardening purchases are made in independent garden centres.

This includes €59 million spent on outdoor plants/flowers, €6 million on indoor potted plants and €4 million on fresh cut flowers.

He was speaking at a reception in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham in Dublin, during which Arboretum Lifestyle and Garden Centre, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, was named as the 2003-2004 Bord Glás Garden Centre National Quality Award Winner for the second successive year.

Mr Maloney said centres are also extending the gardening season by displaying their plants/trees within covered areas. This encourages shoppers to browse in comfort during the winter months and buy more.

“Plant purchasing is very much impulse driven with consumers looking for colourful and showy specimens, such as herbaceous plants, which will make their garden look instantly attractive,” he said.

Minister of State Noel Treacy, presented the award, along with Pat Toal, Permanent Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland.

Mr Treacy said in recent years, garden centres have had to shift people’s impression of being places to go to on a summer’s day to becoming year round places of interest.

“They have successfully changed their image from that of an outlet supplying materials for the plant enthusiast to being a complete lifestyle centre.

“Clearly, more and more people want problem free, low maintenance gardens and immediate results from investment in their outdoor spaces,” he said.

Mid Ulster Garden Centre in Maghera, Co Derry won the All Ireland Garden Centre Quality Award.

It was the second year that there had been a joint ceremony for the presentation of the awards for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Now in their thirteenth year, the awards set achievable quality standards for the garden centre industry and set out to reward those garden centres that consistently continue to strive for excellence in all areas.

Judging criteria include the range and quality of plants, customer service, merchandising, indoor and outdoor presentation and the availability of information.

The value of the Irish amenity/gardening market is estimated at €431 million for the year ending March 2003.

Of this total, fresh flowers and indoor potted plants are worth €75 million of the market, while the market for outdoor plants and flowers is valued at €110 million.

Garden products are estimated to be worth €188 million.

Total spend on landscaping services is estimated to be €58 million.