Fashions and Fads

Published: 05 Nov, 2008

John Russell writes...... I have read a lot of articles recently about the need for garden retailers to be keeping up with the latest fashions, trends and colours.

There is no doubt that garden retailing is a fashion susceptible business. I only have to look back over my last thirty years in the business to know that.

Back in the seventies the fashion was for large Australian trees – Eucalyptus, Grevillea, Tristania, - plus the odd deciduous gatecrasher such as Silver Birch or Liquidamber. Orange and brown were the colours of the day.

The eighties saw the rise and rise of the “cottage garden” – all those summer flowering perennials and roses, roses, roses! The “White” garden was also de rigueur! 

That was all thrown out in the nineties and the succulent garden took its place – aloes, agaves, yuccas, rocks and pebbles by the tonne. Low Maintenance was the catch cry, after all that hard work of the eighties.

The new millennium has seen a more eclectic fashion sense – low maintenance, easy care, native, sustainability, the edible garden, tropical, bright and boldcolours, are all part of the mix. 

Any garden retailer who doesn’t recognize these changing fashion trends and change and adapt with them will find the going tough.

There’s no doubt that riding the fashion wave can be a profitable experience. But, as we all know, fashions come and go. Just relying on fashion trends to carry you through might not be enough.

The restaurant trade bears testament to that.

So, what’s the secret to longevity in garden retail? In short the answer is “Sound Business Practices”  What does this mean?

First off, a Business Plan , stretching out at least five years. Know where you are going, and how you are going to get there.

Second, good budgeting – sales, expenses, cash flow. Know where the money is coming from, and control how it is going to be spent.

Third, strong stock management.  Buying the right product, at the right time, at the right price, and selling it profitably. And yes, this means keeping up with fashions and trends. 

Fourth, well trained, knowledgeable, staff who understand customer service, commitment, initiative and enthusiasm.

Fifth, the ability to change and adapt, to recognize that garden retail has changed, that customers have changed.

Be open to new ideas, adopt new ways of doing things, be aware of the trends and fashions in modern retailing.

So, fashions and fads. Should we follow them?

Yes! Of course we must. But if we are going to survive longer than the fashion itself, a sound business built on strong and secure principles is the answer!

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