John’s Blog

We have seen the increasing interest in herbs, edible weeds and herbal teas. I believe the next wave of interest will be around Adaptogens, plants that are believed to reduce stress. The key plants to look out for are: Rhodiola rosea. ..a perennial from the Arctic Widania somnifera… a member of Solanaceae that also goes […]

The largest garden centre in Europe, possibly the world! Garden centres open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! These were key surprises for me looking at the industry around Moscow. I had been invited to Russia to present a key note address and workshop to the floriculture and horticulture industry on my views

If you have a large market of multi millionaires, your marketing strategies change and this is obvious around Moscow. The Orangery, part of the Crocus Group, has the largest selection of indoor plants in one location I have seen anywhere. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When I asked why

The florist industry around the world is being pressurized by supermarkets and online retailers selling flowers. I am speaking at the Interflora conference in October and am aware of the concerns of the industry. We need to create experiences where the consumer can buy into the idea of visiting a florist. In Czech, they have

Farmers markets and farm shops around the world are concerned about the supermarkets taking their business from them. I do not believe this should be the case as there are many opportunities to create a difference in the market place. In the UK there is a decline in an awareness and understanding of local delicacies

One of the big issues in Europe is food a waste and the amount of food being thrown away by supermarkets. France has introduced a no waste policy and fresh food that would be discarded is now donated to charities. In the UK Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall of River Cottage fame has launched Food Share to help

One of the best ways of getting your name out into the community is to have a selfie location. The key is to make sure your name is clearly visible behind the selfie location. Alas, most businesses forget to do this. Having said that it has been great to see business develop selfie locations on

There have been a number of articles about the demise of the florist in recent weeks. Florists seem to be hit by the changes that are taking place in retailing and those that have stuck to the old model have seen a decline in sales. Those that reinvent themselves are finding a new market. An

A one day workshop aimed at established retail owners and senior management, by John Stanley. Established retailers have seen the market mature; what they did in the past will not work in the future and new ways of developing the business need to be considered. This workshop provides an “ideas tool kit” to allow mature