John’s Blog

Are trends in the garden industry global or regional. I’m often told that things are different in this part of the world, but are they much different? The Australian Garden Market Monitor, produced by the Nursery and Garden Industry Australia and Horticulture Australia Ltd has just been published and part of the report looks at […]

By John Stanley Successful retailers realize you have to have passion for the product and the consumer. In today�s retail environment you would think everyone would be chasing that elusive dollar. But, that is not the case and this should be an opportunity for anyone who wants to grow their business. The best example I

By John Stanley McDonalds built a global business by understanding these two generational groups. Can you build a better business by understanding them better? Spoodles (spoiled toddlers to you and me) are aged between 0 and 5 years old and although not purchasers of garden products, they have parents who are. These parents are looking

By John Stanley Billy Connolly, the Scottish comedian often jokes about his obsession with �beige� people, people without character who are quite literally beige in their outlook and views on life. Billy�s perspective on people could equally be applied to retail business. Retailing has developed into the hourglass environment, with the �beige� business being squeezed

By John Stanley As a consultant, retailers are often asking me how they can increase sales. But, when I put my consumers hat on I�m often exposed to what seem obvious ways to grow the business. The life blood of retail is to get existing customers to revisit a store and also to spend more

By John Stanley I recently worked with a Council who were developing a new library and I was asked in by the Librarians to provide some visionary direction. To maintain confidentiality, I will not name the organisation, but while working with them, it dawned on me that libraries are different to retail establishments, but not

By John Stanley The world is getting smaller and ideas move around the world rapidly. One of the challenges as a retailer is mounting and protecting your brand or retail uniqueness. I am often confronted by clients who are worried that somebody will pinch their ideas. My reaction is always don�t worry; they cannot pinch

By John Stanley I was first introduced to the Sigmoid Curve many years ago by the garden centre consultant, Ken Allen. I have used it many times since then to explain business development and its relevance today is more critical than it�s ever been. Before explaining the significance, let me explain the theory. Industries and

The garden centre of the future �. picture what would it be? I believe it will be a store providing living room ideas to its customers. It would be a store that was organic and curvy, with no straight lines. A place to be inspired by the latest in gardening trends and a place to

Bridging the Information Gap by John Stanley Retailers invest large amounts of money to get consumers into their businesses with the aim of selling them products. Owners monitor conversion rates, i.e. count the number of customers entering the store versus actual buyers to enable them to monitor success. Team members are encouraged to approach consumers