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With 47 stores in Holland and a further three in Belgium, the Dutch specialist retail cooperative Intratuin is a major player among European garden centres
Intratuin was established in 1975 by the Covatuin purchasing organisation. It now has a market share of around 33 per cent in Holland, making it the market leader in the garden centre sector. The catchment area of an Intratuin garden centre covers roughly 220 000 to 300 000 inhabitants, equivalent to around 100 000 to 120 000 households all within a 20-minute drive of the store. The average size of the stores is just under 10 000 m², and average sales per square metre of retail area are between € 600 and € 1 000, according to the company. Intratuin’s overall range comprises some 150 000 products, including private-label compost, fertilizers and pond pumps.
The 7 000 m² garden centre in Barneveld is an advertisement for the entire group.
A basic feature of every Intratuin garden centre is an entrance area that is separated from the rest of the store by walls and sliding doors. This leads the customer directly into the cold glasshouse (featuring plants, the garden pond, garden decoration) and its adjacent outdoor area. Only then do customers arrive at the heated area containing furniture, equipment, pets and interior décor among other things. “This method of routing customers increases sales,“ says Ton Uljee confidently. Uljee runs the garden centre in Barneveld and is one of the creative thinkers in the group. “This is because the customer comes in from outside and enters the cold glasshouse, which seems warm to him. Only after that does he enter the heated glasshouse, where he feels inclined to linger for a longer period due to the warmth.”
Customers are first routed from the entrance into the cold glasshouse.
Another feature of many Intratuin outlets is the range of cut flowers that is encountered straight away in the entrance area. Here customers are able to buy a quick bunch of flowers without having to make their way through the whole store. However, this concept is currently being thought through afresh, so that flower-buying customers will be brought into the garden center after all. Also significant is the design of the warehouse, which extends across the back of the garden centre. This enables goods to be moved the short distance to the sales areas directly via several access points close by. A completely new concept has also been unveiled for the first time in Barneveld: a modern boutique on a second level, which features furniture, kitchen utensils and also foodstuffs. Even a wellness section has now been integrated into the store. Circular themed islands that come in various configurations and sizes are another very important merchandising element in the stores. One thing all such islands have in common is that they display so-called fast turnover items, such as decorative products, assortments of cactuses and basic garden tools.
Housewares are located on the second floor in Barneveld, along with a wellness area.
The Intratuin head office regards working with the operators of the stores as an important daily task, and each company is given individual guidance regarding matters such as buying and the composition of their range, marketing and promotion, internal communications and staff training, costing, expansion and restructuring, and also continuing management training for the entrepreneurs. The franchising fees are geared to the level of sales actually achieved and amount to up to four per cent. Goods are delivered directly from the manufacturers to the individual stores, but are ordered and invoiced via the head office.
Intratuin garden centres can be found almost everywhere in Holland.
The potential of the Dutch garden centre market is regarded as almost totally exhausted by Intratuin. “Roughly 450 garden centres for around 17 million people do not leave a lot of room for further expansion,” Ton Uljee believes. In general, however, Intratuin sees the Dutch gardening market as still growing, currently at around three per cent annually. To safeguard its expansion with new stores, Intratuin is now also looking abroad. It has Germany firmly in its sights. How the company will proceed further is expected to be decided once a market study due for completion in the second half of 2004 has been evaluated.
The 7 000 m² garden centre in Barneveld is an advertisement for the entire group.
A basic feature of every Intratuin garden centre is an entrance area that is separated from the rest of the store by walls and sliding doors. This leads the customer directly into the cold glasshouse (featuring plants, the garden pond, garden decoration) and its adjacent outdoor area. Only then do customers arrive at the heated area containing furniture, equipment, pets and interior décor among other things. “This method of routing customers increases sales,“ says Ton Uljee confidently. Uljee runs the garden centre in Barneveld and is one of the creative thinkers in the group. “This is because the customer comes in from outside and enters the cold glasshouse, which seems warm to him. Only after that does he enter the heated glasshouse, where he feels inclined to linger for a longer period due to the warmth.”
Customers are first routed from the entrance into the cold glasshouse.
Another feature of many Intratuin outlets is the range of cut flowers that is encountered straight away in the entrance area. Here customers are able to buy a quick bunch of flowers without having to make their way through the whole store. However, this concept is currently being thought through afresh, so that flower-buying customers will be brought into the garden center after all. Also significant is the design of the warehouse, which extends across the back of the garden centre. This enables goods to be moved the short distance to the sales areas directly via several access points close by. A completely new concept has also been unveiled for the first time in Barneveld: a modern boutique on a second level, which features furniture, kitchen utensils and also foodstuffs. Even a wellness section has now been integrated into the store. Circular themed islands that come in various configurations and sizes are another very important merchandising element in the stores. One thing all such islands have in common is that they display so-called fast turnover items, such as decorative products, assortments of cactuses and basic garden tools.
Housewares are located on the second floor in Barneveld, along with a wellness area.
The Intratuin head office regards working with the operators of the stores as an important daily task, and each company is given individual guidance regarding matters such as buying and the composition of their range, marketing and promotion, internal communications and staff training, costing, expansion and restructuring, and also continuing management training for the entrepreneurs. The franchising fees are geared to the level of sales actually achieved and amount to up to four per cent. Goods are delivered directly from the manufacturers to the individual stores, but are ordered and invoiced via the head office.
Intratuin garden centres can be found almost everywhere in Holland.
The potential of the Dutch garden centre market is regarded as almost totally exhausted by Intratuin. “Roughly 450 garden centres for around 17 million people do not leave a lot of room for further expansion,” Ton Uljee believes. In general, however, Intratuin sees the Dutch gardening market as still growing, currently at around three per cent annually. To safeguard its expansion with new stores, Intratuin is now also looking abroad. It has Germany firmly in its sights. How the company will proceed further is expected to be decided once a market study due for completion in the second half of 2004 has been evaluated.
