17.01.12
THE UK’S LARGEST GARDEN CENTRE STARTS THE SEASONAL YEAR WITH A £12M
FLOURISH
It is said that in tough times Britain gets digging for Victory and B&Q, the UK’s largest garden centre retailer is sharpening up its seasonal offer with the launch of new group brand products across horticulture, garden care, equipment, power and structures. At the same time it is confirming the third year of its partnership with the nation’s favourite gardener, Alan Titchmarsh who provides gardening advice in store and online to its customers and endorses horticultural training for its garden centre teams.
A £12 million package of improvements to products, plant quality, store environment, equipment and irrigation systems will ensure customers from keen gardeners to those just starting out can be guaranteed of the best quality products and advice.
Its new horticultural range under the Kingfisher plc group brand Verve will
be officially launched this Spring covering almost 4,000 new products across
all plants, garden care and garden equipment.
Its Blooma brand which launched on outdoor leisure furniture last year will
have a bigger presence across almost 800 lines in leisure, BBQs, planters,
decorative accessories and garden structures.
New to the garden power range for 2012 is the group brand MacAllister, previously
used only in the power tools range and now extended to garden power across
lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chain saws and blow vacs.
With the support of Alan Titchmarsh, B&Q has over the last two years improved its in store training, levels of gardening advice for customers and made improvements in plant quality. With Alan continuing to be on our screens with his Love Your Garden TV series again this year, Alan remains a key part of B&Q’s strategy to get Britain gardening.
Steve Guy, B&Q’s Category Manager for Horti, Garden Care and Power says “In a year when more people than ever are set to grow their own to save money and enjoy the natural good life and spend more time enjoying their gardens with family, friends and neighbours celebrating the Jubilee or Olympics, B&Q is in the best shape ever. Continued investment in new products, store environment, training and advice in store and online means that whether you’re already a keen gardener or a budding botanist we’re here with all the help you need.”
Alan Titchmarsh says; “I’m really delighted to be continuing
my partnership with B&Q for a third year. Our joint ambition of getting
Britain gardening is something I am absolutely passionate about and I have
been very impressed with the improvements B&Q has made over the last
few years. In the current economic climate, gardening in Britain has a more
vital role than ever,
growing things to eat and brightening our lives with colour.”