Perrywood Garden Centre near Tiptree is an independent family- run business, which recently celebrated success in several areas at the national Garden Centre Association awards
A dviser caught up with Hannah Powell, Communications & HR Director and one of the third- generation members of the Bourne family who helps lead this flourishing horticultural enterprise. Congratulations on your success at the Garden Centre Association awards – can you say a bit about the awards, and what success at a national scale means to you? Perrywood recently won 5 awards from the Garden Centre Association (the GCA), who have 200 members across the UK. The GCA visit and inspect all the garden centres, then score them on various elements such as display, quality and range of plants. The standards are very high and success at a national level is a huge testament to the hard work and dedication of the team. We were particularly delighted to win Best Plant Area (Destination Garden Centre category) as plants is the key driver for our business and Best Customer Service Award. We were also announced as being the third best garden centre in the whole of the UK, which is incredible.
Your horticultural business has been going for well over half a century, and the garden centre for over thirty years – how has it developed? The business was started in 1950s by Mary and Les Bourne, who named it after the Perry Wood next to the site of the nursery. Initially they concentrated on growing potatoes and pick-your-own strawberries, but their son Alan saw the way that supermarkets were taking over the strawberry market, and he started to grow cucumbers, tomatoes and cut flowers in the greenhouses to sell at the front of the property. Alan soon realised the greenhouse option was more profitable than field crops and, with his wife Karin, took over the business in 1984. They, later joined by myself and two brothers, have built up the site to become one of the UK’s leading garden centres. What are the greatest challenges the business has had to face? The great storm of 1987 destroyed most of the glass houses and polytunnels. We had two options: to pack up the business, or rebuild bigger and better – and thankfully my parents chose the latter. We’ve faced the introduction of internet sales, and it’s pushed us to provide an even better experience in-store. We offer inspirational displays and access to knowledgeable plant experts alongside ‘how to’ leaflets and an ever- growing range of plants from across Europe.
The biggest personal challenge I have taken on is looking after the HR side of things, for our team of around 160 people at Tiptree, who we refer to as the Perrywood family. We want to be an employer of choice and have recently introduced an employee assistance programme and occupational health referrals alongside other training and initiatives – all designed to help each team member be the best they can be. Keeping a business healthy is also about diversifying as the market changes. What changes have you made? Garden retailing has evolved in several ways – not least in the range of products on sale. In the last ten years garden centres have diversified to offer furniture, clothing and home décor. There have also been changes to the way we sell. In years gone by, garden centres would be dead over the winter months and staff laid off until the spring. Nowadays, we – along with every other garden centre – have diversified into the Christmas gift retail market. We start planning Christmas products and displays in February, the displays are built in August and installed in September. It’s so important to keep abreast of trends and fashions in gardening, and events like the Chelsea Flower Show have a huge influence on garden design and planting. Customers have changed in the way they garden, and it’s now more fashion led with customers wanting instant impact and products which weren’t on the market years ago – for example the ranges of solar garden lighting.
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