Sundry school: manufacturers and retailers are teaming up to help shop staff improve sales of sundries

摘要

Packed garden centre car parks at weekends bear witness to how well the horticultural retail sector is performing. It is big business and recent years have seen massive growth in some areas, such as decking and plant sales, but the sundries sector has experienced minimal growth. Sundries firm The Scotts Company, of Surrey, specialises in growing media. According to sales director Charles Conder, between 1995 and 2000 decking sales grew by 80 per cent, plant sales by 50 per cent and garden care or sundries by only five per cent. Clearly there is room for improvement, but what are the factors behind the low sales of sundries?