June 27, 2013, Milton, ON — In early June, Canadian garden centres from Alberta, Ontario, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador took part in the Garden Centre Inspection Program, an initiative of Garden Centres Canada, and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA).
This program, developed in the United Kingdom, is designed to offer a
critical, third-party look at all aspects of a garden centre’s
operations.
CNLA’s connection with the International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) first brought the inspection program to Canada in 2009. Garden centre owners from other countries spoke about how much they gained from participating in a program like this, and sparked some interest from the Canadian attendees. IGCA helped CNLA connect with Eve Tigwell, who has been conducting inspections in Canada for the last four years. Her experience with garden centres in other parts of the world can help provide valuable insight to Canadian operations.
Tigwell’s expertise allows her to make beneficial recommendations in terms of merchandising, signage and overall access to the store. Garden centres that have participated in previous years have implemented some changes and have had positive feedback from their customers. They have been able to create a new atmosphere at their garden centre that customers are responding to.
The Garden Centre Inspection Program is an initiative of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, a national federation of nine provincial green industry associations representing over 3,600 members in the landscape horticulture, retail garden centre, and nursery (primary production) sectors. For more information on this and other programs available to garden centres, visit www.cnla-acpp.ca and click on Garden Centres Canada.
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