Strong April Performance For Garden Centres

Figures just published by the Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade, show just how good April sales were, compared to the pre-Covid years.

Garden centres were closed in April 2020 and were trying to survive with telephone sales and home deliveries.  Therefore,  comparing 2021 figures with 2020 makes little sense.  Comparison with 2019 is a better comparison to judge this April.

How good was April?

This year visitor numbers were restricted by social distancing and outdoor garden centre catering only was permitted from April 12th.   On top of that garden centres had to contend with the lowest average minimum temperatures for April in the UK since 1922, with regular night frosts.

Despite these hurdles, garden centre sales were +26% up on April in 2019, which itself was +11% up on the year earlier.  Outdoor plant sales were up 34% and garden sundry sales were up +47%.  This explains why suppliers were unable to fulfil some orders on time and there were stock shortages.

Much publicity was given in the national press to the shortage of garden furniture, yet sales were +71% ahead of 2019, undeterred by the cold (but dry) weather.

That garden centres were up +26% is more remarkable when this growth was achieved including a -70% fall in catering revenues for the month, compared to 2019.

Year to date

Most garden centres were closed for 8 of the first 17 weeks trading in 2020.  This year the GCA garden centres have increased sales by over 150% over the same weeks in 2020.  Outdoor plant sales have increased a massive 240% this year, while furniture and barbecues are up almost 500%.

Source : Reproduced with permission from George Bullivant, GardenForum

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