If we can cast our minds back to May and June of 2020, there was one sector that was booming – garden centres and suppliers of both garden furniture and big-ticket accessories.
Spending time in our gardens and outdoor spaces was one of the few pleasures we could indulge in over the spring and summer months of last year. I recount many lovely memories of spending time as a family in the garden and these are important to remember as we delve deeper into the cold days of January.
This time spent outdoors sparked a rise in garden transformation projects. We couldn’t get enough of turning our outdoor space into our very own oasis, with some businesses reporting sales that exceeded their previous busiest days by more than 50 per cent.
With restrictions meaning much of our interactions with others taking place in our gardens, the nation’s love of gardening and landscaping was certainly re-ignited, and we couldn’t buy quickly enough.
As we look to the warmer months of 2021, I’m considering whether this green-fingered trend will continue or whether the boom of 2020 was just a flash in the pan.
Many businesses I have spoken to within this sector are gearing up for an early surge in sales. With restrictions now likely to go beyond March, many are expecting a high demand for garden furniture, as spring holidays overseas stay firmly off the menu.
The issue for a lot of traders last summer was keeping up with the high demand, so I’m sure the early months of 2021 will be key in securing solutions to ensure they don’t miss out on any business coming their way.
It was great to read about a Broxburn business, run by husband and wife team, Kristian Tapaninaho and Daria Garland, who have cashed in on the indoors/outdoors trend. The duo run Ooni pizza ovens which launched in 2012 following, what they regarded, as a real gap in the market – but sales truly took off last year when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
The family enterprise saw an exponential growth in their business during 2020 with a celebrity customer list to boot – including Drew Barrymore, Bruce Willis, Dolly Parton, Tom Kitchin and Louise Redknapp.
It’s no surprise that some of the most hotly searched for items last summer included ‘summer houses’, ‘firepits’, ‘hot tubs’ and ‘outdoor kitchens’. According to ThisisMoney.co.uk, Ebay saw sales of hot tubs alone soar by 1080 per cent last April.
So, will these big-ticket items be in such demand this year? There is a realistic optimism for restrictions being lifted and travel may perhaps begin again. Will this drive people away from their gardens? I am confident our love of the outdoors will remain, but business will need to work hard to enjoy a slice of its success.
Garden centres have been amongst the few retailers allowed to stay open during the different levels of lockdown, and have become a haven of tranquillity and normality for so many.
As a nation, we have fallen back in love with our outdoor spaces and even when things finally return to ‘normal’, I believe our newly rekindled passion for our gardens will continue to bloom.
We have learned to live differently, and use the space we have, in the best way possible. Creating sociable, attractive spaces to relax is also a great tonic for our mental health and spending time as a family. It is up to businesses across the country now to ensure they have something different and interesting to offer, in order to keep interest and sales high.
The team behind Ooni pizza ovens is a great example of benefitting from a gap in the market and bringing something unique, interesting and in-demand to the customer. There is a prime opportunity for Scots to get creative and enjoy this roaring trade as we move forward into 2021, but they must act now.
As consumers, we are prepared to part with our cash to make the most of our outdoor space, so those within the garden sector have two key challenges in order to maximise the opportunity. The first is to ensure they have good quality, interesting products to sell. The second, of course, is to ensure the supply chain of these products is smooth and well-planned to prevent any disappointments.
All we need now is some fantastic sunny weather to enjoy it all. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
It looks like Christmas didn’t bring much festive joy for Scottish retailers, with new data from the British Retail Consortium showing that we suffered our worst retail sales growth in 25 years.
Although unfortunate, it’s unsurprising that the holiday season brought little cheer, with most shops closed in the run up to the big day.
For many retailers, December is peak trading time and businesses would have been banking on a busy month to keep them above ground. Instead they are going into 2021 faced with an uncertain future.
Scots however did buy more food and drink than ever before, as supermarkets and online food retailers saw a positive increase. For many of us though it was all we could do during the festivities.
It should be noted that remote sales soared from November onwards as people bought Christmas gifts online from closed ‘non-essential stores’.
On face value, this is really encouraging, however the more cynical amongst us may see this as a hastening move from the traditional high street to online shopping for good.
Last week wasn’t all bad news for the retail sector though, and now more than ever we need to look at the positives.
It seems like a deal for the sale of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Homes and Bon Marche retail chains has been agreed, saving up to 2,500 jobs.
Facing job losses is never easy, but these brands which were on the brink of closure being rescued will mean both around 300 high street stores and thousands of jobs will be saved.
The news that Marks and Spencer are also buying troubled brand Jaeger last week was also music to our ears. Here is hoping that the same can soon be said about Debenhams and Arcadia.
It Made Me Laugh
We have always been told to keep passwords secure, but what happens if you forget it and can’t access your account.
Whether you forget your Apple ID and lock your phone, or have to reset your emails as you can’t access Outlook, it’s can be a real hassle.
For Stefan Thomas though, forgetting his password isn’t just annoying – it could cost him a whopping £180m.
The programmer wrote his Bitcoin password on a piece of paper over a decade ago, but with the online currency exploding in value, has no idea what’s happened to it.
With only two guesses left to access the account, he may lose the Bitcoins and fortune completely.
We shouldn’t laugh, but never write a password on a piece of paper folks – especially when money is involved.
It Made Me Weep
The latest restrictions, which started on Saturday, will undoubtedly affect small businesses now that takeaways and coffee shops can no longer serve customers indoors.
Businesses who made adjustments in the first lockdown, like adding service hatches, will be in a better position this time round, however the costs to implement this in the first place will have stopped many from being able to modify.
If you include further spend on PPE, sanitiser and Perspex screens, restrictions have already cost businesses a fortune – and that’s before taking into account the loss of paying customers.
Although tighter restrictions may be necessary, it’s putting further pressure on struggling business owners to ensure they are adhering to the rules.
With limited cash flow, I fear that many of the businesses unable to introduce the extra measures needed may not survive this new lockdown.
