Garden centre advice

Garden centre development is what we do.

'Our goal is to design and develop the best new garden centres and improve existing stores.'

Masterplan development, architectural design, glasshouse construction, 3D routing development, instore supplies selection and assortment selection step by step we guide you through the total development of your store.

In the year 2022 we have been working on different garden centres in different continents. At this moment we are working on a garden centre in Reykjavik, Iceland. Together with the local architect we are working on a beautiful designed garden center. We advised in the total development of the greenhouse construction, materialization and internal routing. We are working closely with the entrepreneurs and try to develop a custom made garden center that will open in the early spring of 2023.

Render Gardheimar Iceland, Reykjavik

Besides the garden center in Iceland we have delivered two garden centres in the Netherlands. Garden center Abbing (designed by Breddels architects) and Intratuin Zwolle. Both are unique garden centres in their own segment.

Abbing Buitenhof render

Abbing Buitenhof realization 2022

Garden center Abbing we developed from scratch on together with the architect and entrepreneur. We focussed on interior design and together with suppliers we filled the store with beautiful unique products. The 5.000 m2 building is a beautiful building with three different types of glasshouse constructions.

Intratuin Zwolle Front side render

Intratuin Zwolle is a circular designed and build garden center. The old cold and warm area was building and re-swamped and changed in a warm area, where the new cold house was expend with a high wide span central roof. The almost 9.000 m2 is being developed in one of the growth areas of the Netherlands and has a lot of potention.

Routing Intratuin Zwolle, The Netherlands

Intratuin Ostmann Germany

Building or developing a new garden centre always starts with a thorough survey of the location. It’s important to see the location, look around, feel the climate and atmosphere. This includes studying pressure from competitors, accessibility, market developments and costs. Together with the you as the entrepreneur, we map out the best route, visualize it and some up solutions and different options for your location. 

Intratuin Zwolle

For many Garden centres we discuss together with the entrepreneur possibilities about an optimal routing. With our own 3D animation program we made it possible to show what the new store could look like.

By using new techniques, simulate possibilities we speed up the decision making progress. The store focusses on the communication and sales of green products, by building a patio in the centre of the store a real green core was created. Having the possibility to design the building and instore routing and instore supplies makes it possible to develop a total masterplan for your store. The possibility to deliver a total masterplan, build and develop your total project makes us unique in the market.

We work in different phases to get to the optimal end result.

Analyse phase - External analyse

Internal and external variables are important to give a good idea of what type of store you are. How can we optimize your store? By analysing the target area, competitors, target group, households and possible visit frequency, we are able to have a good idea about the possibilities in your target area.

Location intelligence these days is a very wide spectrum. With the latest techniques it is possible to gain insight into key areas in which your target market is located. The location of your store can usually only be chosen once and you as a retailer cannot quickly change it. You should therefore choose this location wisely.

By using travel time analysis, determining the active radius of your store and calculating the average spending amount, it is possible to estimate the expected revenue. Depending on the key areas, it is possible to determine a target market and optimise this concept suiting this target.

Business processes can be analysed by looking at customer flow. Where will my current and future customers come from? What should I bear in mind when opening a new store? How much revenue is still left in the market and which concept can help me to collect this left remaining revenue in the market? What things can be improved?

Analyse phase - Internal analyse

What are your current results? Where do you want to focus on? What type of company are you now and where do you want to go? What are your current results? All kind of questions we have to answer during the internal analyse.

When we know what the results are from the external and internal analyse we proceed with data analyse. What turnover do you realize and what could be your target goal turnover looking at your target-area?

The combination between external and internal analyse gives us the possibility to design and build an optimal store.

Our many years of experience in data analysis, gained in the retail sector, helps us to create an optimal master plan. A plan in which we look at profit optimisation and keep the long-term vision in mind.

Design phase, architecture of the building

In phase two we seek the best combination of shape and function of the building. We try to match your wishes and needs in an optimal design of the building. Working for many years for global market leading garden centres it becomes possible to not only design by hart but also by data. Designing for many international clients that play in the top-field of garden centre retail, we are able to design and build the best garden centres in the world. The shape is one of the aspects to achieve the desired look of a garden center. For the design of the garden centre we have our own architect-team with many years of experience. They prepare the basic look and feel and contact with the local architect. The detailed materials will be discussed in a further stage. The used materials in the design have a tremendous impact on the appearance of a greenhouse building.

A glasshouse building is an ideal place for visitors to shop and relax. Daylight has a positive influence on the health and well-being of people so the more transparent the better. Due to the natural light it and high UV radiation we are working with high standard products that will block as much UV light as is needed. Plants need a certain light and their for we always look at the routing in combination with the design of the building with a holistic view. We believe that every area needs his own custom made garden centre. Please challenge us to discuss your idea. The glass environment ensures a great experience in any weather. Connecting outdoor and indoor is one of the things that we are really specialist of.

Should it be an underground parking lot with several floors on top and an atrium? Or should it be a simple greenhouse specialised in outdoor plants in which the most modern screening installations are used for an optimal plant sales environment? Should it be a standard wide-span, a Venlo-style greenhouse or something completely different? 

These are all questions you would like to see answered by an expert. Often you are that expert yourself. You are the one that has a clear picture in mind of what you would like to achieve with developing your garden centre. We will gladly assist you in making these plans clear.

Traditionally, the wide-span greenhouse is 12.8m metres wide. These days however, there are more variants to the traditional design. For example, wooden beams and various types of decking are used to positively influence light transmission and durability. You could therefore say there is no such thing as a standard greenhouse anymore. But what is the best solution for you? What is economically seen, both short and long term, the most interesting type of greenhouse to use?

Not only because we designed many stores but also because we know the data and facts behind the success of the stores. Fact-based building is very important for us.

“The combination between data and building makes it possible to design the best building for your budget.

We often see existing buildings that needs to be optimize. Adding new materials, glasshouse constructions, signing or just change the current logistic flow makes it possible to be able to change a project in a positive way.

Knowledge about designing the best buildings and supporting individual garden centre chains in their decision making makes us a strong partner during your design and building phase.  

Optimize routing and instore supplies

Actually phase two, design of the building and phase three, Routing and instore supplies go hand in hand. A nice building with a bad routing give a bad result. A bad building with a nice routing can also give a negative result. We design and build the indoor and outdoor in perfect harmony.

We believe it is very important to have a beautiful and functional design of the building and that the internal store and routing must also be very good and pleasant at the same time. Only then you are able to get the best from both worlds and get an optimal result from your investment and hard labour.

We make choices on future-proof and an optimum shopping route. Guiding a client to a store, surprise than every time but also make it optimal for the staff to work, gives an optimal result.

We design a routing not only by feeling but also fact based. Data driven is important but not always leading. Garden centres are store with passion, ambiance and atmosphere….

Sometimes you cannot explain the result always with facts… sometimes it is just the feeling, a balanced store with a good entrepreneur is like magic…

We use new techniques to design and render our plans in the best optimal way there is. The newest techniques are not always easy to work with. Our pioneer work and working with passion gives us the possibility to stay ahead to our competition. The visualization of the shopping route is important so we work this out with our own 3D program. By 3D animation it becomes possible to imagine the real situation in a more detailed way.

Analysing the routing step by step by looking at the basic routing and square meters per group is one way we look at the routing. Besides that we look at the look and feel or the routing, ‘the flow’ and ‘feeling’. Every corner we want to surprise our customers. We want the customers to feel well and for this everything needs to be in good balance.

Soft variables that are very important for developing an optimal routing:

Shape, smell, distance, communication about product, sounds and noises… Clockwise, counter clockwise, free flow or forced routing?

'All small ingredients that are so important for making a good and logical routing.'

Questions like;

• How do you present your products?
• Do you use wood, steel, what colour, what materials do you use for what department?
• Do you make use of shop in shop or do you only want to communicate your own brand?
• What is the logical way regarding to your optimal customer journey?

All these questions we work on during the development of an optimal routing. After designing everything in our 3D program, we have the possibility to help you with the sourcing of your instore supplies. Optimal designing the interior of a store is a profession. The Greenconceptors will gladly assist you in making an optimal master plan for your store.

By listening to your wishes and needs and looking at an optimal plan together, it could be that you don’t even want to build a greenhouse, you may rather have a building with lots of glass or polycarbonate. We often have brainstorming sessions with our clients so that we end up with positive results. By having a good discussion, we sometimes get different views on aspects than we previously had.

It is crucial to determine the building parts we will focus on an put this in a 3D design, building and instore routing. This can be determined by knowing what the target market is that your garden centre will focus on. Will it be a plant centre, a decorative store or a place that the whole family will enjoy going to? These are all different questions that directly affect the design of the building.

It is important to us to utilise building materials that are readily available in the local area as much as possible. We will gladly help you to achieve this.

24 March 2021 one of the newest stores of Intratuin was opened in Germany Garden Centre Ostmann 

The building process of a good garden centre should not be rushed. Often it takes many years of planning and consideration before the right plan is put down on paper. The Greenconceptors will gladly assist you by advising and helping you making the best decision in the development of your garden centre project.