A Report Into Marston Garden Centres
A Report into Marston Garden Centres
Introduction to the sector
Gardening has become one of the UK’s leading leisure activities, with around 13 Million adults turning to this hobby. Recently, there has been a resurgence in ‘green issues’ and this has led to many growing some of their own food. Analysis shows that there is the potential for 9 million adults to be persuaded into this activity (Mintel report 2010)
There are a number of areas that need to be looked at, in order for the company to become more effective.
Marketing
Peter Drucker places this activity firmly at the centre of the function of a company, the main objective of any business is to attract and keep customers, the purpose of marketing is to attract and retain these customers making a profit, (Kennedy 2007 p59-68).
A company’s marketing mix allows it to position products in such a way that makes them attractive to potential customers (Boddy 2009 p293). Kotler defines the marketing mix by 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Place (Kotler 2006). Analysing these in turn will show how well the business is doing in the marketing function.
Place: A three centres are in good locations which are accessible for passing trade. All have large outdoor display areas, but have limited indoor areas. As a large proportion of customers are elderly, the lack of a display area protected from the weather limits the visits by this important demographic to when the weather is good. The business has concentrated on supplying a large variety plants, so has an extensive inventory. However, competition has come in the form of a large DIY store which has a more diverse range of products, which generally means they are able to attract greater numbers of customers. So even if those customers entered the store with the intention of buying something other than plants, it gives the DIY store the opportunity to sell them plants.
Product: There are large selections of plants and the high level of stock provides choice for
Introduction to the sector
Gardening has become one of the UK’s leading leisure activities, with around 13 Million adults turning to this hobby. Recently, there has been a resurgence in ‘green issues’ and this has led to many growing some of their own food. Analysis shows that there is the potential for 9 million adults to be persuaded into this activity (Mintel report 2010)
There are a number of areas that need to be looked at, in order for the company to become more effective.
Marketing
Peter Drucker places this activity firmly at the centre of the function of a company, the main objective of any business is to attract and keep customers, the purpose of marketing is to attract and retain these customers making a profit, (Kennedy 2007 p59-68).
A company’s marketing mix allows it to position products in such a way that makes them attractive to potential customers (Boddy 2009 p293). Kotler defines the marketing mix by 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Place (Kotler 2006). Analysing these in turn will show how well the business is doing in the marketing function.
Place: A three centres are in good locations which are accessible for passing trade. All have large outdoor display areas, but have limited indoor areas. As a large proportion of customers are elderly, the lack of a display area protected from the weather limits the visits by this important demographic to when the weather is good. The business has concentrated on supplying a large variety plants, so has an extensive inventory. However, competition has come in the form of a large DIY store which has a more diverse range of products, which generally means they are able to attract greater numbers of customers. So even if those customers entered the store with the intention of buying something other than plants, it gives the DIY store the opportunity to sell them plants.
Product: There are large selections of plants and the high level of stock provides choice for