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Shopping experience for the whole family

Truffaut, the French garden centre chain, is also operating in the UK, where it is financing Garden & Leisure, the new retail group set up four years ago and currently comprising seven family-run garden centres

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The curved entrance portal of Barnett Hill Garden & Leisure.
The philosophy behind Garden & Leisure is to offer customers a select product range in surroundings aimed at making shopping a pleasurable experience. To realise this concept, the group consists exclusively of old-established, innovative family businesses that are given the opportunity to put their ideas into practice with the aid of risk capital from Truffaut. Cadbury Garden & Leisure was the first garden centre in the group to be completely revamped and reopened in its new look in May 2001. All the Garden & Leisure businesses are expected to be reorganised on the basis of this design.
Last spring saw the opening of Barnett Hill Garden & Leisure, located in Clent: for an investment of £ 4.5 mio, managing directors John and Jane Mosley created a garden centre covering 12 000 m² in just a few months. A semicircular glass portal leads visitors into a bright greenhouse that forms the entire interior of the garden centre, apart from the pet department. The product range is subdivided into four large areas:
Outdoor plants and an outdoor tree nursery. This area of greenery has been laid out in the style of a park and is broken up into a variety of themed islands. A large number of rare species can be found among the plants, which are supplied predominantly by local growers. There is also a large selection of stone figures.
A large rock landscape has been designed around the koi pond.
Accessory products and indoor plants in the transition area between the outdoor display and the entrance portal. Garden care products are to be found here alongside seeds, tools and seasonal items.
Giftware and decorative articles together with barbecue products: this carpeted sales area is dotted with display platforms at regular intervals. The main emphasis in the range is on high-quality products aimed at providing new ideas for improving customers’ living space.
Ideas for improving customers’ living space can be found here.
Terrace café and pet department with aquatics section: two large ponds, an aquatics section featuring black décor and show aquaria, a three-level rodent house and large aviaries offer visitors a variety of live animals. Located in front of the pet department is a children’s play area with a life-size replica of a tree from which a sorceress looks down.
The children’s play area is decorated with a life-size oak tree.
The effort made to offer customers something special is also reflected in…
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