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BUILDING PRODUCT RANGES THAT MAKE COMMERCIAL SENSE Andy Campbell discusses the principles for building a good product range
It is crucial that you understand how important range choice is as a driver of the overall category performance” 30
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roduct range architecture is a critical retail discipline. In the unusual circumstances of the past year, the rules on constructing ranges may have temporarily been abandoned. However, it is good to remind ourselves of the fundamental principles as we plan for the future. For the retailer, it is important that a range is built to generate sales and maximise profit. For the consumer, it is important that a range makes sense when browsing and shopping. Novice gardeners can find the process of finding what they are looking for, in a garden retail space, both challenging and frustrating. Therefore, anything that can be done to demystify and simplify the experience is surely a good thing. CONSIDER THE DRIVERS In the garden centre sector, product range decisions need to have a reasonable
HORTICULTURECONNECTED / www.horticultureconnected.ie / Spring 2021
degree of longevity, typically at least one year. Before deciding what product ranges you stock, you should undertake an information gathering exercise and an assessment of the opportunity. The assessment should include information on the market, the consumer in general, your customers in particular, past performance, the supply base and the competitive landscape. The five key factors which drive category sales are price, quality, service, promotion and of course range choice. The sales performance of most categories tends to be driven predominantly by one of these factors. It is crucial, therefore, that you understand how important range choice is as a driver of the overall category performance. For example, packet seed is largely driven by range choice; whereas quality is the key driver for most house and garden plants; before and after sales service is critical to the success of petcare
