05 / NURSERY
BARRY LUPTON INTERvIEWS PHILIP MOREAU
BACk TO THE FUTURE
Barry Lupton revisits an interview with Philip Moreau carried out in 2007 to pin down how things have really changed
I
t was 2007 when I first had the opportunity to interview Philip Moreau. Ireland was in the height of madness, and only the canny and the cute were making provision for what we now recognise as the inevitable. At 61, Philip has seen it all before. A highly respected grower and businessman, he has built a deserved reputation for not mincing his words and tireless campaigning for the sector. It was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to revisit that interview and to find out exactly what’s happening with Ireland’s growers in 2014.
B: You commented in 2007 that one of the most significant changes to occur in the nursery sector in the last 30 years was the shift in emphasis from production to marketing, and the necessity to focus on the science of selling, not growing. Do you think the sector has responded appropriately to this shift in emphasis? P. Since that time the tide has come in and gone out, but the emphasis remains the same. Nursery owners can’t expect anything to sell simply because it was grown. They need to focus on marketing their products more than ever, packaging them with the right labelling and presentation. In reality, most nurseries are struggling to make ends meet, and are not adapting to change. Take retail stocking for example. In days gone by, centres would be fully stocked over the winter period. What wasn’t sold in autumn would be carried over and sold in the spring. That just doesn’t happen anymore. Centres clear out their holding in autumn and focus on other areas like
18
coffee and Christmas. And who could blame them? This is has left a big gap in the nursery calendar. The smarter production people are doing likewise. They’re either using the quiet period for holidays or preparation, or they’re exploring other opportunities to make money.
B. Following from the last question, how do you feel the sector should adapt to the threats and opportunities presented by the internet? P. I’m a granddad at this stuff! Previously I was sceptical about the internet and how the touchy feely aspects of plant purchase could be catered for. But when you look at the figures – £56 billion spent online in the UK last year – and note the big UK chains making heavy investments on ideas such as ‘Click and Collect’ - you know it’s time to take notice. Recently, Waitrose teamed up with Crocus and they’ve signed Alan Titchmarsh to front their offering. We may think plants are immune to the internet. They are not. People are getting lazy in many ways. It’s easy to buy online from the comfort of your home. It’s easier to sell online with pictures of a plant at different stages of growth. You can emphasise the positive points, provide extra information, accessories, associated products and plants, and it doesn’t matter what country you’re in, or where the plants come from. Compare that to trying to sell a bundle of sticks in the off-season at the local garden centre. The writing is on the wall.
B. Okay, but what is Glenbrook doing to ensure it’s keeping up with the change?
HORTICULTURECONNECTED / www.horticulture.ie / February 2014
P. Suffering like all the other nurseries. We’re working on several fronts. We’re developing a new niche range for the Irish market. We’re refocusing on the Irish market as transport costs to the UK are making it less attractive. In terms of the internet, we’re doing what we do best, which is to grow plants. But we’re finding partners and resellers who are more knowledgeable and better placed to do what they do best, which is to sell.
B. At a conference in 2007 you stated that the nursery sector had 20 years left at best. Do you stand over this? P. I said that in 2007. In the 60s and 70s there were a handful of nursery operation; McLysaghts, Rentes, Costins, Mount Congreve, Eamonn O’Carroll and a few others. Looking back, we were in recession then too, and I often think about that time and wonder what was different. They were small businesses, run by people with primary production skills, family run businesses, more akin to the operations you see in southern Holland. The Celtic Tiger confused the sector, many tried to expand and many more bought vans and called themselves landscapers too. There were many lessons learned the hard way. There will be a nursery sector in the future, but I think it will look more like it did back in the 70s. There will be smaller, more adaptable businesses with general offerings.
B. Poor cooperation still remains a fundamental stumbling block to delivering a coherent strategy for Irish horticulture; back in 2007, you said, ‘There is very little communication between
