Retail Merchandiser Volume 63, Issue 2 Volume 63, Issue 2 | Page 78

Having our own office and team in China is invaluable , not just in terms of sourcing and procurement , but logistics , quality control , and administration
competence and which have the potential to achieve scale and traction in the market . Our collection of core gardening categories covers garden accessories , plant supports , grow houses , hanging baskets , doormats , lanterns , faux décor , and other decorative products . We also supply gloves , footwear , and a kids ’ range of clothing under the brand Briers , which we acquired four years ago . Among our other recently launched brands is Three Kings , for Christmas goods , Zoon , a range of pet products , and Havana , a collection of outdoor heating products . During recent years , a great deal of our product development focus has been based on items that we can sell in the second half of the year , to iron out our seasonality . This generates consistency in both cash flow and work for our administrative and logistics teams .”
The year before the pandemic , SGP had achieved £ 60 million of turnover , and it started 2020 with an even stronger pre-season , but this halted abruptly when the first lockdown was announced . The following few months , however , brought a greater period of growth than the company could have ever expected . “ Luckily for us , the garden centers were the first retailers permitted to open ,” Jonathan affirms . “ We had high levels of stock both in warehouse and on order , but when the
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