Santos Cartier Model Cc708177

Lifestyle retailing is booming, the consumer is cocooning and spending more time at home. One retail sector that should be rejoicing is the independent garden centre, but for many of them this is not the case.To stay in-tune with todays consumer means being aware of fashion trends and to reinvent your business every four years to provide new concepts and ideas for the consumer.Alas, many traditional, independent garden centres have failed to invest in modern retail technology and from a consumers perspective look like they are stuck in a 1980s time zone and as a result are failing to reap the rewards offered in a new, exciting, market place.Gone are the days when a garden centre was a place to go simply to buy plants. In todays merging retail markets, a garden centre has become a lifestyle centre providing the for the Leisure needs of its consumer.One of the reasons for this combining or retail activities is that the consumers are changing their shopping habits quicker than retailers can react.Independent garden centres had they hay day in the 1980s and 1990s. We had a population who were keen gardeners and had enough disposable income to spend on adding value to their properties by improving their gardens.Its now a new century, the baby boomers who build the garden centre industry are moving on and the industry now has to attract a new consumer segments often called the Jones Generation (35 50 yr olds). These new consumers often classify themselves as outdoor decorators, not gardeners and are buying fewer plants than their predecessors. The result of this is that garden centres are having to look at diversification. This may include coffee shops, Christmas shops and the pet industry.Whilst in most countries people are spending less on their gardens, they are spending more on their pets, for example the UK pet industry is growing at 5% a year and is now worth 3.9 billion. Ref: AMA Research reported in Business Life Feb 2006.Whilst the gardening industry according to Mintel Research is declining by 7% a year, as far as the garden centre is concerned the majority of garden owners are pet lovers, this is a natural marriage.At the same time garden centres are at the front end of the hourglass economy. The hourglass economy is an indicator that the consumer is either a commodity buyer, buying on price or a luxury buyer, purchasing their wants and are now expecting the retailer to present products based on their desires.The result of this is we have seen the needs outlets emerge, such as the pet chain stores and category killers eg Petco and at the other end, the luxury pet stores. Its the retailers stuck in the middle that are losing market share. Garden centres have to position themselves at the luxury end and the garden pet store of the future will be a luxury garden and pet outlet offering ideas and solutions.Garden Centres will Compete with HarrodsThe astute garden centre retailers have realized that the consumer is leisure spending and if they get the ambiance right, consumers will luxury spend on their pets. The consumer, who will go to Harrods Department store in London to spend 70 on a romper suit for a dog, may also spend freely on their pets in a garden centre.According to research carried out by K9 in the UK, consumers will spend 20,000 on their dog during its lifetime, this is about the same money they will spend in the same period on their garden , which is why garden centres find this sector so attractive.Traditionally, garden centres have also relied on peak sales in spring. To achieve that they have had to invest heavily in capital structures that they need to operate twelve months a year to pay back the capital investment. A pet department brings in a regular customer. One in five pet owners buy their pets Christmas presents, plus purchase pet products on a regular basis, this is excellent traffic flow for a garden centre, plus while buying pet products pet products they may be tempted to buy a plant.Garden Centres are now Fashion Stores, Pets are now a fashion statementThe entrepreneurial garden centre owner now realizes that their consumer is an outdoor decorator and that as a retailer they are now dealing with fashion products.They also realize that their fashion led consumer will likely be a pet owner and that the biggest growth sector in pets retailing is in fashion accessories. This fashion pet sector is being led by the USA 19.7 billion industry with Guccis dog collars, Givenchy canine fragrance (Oh My Dog) and Cath Kidston doggy dinnerware. These are products that fit perfectly into the upmarket garden centre mix and have a major impact on the average sale per customer.At this stage, Id estimate, less than 10% of garden centres have a credible pet offer: but this is increasing dramatically as more and more garden centres see this as an opportunity.Pet Challenge?Is this a challenge to the pet industry? It is exposing more consumers to the range of pet products on offer, which must be good for suppliers.As a pet retailer, there are a number of opportunities. Many garden centre operators are looking for help and are prepared to work in a partnership with a local pet retailer to grow that pet retailers market share.This may mean the pet retailer opening a store within the garden centre. As always, the store to lose out will be the small independent pet store that is not recognized as a destination by consumers. Such stores have to become famous for something. With pet stores opening at airports (LAX for example) in garden centres and as mega category killers, the market is in time of flux.The Garden Centre Pet BoutiqueFor the garden centre its more than dog and cat food.A dog delicatessen fits in perfectly with the trend towards catering for humans in garden centres.Fashion plant containers are growing the plant industry, fashion statements for pets is a natural add on.Consumers have confidence in garden centres to manage live products already. They are prepared to trust them when it comes to pets and pet products.Consumers are already in a luxury spending mode, treating their pets when they go to a garden centre is a natural reaction.

Kalencom twin bag: You have the advanced option of dividing the bag into two when the twins are going separately. If you are visiting the doctor you can ask your spouse to carry another bag. On either way, the bag is durable with lots of storage space. It can accommodate two baby bottles, changing pad, and many more things needed for your child comfortably. Sherpa Bags: Ideal choice for you if you are toting the baby things. It looks very much like that of trekker bag.

Whats Haute reader Tiffany F. asks, Can you tell me what bag Rihanna is carrying and where I can buy it?Dear Tiffany,Rihanna is known for her collection of It bags and her latest one is the X-Large Patent Givenchy Nightingale available at Barneys. This bag has been hugely popular among celebrities over the past year, and the X-Large version is perfect for a celebista like her. The Nightingale is made of faded black wrinkled patent leather with logo embossed handles and a removable shoulder strap. The bag measures 14 x 23 x 7.5 and zips closed at the top. Shop this and other Givenchy bags at Barneys.com.Share and Enjoy: PREVIOUS POST: Marc by Marc Jacobs Party Girl Bow Bag NEXT POST: BE&D Belleville Satchel Permalink 0 Comment filed under: It Bags,Luxury,What Bag is That?

The Mercat is my personal favorite, but there's something about being able to wear El Borne around your waist that makes it irresistible. You might be asking where the "conscience" part is in all of this. Well, instead of using synthetic material and harmful chemicals to tan their leather, all of Nyla Noor's products are made from leathers that go through a 100% environmentally friendly tanning method that utilizes natural colorants. Plus, every bag is handmade in Manhattan to ensure the highest quality product for your hard-earned money.

Chanel handbag is the synonym of luxury. At least, women who pay much attention to fashionable goods would agree to that. Why does this kind of handbag have the fantastic reputation? The reasons may simply be concluded into 2 aspects: 1, the considerate and fashionable design. 2, the careful and long-time manufacture procedures.Mrs. Chanel realized sensibly that women were playing more and more social roles with time going on. They were supposed to take part in a variety of different activities directly in their daily lives. They had jobs, families, and they needed to go to somewhere by airplane or sometimes drive cars in their own. Therefore, the bags which had to be held in their hands became extremely heavy and unsuited. Considering that, she wanted to plant a long and thin belt on the bag ingeniously and design a more comfortable bag specially for working women. Finally, this kind of bag was accepted by a large number of people and became a symbol of fashion. Mrs. Chanel didnt stop her talented ideas after that. She stirred a metal chain into the belt. With the help of that metal chain, the belt was supposed to hang straight and be easier to carry. Now, metal chain has become the classical mark of 2.55 backpack, Chanel. The metal chain of the bags carried in the evening parties, or chain with leather additions used in daily life would give a deep impression at the first sight.There is a small village where the population is less than 3,000. You might drive an hour to get to this place if you start from the centre of Paris. It has been the only basis of producing Chanel handbags since the year 1991. A certain number of handbags are made there every day. Prune, paste, seam, prune again, piece together, make the zipper, make button hole...... It needs 180 procedures and at least 6 people to make a Chanel handbag. What is known to us all is that many bags are made by machine nowadays. While Chanel handbags are all artificial. Maybe you think it takes the most time to crack when you see the seams of the bags in such good order. Believe it or not, the preparation for the leather takes 80% of the time. Workers roll the leather with their hands to stand out needles, and pat it lightly to keep a good shape. They should be careful not to damage the expensive material.When you have already finished the contest, you may understand why Chanel handbag tend to be such expensive. Its design and its manufacture count a lot.