Stores Add Destination to Mix

By Wendy Bedwell-Wilson

Water Garden News, March 2008

Wakoola Water Gardens and Walter Andersen Nursery attract customers with trains, trails and tranquil settings.

When Cla Allgood designed Wakoola Water Gardens in Cumming, Ga., in 2001, he wanted to create an extraordinary shopping experience for his customers. He had no idea, however, that his garden would appeal to area hikers, picnickers and even bridal parties.

"We've had two or three weddings here," Allgood said. "Some people bring their lunch, or they'll leave, go get their friends and come back. In fact, a lot of people don't understand that we're commercial. We've actually had people get mad that we don't have more trails to walk through"

President of Walter Andersen Nursery, Walter Andersen Jr., and his son, Ken Andersen, vice president of nursery operations, enjoy the same destination-retailer status in Southern California. Their San Diego store, established in 1928, specializes in unique plants; their newer Poway store draws visitors with its outdoor garden trains.

"Our San Diego store is really a plant-lovers' nursery," Ken Andersen said. "We have unusual and exotic plants. We also have the knowledgeable staff to back up the sales so the customers are comfortable with what they're doing.

"What we have in our Poway store that makes us a destination is a rather large garden railway layout," he said. "It's big. It can run up to six trains at one time"

Allgood and the Andersens tapped into a lucrative approach for increasing traffic to their garden centers. It took some eye-catching draw, planning and creative advertising.

Wow Customers with Whimsy

Though quite different, these destination retailers have two things in common: They differentiate themselves from garden centers by transforming their retail shops into botanical wonderlands and by creating fun, engaging environments for customers. "There's a sense of discovery here, and that was a part of our design process," Allgood said.

Add more than 4 acres of natural-looking gardens, and suddenly, it becomes a virtual nature preserve. "What's neat is we have so many plants that are literally planted in among our inventory that we have a very full look even when our inventory is down during the winter," Allgood said. "The botanical-garden aspect of it is still here" Walter Andersen Nursery uses a similar approach. "Our stores look different from big-box stores," Andersen Jr. said. "Every nursery has its own character. It just grows. Some of it's by design, but some Of it just happens. It turns out for the best"

The natural-looking environment draws people who seek solitude and tranquility. Andersen Jr. recalled a customer who simply enjoyed the quiet.

"Earl owned a shopping center miles from the garden," Andersen Jr. said. "He was always fighting with the tenants, trying to collect rent. He told me he came in because it's peaceful and quiet, the people are friendly, all the [plants] are in bloom - and it's cheaper than going to see a psychiatrist"

Besides offering a rat-race respite, these retailers give their customers other reasons to visit their stores, including seminars and garden railways. Wakoola Water Gardens, for example, provides an onsite classroom for seminars and events, as well as a laboratory for testing pond supplies.

At Andersen's Poway store, the garden railway display draws train hobbyists and provides a whimsical distraction for shoppers of all ages. "People come to see the railway layout," Andersen said. "The railway also helps our customers who are shopping with their children. They'll send the kids over to watch the train. [The kids] watch the train while the parents do their shopping"

Plan for Success

Creating a destination garden for pond hobbyists is not easy. Allgood and the Andersens said planning and publicity helped draw customers - and some unexpected business.

At Wakoola Water Gardens, Allgood made sure that his layout differed from other garden centers and big-box stores. "We planned it to be a destination. We wanted it to look like a nostalgic place where you've been before. We created it to look like a tourist-type place in Florida."

Allgood added meandering paths, benches, a formal lawn and stunning vistas to add to the botanical garden feel. "We also left a lot of trees standing around in the front and on the sides to keep it isolated, away from other developments in the community," he said.

Walter Andersen Nursery's expanded garden railway display, installed several years after the Poway store was built, nearly swallowed the water garden display ponds. Quick thinking saved the features.

"We incorporated water features in our railway layout that are actually our stock tanks," Andersen said. "So all the pond areas within the expanded layout are actually stockable and retail-sales space."

Planning is not the only thing that makes destination retailers successful. It requires developed publicity strategies. From traditional advertising to unconventional promotions, Wakoola Water Gardens and Walter Andersen Nursery use a variety of methods to welcome foot traffic.

Allgood prefers to advertise his specials in local newspapers and magazines. "What we try to do is will by selection and try to carry those specialized items that are awkward to buy over the Internet and larger items, things that are one of a kind," he said. "Then we try to make the difference up with our staff's good will and training."

Wakoola also acts as a knowledge center for hobbyists. In Allgood's on-site laboratory, his staff tests products for quality control.

"We opened up thinking that we'd be dispensing information, but now our job is to gather it," Allgood said. "We get a lot of testimonial from our managers about products they really like and how they use them. "When you deal with people face to face, and they show up with pictures of their ponds and you talk to them, the aspects of a brick-and-mortar store really shine because you start learning from their mistakes," he said. "Sometimes you learn from what they did right"

Rather than rely on advertising, Walter Andersen Nursery lets customers do the talking. A direct-mail campaign alerts customers about monthly specials. The Andersens also formed alliances with area clubs, such as San Diego Rose Society and the local railway society.

"We found that those are very effective ways to bring people into the store," Andersen said, adding that they draw visitors from as far as 100 miles away. "Our name is pretty well out there," Andersen Jr. said. "We have some customers who come from 20 or 30 miles away. Occasionally we have customers from the Los Angeles area come down, too."