Independent garden centres upset by uneven playing field
Ford says ‘good news’ coming this week for independent greenhouses
Operators of independently owned garden centres continue to sit and watch as their spring plant sales instead are being made by grocery stores and street corner vendors.
Last week, the province announced a revised list of businesses that could reopen Monday — among them being garden centres and nurseries but which may only provide curbside pickup and delivery.
No further restrictions have been ordered toward grocery and department stores that have their own areas for plants and gardening supplies, and which are open for browsing no differently than the rest of the buildings.
For Jeff Bokma, general manager of Vermeer’s Garden Centre and Flower Shop in Welland, it has him shaking his head. “I’m concerned about that, but for the industry as a whole, I’m thankful that more plants can get sold,” he said Monday, pointing out Vermeer’s is also a wholesaler.
Curbside delivery has been going on for weeks at Vermeer’s on South Pelham Road, and about 200 orders are processed each day.
Business has been steady but
slow-moving with restrictions in place.
The latest openings announcement from the province wasn’t very clear, especially because many garden centres have been doing curbside transactions for several weeks.
“We’re just getting more phone calls,” Bokma said, explaining people are confused about whether Vermeer’s is open or not. “There’s no clarity, and there’s confusion.”
Jerry Moes, one of the owners of Rice Road Greenhouses and Garden Centre, on the outskirts of north Welland, is critical of the differing rules for garden stock suppliers. Larger chain stores are selling the same products to customers that he does.
“We know that’s happening, and it’s going against what we’re allowed to do,” he said.
Another of his concerns is growers setting up pop-up locations on “front lawns.”
“We’re struggling with that, because we’re abiding by the rules. Nobody is paying taxes on those places,” he said.
“I’m not seeing the social distancing in those locations,” he added.
With only being allowed to make transactions outside, Moes worries his staff might get overloaded as warmer weather arrives.
“As we get busier, I can’t foresee how we’ll be able to handle the orders. We can’t run any harder,” he said.
In a statement provided to The Welland Tribune by Loblaw Cos., which operates a number of grocery stores with garden centres, the company said it is implementing safety and social distancing measures.
“We also ask that if customers are interested in garden centre items to add them to their weekly shop, rather than making special or more frequent visits to our stores. As this situation continues to evolve, we’re continually reviewing our operations and will make the necessary changes to ensure the safety of our customers and team.”
In his Monday news conference, Premier Doug Ford said it is “unfair” that standalone garden centres are competing on an uneven playing field against big box stores.
“We’re going to have some good news for these folks this week,” he said.
“We’re going to get moving on that.”