Indoor plants

摘要

Over the past few decades the houseplant sector has been a cash cow and most retailers have done little or nothing to market plants other than displaying them on benches. But take a look at retail trends on the continent. For every houseplant sold inthe UK this year, a consumer in Denmark, Norway and Switzerland is likely to buy five. So the potential to grow this market in the UK is huge. At a recent British Ornamental Plant Producers technical conference, delegates heard JZ Flowers commercial manager Joanne Plant say sales of indoor plants are growing, with a 7.2 per cent increase in value and 1.2 per cent in volume over the past year. "Indoor plants are what's driving the market," she added. Many garden centres have a highly subjective and oftennegative view of houseplants, not least because these can represent as little as 2.5 to five per cent of turnover. But think on. At the same conference, HTA market information manager David Denny said although plants are not recession-proof they are "relatively resistant to the economic pressures we've seen".