 |
A well-established retailer expands and divsersifies its product lines to attract a new
generation of shoppers.
By KIMBERLY RODGERS
Just at the end of Philadelphia's Main Line (an area comprising the city's exclusive and upscale western suburbs), you'll find Waterloo Gardens, Inc. What originally began as a single retail store in 1942 that supplied garden flowers, trees and shrubs to wealthy Main Line families has now grown to include four locations and a dazzling product offering that goes far beyond outdoor plants
 |
Photos By: Robert Kurland |
| Waterloo Gardens offers an array of high-end outdoor-furniture lines. |
For over 60 years, generations of families have flocked to Waterloo Gardens as the area's premier retailer, known for upholding tradition, service and superior selection. “Because we've been in business for so long, we have generational shoppers,” Carol Christensen, buyer, outdoor furniture, says. “We have the reputation for taking care of our customers. We also have adults coming in who grew up with parents who invested in the best-quality plants and outdoor furniture from the beginning, and now they want to do the same.”
The first Waterloo Gardens store was established in Devon, Pa., by James and Anna Paolini. In 1972, the Paolinis retired; their daughter, Linda LeBoutillier, and her husband, Bo, purchased the business. Today, Waterloo Gardens is still owned and operated by the LeBoutillier family, which includes Linda (CEO), Bobby LeBoutillier (president) and Susan LeBoutillier (president, Waterloo Landscaping, Inc. by Design).
A second location on almost 50 acres in Exton, Pa., was started in the early 1970s as a growing facility for nursery plants. That soon changed as the area grew and new-home development moved even farther out along Route 30. Now, the Devon and Exton locations (along with two more stores in Warminster, Pa., and Wilmington, Del.) sell not only retail and wholesale nursery plants, but also an incredible array of home furnishings, accessories and personal/gift items, including, lamps, mirrors, wall art, jewelry, bath products, candles, linens, gourmet food and silk arrangements, along with high-end outdoor furniture.
 |
| Bobby LeBoutillier, president, and Linda LeBoutillier, CEO, Waterloo Gardens, Inc. |
 |
According to Christensen, who started with the company as a part-time cashier in 1983, Waterloo Gardens had sold patio furniture for many years, but did so mainly as an adjunct to its main business of selling nursery plants.
“We began selling furniture at the very beginning of the outdoor-living concept,” Christensen says. “It was a wonderful, exciting time because we already had the educated customers who were buying beautiful plants and were garden proud. It was just natural for them to want to want buy high-quality furniture to go into those wonderful settings.” Today, Waterloo Gardens sells over 70 collections from upscale outdoor lines. Among them are products from Castelle, Hanamint, Lloyd/Flanders, Meadowcraft, Kingsley-Bate and Gloster Teak.
While nursery and patio-furniture sales are a large part of the company's business, another significant portion comes from its gift and home-decor lines. “We're becoming a place where people come to shop for themselves, for a treat,” Christensen says.
The company is doing a huge business in spa products and recently added a jewelry line. There is also synergy among all of Waterloo's products. Christensen explains, “People will come in to freshen up the outsides of their homes with new plants or furniture, and it's natural for them to want to do the same indoors.”
 |
Carol Christensen, buyer, outdoor
furniture, Waterloo Gardens, Inc. |
An integral part of Waterloo Garden's marketing plan is already in place: its long-standing stellar reputation. Even those who aren't regular customers still come in to browse in Waterloo's four retail stores because they know that they'll find the best quality and selection. “People come into our stores who have never shopped with us before, based on a referral from someone who told them, ‘If you want to see what's out there, then go to Waterloo,'” Christensen says.
Waterloo Gardens advertises in area newspapers, but relies more on direct mail. The company has a preferred customer list that includes over 125,000 names. It sends a weekly email to customers about store updates, sales and gardening tips, and it mails a newsletter to customers' homes.
Throughout the year, Waterloo Gardens takes part in various marketing and public-relations activities. These include a February preseason open house, featuring special pricing and discounts on outdoor furniture; egg hunts with the Easter bunny; girls'-night-out events; informative Web articles, videos and other resources covering a variety of gardening topics; complimentary consultation on landscape design; and an annual open house in November, where the stores are transformed for the holiday season.
Each spring, Waterloo Gardens also hosts an annual gala at the Exton location, with all proceeds, and a portion of sales from the evening, benefiting the research programs of The ALS Hope Foundation (in memory of Bo LeBoutillier, who died of the disease in 2001).
 |
| Waterloo Gardens features a dazzling array of accessories, furnishings and gift items for the inside and outside of the home. |
An extensive training program is an essential reason for Waterloo's continued success and unquestionable reputation. In-house training is done for all employees in sales, service and procedures, across all departments, every few months. “We know one of the reasons why we're in business, and why we are going to stay in business, is that we are service oriented,” Christensen says. “We're service beyond the sale, unlike the box stores.”
Many employees at Waterloo Gardens have horticulture degrees and have been with the company for decades. New employees are part of a mentoring program that gives them the benefit of learning the business culture of Waterloo Gardens.
Christensen is excited about trends in the outdoor-furniture industry, especially those favoring deep seating arrangements. “We're getting a lot of repeat customers who are replacing their traditional sling dining sets with deep-cushioned chat or conversation groupings,” she says, explaining that as couples become empty nesters, the way that they entertain and use their outdoor space changes.
“Once the kids are gone, you tend not to eat outside anymore,” she says. “You'd rather curl up with a good book or have a few friends over before going out to dinner.” Christensen adds that many of her customers have multiple decks or patios and purchase both types of groupings.
Even this year's harsh winter has not slowed the shoppers at Waterloo Gardens. “We have a lot of traffic around lunch,” she says. “Everybody gets the winter blues, and I think people are coming in to take a mental-health lunch, to see what's new in all of our categories. We really are a destination for people who want to see what's new.” .
PHPR March/April 2008
|
|
