Throughout the past year of ups and (lock) downs, many businesses have navigated the changing rules and regulations in their industry to come up with new ways to do business.
Last spring, Glow Gardens in Alberta saw an unprecedented time where its largest wholesaler would not be accepting most orders with COVID-19 closures and capacity limitations. In the wake of near desperation and ingenuity, owner Lawrence Jansen and Avison Young’s James Heaps and Hani Abdelkader partnered with a solution to create pop-up retail garden centres around Alberta to sell off products.
Together, they learned that locals were eager for daily deliveries direct from the grower. As a result, this year Glow Gardens will offer “fresh shipment” notifications on both Facebook and Instagram, announcing the time and locations where fresh shipments are soon to arrive.
Glow Garden’s outdoor marketplaces allow for safe and spacious shopping experiences and benefit real estate providers with new revenue while attracting customers, to the benefit of other local businesses. Last year, multiple locations in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer were used, says Avison Young. Glow Gardens is anticipating another season with offerings such as hanging baskets, potted vegetables, garden annuals, perennials and shrubs.
“Glow Gardens pop-up nurseries are a local success on many fronts, including how entrepreneurs are adapting during COVID times, how space owners are thinking about occupying space they have available and also how communities are experiencing retail in a fun and engaging environment,” says Heaps.
Glow Gardens will provide direct-from-grower nursery products in eight locations across Alberta. Find locations and social media links here.
