Background to business.

• Horkans garden centre has its origins in a large family owned grocery stores at Spencer St. and Newton St. Castlebar.
  
  
• In 1990 a decision was taken to refocus the business as an in town garden centre on account of the competition emerging from supermarkets including Dunnes and Supervalue, Tesco and lidi.
  
  
• Two of the family members had qualified in horticulture and the remaining three had qualified in business related skills.
  
  
• Their joint effort has been very successful with Hgc establishing itself as one of Ireland leading garden centres.
  
  
• Awarded national garden centre of the year by an bord glas for outstanding customer service and quality in plant and garden products Horkans continue to receive the national Q mark award from an bord glas each season in recognition of the excellent standards in customer care, service and quality of product offered to their customers.
  
  
• Horkans have opened their second retail centre in Sligo town in April 00. This new centre has again won An bord glas Q awards for outstanding quality and customer service.
  
  
• Employment for the company comprises of 40 & 10 full & part time employees respectively.
  
  
• The addition of their new venture, opening this September 02, will mark a major milestone for Horkans with an investment of over €2 million in what will be one of Irelands finest purposely built retail garden centres. ( See our section on new development )
  
  
• Considerable effort has been devoted to introducing systems and to staff training to position Hgc at the premium quality end of the market and to differentiate it from its competitors.
  
  
• The company plans to develop new centres in Letterkenny, Ennis, Limerick and Galway over the next three years.

Business strategy:

Horkans Garden Centre LTD. Plan to develop new and exciting garden and lifestyle centres along the western seaboard mirrored on their new Castlebar development.

The centres will include the following units

1. All weather plant and garden sales area.
2. Quality coffee and restaurant facilities.
3. Lifestyle and home products.
4. Pet and aquatic centres.
5. Additional franchise units with complimentary products.

• The proposed garden centre developments will be purposely built units, developed on green field site which are chosen for their

• Space will allocated for attracting other franchise units to complement the overall development e.g. conservatories, garden sheds, furniture, home improvement products etc.
  
  
• A rental income will be derived from each franchise and they in turn will benefit and contribute to a high volume of customer traffic.

Stake holders in Hgc

Paraic Horkan n.d.h. - Managing Director.

Qualified horticulturist with long-term experience in the retail sector. Organises the marketing and advertisement campaigns in house and on regional radio and press. Responsibility for the overall profitability and development of the company.

John Horkan n.d.h.m. - Financial Director

Qualified in hotel management with extensive experience in management and retail sectors. Controls the financial, systems and administration operations at Horkans. Responsible for the implementation new accountancy system into present operation. Systems and financial controller for new centre.

Finbarr Ryan - Garden Centre Manager in Castlebar.

Manager of the existing castlebar centre. Finbarr brings a wealth of experience in both customer care and good management practises

Mairead Horkan - Sligo Manager.

Qualified florist, extensive experience in the floristry industry and retail sectors. Excellent inter personnel skills. Controls the personnel, training, and internal operations of the centre.

Eileen Mulldowney - Office manager.

Office manager at head office in castlebar. Eileen manages the office team, which controls all financial transactions.

Thomas Horkan n.d.e. - Development Manager.

Qualified in engineering. Managers the development of new retail centres for the company. Responsibility includes new site selection, and developing of new centres for Horkans.

Peter Horkan ndh - Company Purchasing Manager.

Qualified horticulturist , experience in garden centre and landscaping outlets in USA and Europe. Purchasing Manager with key responsibilities for plant purchasing and quality controls with in the centre.

Strengths:

• Strong management team with individual expertise in key areas.
  
  
• Committed to developing and maintaining a team ethos within the company by rewarding employees on personal and team performances and providing internal and external training opportunities.
  
  
• To develop individuals into management positions and where appropriate to seek the best individual outside of the company to fill a position or role in the best interest of the company.
  
  
• Successful track record of increased sales in all departments.
  
  
• National recognised quality garden centre winners of An Bord Glas national garden centre award and winners of Q mark each year since 1992.
  
  
• Market penetration in Sligo, Donegal and Galway through marketing initiates with gardening advice programmes on regional radio stations and through regular press articles and newsletters.
  
  
• Strong retail and management background held by all directors.
  
  
• Total commitment to maintain the highest standards of customer care and quality of products and service.
  
  
• Significant investment has been made on developing operational and financial systems, which will enhance the development of multi site garden centres.
  
  
• Investment with out side consultants on the development and operation of multi site garden centres has been on going since 1995.
  
  
• Including
  
  
  • Malcom Scotts garden centre consultants UK ( six months ),
  • Eve Tigwell garden centre consultants, UK.
  • Century management - Irish
  • Bill Brett - New Zealand.
  • Project development centre - Ireland and specific training modules e.g. project development.
  
  
  
• Market research and competitors analysis confirm the opportunities available to a high quality garden centre service.