The companies taking part in our Meet the Buyer event on Wednesday, 18 October are:
GARDEN BUYER
Beckmann GmbH & Co. KG, Germany – www.beckmann-kg.de
Beckmann is a manufacturer of greenhouses and also one of the leading German mail-order companies specialising in garden products. The company’s main focus is on greenhouses, greenhouse accessories, cold frames and quality practical gardening equipment from tools and pest deterrents to composters and water butts, but it also offers a small range of garden decoration, outdoor leisure and wild-bird/wild-life items. The company is a family business and in 2023 is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It issues every year in January around 1 million printed catalogues (the 2023 edition is 126 pages) and also sells all products via its online store. Its manufacturing base, administration offices and warehousing extend over more than 16,000m2 and it employs around 70 staff. The company already imports from a number of Gardenex members.
The buyer is looking for new quality garden products to expand the range.
GARDEN & PET BUYERS
BRACK.CH – www.brack.ch
BRACK.CH is part of the privately-owned Swiss online retail group Competec, which had sales of CHF1.17 billion in 2022, 1.2 million private and business customers and over 1,250 staff. Competec’s head-office is in Mägenwil and its 75,000m2 state-of-the-art e-commerce logistics centre in Willisau. The company buys and holds at Willisau a range of 250,000 items from 4,700 manufacturers and ships 3.9 million packages a year. The logistics centre alone employs over 630 staff and uses 400 robots.
BRACK.CH was founded in 1994. It is the largest independent B2C online shop in Switzerland, and supplies customers in its home market and Liechtenstein. BRACK.CH offers a broad spectrum of products: IT & Multimedia, Home & Living, Supermarket & Drugstore, Family & Baby, DIY & Hobby as well as Sport & Leisure. The garden range includes practical accessories, tools and irrigation, decoration & lighting, furniture & bbqs. The pet range covers food, care, toys and accessories for dogs, cats, rodents, fish and reptiles – along with accessories for wild-birds and other garden creatures. Competec also operates a number of other online stores including ‘BRACK.CH Business’ for professionals, Alltron (IT, telecoms, security), DayDeal (themed specials), Jamei (home & living) and MEDiDOR (healthcare).
The garden and pet buyers are both taking part in our event. They are looking for new, complementary items to add to the BRACK.CH B2C range. The garden buyer is open to all kinds of items suitable for online sale. The pet buyer is interested in food, equipment and accessories for all types of pet.
PET BUYERS
Ranzijn Tuin & Dier – www.ranzijn.nl
Ranzijn is a Dutch chain of 15 wholly-owned garden and pet centres, all but one of which includes a veterinary clinic, grooming parlour and dog-wash. There is also an online shop. Whilst most of the stores are large format (the biggest in Alkmaar being 14,500m2), Ranzijn has recently started developing a smaller 1,500m2 city store concept too. The total sales area is 165,000m2. Ranzijn has recently acquired the ‘Rebel’ garden centre in Huizen. It is currently being remodeled and modernised and will open as the 16th Ranzijn Tuin & Dier in March 2024.
Ranzijn has a much greater emphasis on pet than is the case in most UK garden centres; pet sales contribute around 50% of Ranzijn’s overall turnover. Ranzijn’s pet sections stock a broad range of up to 8,000 items, including food, pet care and accessories for dogs, cats, small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. The focus is on offering both a broad and an in-depth range to differentiate Ranzijn from its competitors.
Two pet buyers are taking part from Ranzijn. They are looking for new, innovative items for all kinds of pets, along with wild bird products. They are particularly interested in expanding their rodent, aquatics and caged bird sections. For rodents, they are looking for food, accessories and bedding – and also any Christmas present type items. They are also interested in suppliers of dog and/or cat food that are prepared to give them exclusivity for the Dutch market. Other specific requests include everyday purchases for horses (ie not saddles), and accessories to prevent boredom in chickens. Sustainability and durability are important – brands should have a story behind them. The buyers are purchasing for Ranzijn’s vet clinics as well as for the stores.
