Pet departments with a stylish backdrop

The new Schilliger garden centre in Matran has a 10 000 m² sales area, 5 000 m² of which is under cover.
The latest outlet to be opened by the company from Western Switzerland is its third garden centre in Matran, a few kilometres south of Fribourg on the Berne-Lausanne motorway. The 10 000 m² garden centre, 5 000 m² of which is under cover, is the responsibility of store manager Vincent Reynaud: “An elegant ‘country’ style and a high overall quality level are important, although pricing is tailored to the domestic market, give or take ten per cent.” Matran employs over 30 staff, almost all of whom are trained specialist salespeople, gardeners and florists. The Schilliger Group is still a genuine family firm. With his wife, a trained florist, Maurice Schilliger senior built his first garden centre in Gland in 1945. It now covers an area of over 18 000 m² and specialises in the production of geraniums and spring bedding plants alongside its core garden centre business. “We produce exclusively for sale in our own store,” says Vincent Reynaud, although the firm has to buy in from other companies in Western Switzerland to meet demand. In addition to the three garden centres in Gland, Plan-les-Ouates and Matran, the company runs three small boutiques in Lausanne, Carouge and Geneva, offering mainly decorative items for the home and garden along with high-class furniture. Each of the garden centres also incorporates similar boutiques.
Vincent Reynaud, a horticultural engineer, is the manager of the Matran garden centre.
Vincent Reynaud regards “elegant country style” as an important signature element of the company, although great care has to be taken to avoid overtaxing the customers with too much choice. The style is especially evident in the 900 m² boutique area of the Matran store. Maurice Schilliger Jr designed the interior layout here, as in the other stores, and has the furniture made to his specifications in Poland. “The boutique calls for a lot of attention and manpower,” says Vincent Reynaud, “but it accounts for almost half our sales.” It even features a clothing collection. Naturally, Matran contains sections that are typically found in any garden centre: a selection of plants and pots as well as lawnmowers, seeds and tools, all presented in displays of the same high quality as those in the boutique. Live animals (fish, rodents and birds) are included in the 300 m² pet section, along with the standard range of pet food and accessories for dogs, cats…