Nick Zannis is thankful his greenhouse established online sales five years ago, now that the retail world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The doors of Golden Acre Home and Garden in Calgary are allowed to be open as an essential service in Alberta, but there are ample warnings about social distancing.
A steady stream of customers, many of them wearing face masks, walk through the store even though spring bedding plants arenB次元官网网址檛 ready and the selection of seeds and flowers is somewhat limited.
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Zannis said having an online presence puts his greenhouse on less shaky ground than many others.
The business has sent products to as far away as Nunavut and Nova Scotia in recent years but will be focusing primarily on the Calgary market now.
Online orders are up by 2,000 per cent from a year ago, Zannis said. But itB次元官网网址檚 not a gold mine.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very expensive to operate. Now you have to pay somebody to go and do the shopping,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淏ut the online store has kind of kept us afloat B次元官网网址� WeB次元官网网址檙e just trying to survive, honestly. I just want to survive this year.B次元官网网址�
In addition to Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec have designated garden centres as an essential service. Other provinces, including Ontario, have forced them to keep their doors closed.
B次元官网网址淲e are allowed to offer pickup at the curb, so we are doing that,B次元官网网址� said Mary Reid, owner of Green Thumb Gardening Centre in Nepean, Ont.
B次元官网网址淎 customer would either phone or email us what their order is, then weB次元官网网址檇 get it ready and say you can come and get it.B次元官网网址�
Reid said she has basically had to start online orders from scratch but isnB次元官网网址檛 able to do e-commerce.
She hopes gardeners will still be keen to shop when restrictions are eased.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a pretty picture at all B次元官网网址� it depends on how far into lockdown we get.B次元官网网址�
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The executive director of the Canadian Garden Council, the national umbrella body for provincial and national garden organizations, said thereB次元官网网址檚 been a huge increase in the number of Canadians who want to start gardening.
Michel Gauthier said itB次元官网网址檚 a struggle for centres that have to stay closed.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of growers and greenhouses are having issues. Right now, thereB次元官网网址檚 a big movement to say horticultural products are essential and should be essential for the well-being of people,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e saying B次元官网网址� if we want people to have that gardening experience and spend some time in their garden, then they need to have access to the material and access the product.B次元官网网址�
Don Vanderwerf said itB次元官网网址檚 almost like business as usual at his Kel-Lake Greenhouses in Kelowna, B.C.
Demand for seeds, soil and vegetables has been strong, he said.
Peak gardening season begins in three weeks to a month. Vanderwerf said products will be spread out on benches and into the parking lot at his site.
Still, Vanderwerf is expecting a financial hit. HeB次元官网网址檚 already losing business in flower baskets for hotels and restaurants.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l be down a bit. But I feel fortunate that IB次元官网网址檓 not owning a restaurant or a pub, because theyB次元官网网址檙e hurting.B次元官网网址�
Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
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