Member Article

New plant centre takes root

The Outlet Centre for Newcastle, Royal Quays, has welcomed Greenwolds Plant Centre to the blooming delight of green fingered customers.

Owned by husband and wife team, Adam and Fiona Greenwold, the plant centre will be a major attraction pulling in large numbers of visitors to buy its varied offerings.

Fiona, an Edinburgh native and Adam, originally from East Anglia, are adopted Geordies, having ‘planted’ themselves in the area 15 years ago.

Adam, said: “Both Fiona and myself are “plantaholics” and have a vast amount of horticultural experience between us. As well as a diploma in Horticulture from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, I have worked in the field for over 30 years in private, commercial and local authority settings. Fiona, a qualified teacher, has a Botany Honours Degree and has also worked in environmental education.

“We are both avid gardeners and also have the experience of running a nursery in Blyth for three years, which we still manage.

“We are keen to pass on our knowledge to customers, providing them with tips and techniques on caring for their plants or simply giving general gardening advice. Within the plant centre you will find a broad range of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, seasonal plants and tubs as well as pots, composts and decorative baskets.

“The key thing for us is offering locally grown and good quality products and in the near future we are looking to expand into vegetables and herbs.

“We have three staff working with us in the plant centre and have hired locally. Our main aim was to employ friendly people who are customer focused as we have the skills to train them up and pass on our knowledge.

“We had a very busy opening weekend. We chose Royal Quays as a location as we want to attract and nurture a loyal customer base. This is a new offering to the local area and an opportunity we look to fully embrace. In the coming months we are really looking forward to being able to help customers with any queries via live displays.”

Royal Quays Centre Manager, Judith Ramshaw, said: “We are thrilled to be able to welcome Greenwolds Plant Centre to Royal Quays and have been building up to the announcement for a long time.

“This is a fantastic offering for both new and existing customers. Fiona and Adam have all the experience to educate customers. People can expect excellent quality and, most importantly, locally grown products.”

Royal Quays has 50 stores which employ around 300 staff making it an important employment hub for the North Tyneside area.

It is home to a number of top brands offering up to 60% off RRP such as Marks & Spencer Outlet, Nike Factory Store, Gap Outlet, Clarks, Next and Mountain Warehouse, along with a vast range of local, independent retailers specialising in areas such as sport, fashion, jewellery, music and electrical items.

As well as attracting famous brands, since it was opened in 1996, Royal Quays has achieved great success in assisting local retailers looking to get to the next stage of their development.

Packages include competitive and flexible rent agreements that can be linked to store performance as well as expert advice from the on-site management team on marketing, shop design, presentation and sales.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Royal Quays Outlet Centre .