Leisure activities are the newest moneymakers
With my company Mega Sport, I was a manufacturer and supplier in the recreational market (Leisure Industry). This was many years ago, at the end of the eighties. Customers in those days were the well-known holiday resorts like Gran Dorado, Creatief Vakantieparken, Sporthuis Centrum (CenterParcs) in the Netherlands. We delivered recreational products all over Europe like Movie Park Germany, SunParks De Haan Belgium and Butchembach Luxemburg. The whole range consisted of Miniature Golf, Go-karts, Playground Equipment and Inflatables. Can you imagine that we designed the first themed Indoor Playground Intra Jungle commissioned for the Dutch Garden Centers Intratuin (a franchise organization)? Now, more than twenty years later Garden Centers are transforming more and more into Family Entertainment Centers. Many things have changed in consumer behavior and therefor Garden Centers have broadened their offer in more leisure activities and gastronomy.
Events are Moneymakers
Netherlands: Last Christmas we were impressed by the enormous number of visitors who wanted to see the Christmas Show at Intratuin Duiven. This Garden Center is more than 10.000m2 and is full of flowers, plants, animal food, garden furniture and garden tools. They also have restaurants, fast food products and indoor playgrounds like IKEA and McDonalds. Intratuin Duiven was chosen as the best Christmas Show in the Netherlands by an independent jury for Shopping Centers. Every year they start to build up their Christmas Show in September. It takes several months to complete this Special Show and they expect at least 25.000 visitors each year. As you understand the increase in sales is enormous by organizing Special Events like this. Fun-Shopping has grown as the second most favorite Leisure Activity after hiking. You can almost call it an amusement park without paying an entrance fee.
Would you like to see more? Watch this video.
More Fun Shopping in Retail to come
Canada: Wilsons Lifestyle & retail Centre Canada looks more like a Family Entertainment Center instead of a Garden (retail) Center. In this shop you can buy almost everything you need for your garden at home but it also has Fun activities like a Family Entertainment Center. You can do various activities like karting, climbing or playing miniature golf. Kids can play at the Indoor Playground while parents enjoy a coffee in the restaurant.
Look at more fun in this video.
“A new Trend is coming”, is what Gert Jan Grimbergen, director of the company Bright Buildings, said. As a manufacturer of transparent buildings, they developed new concepts like Garden Centers and Indoor Swimming pools. Their first Open Sky Swimming pool was opened at the holiday resort Eiland van Maurik last summer. A tropical sea, sandy beach and palm trees under a roof, like Tropical Island in Germany and Recreatiepark Ter Spegelt in The Netherlands. This is another concept that became a trend in the past few years. Transparent buildings like Garden Center have many opportunities to combine this with new kind of leisure activities. If you want to know more about this just take a look at www.brightbuildings.eu.
EAS AMSTERDAM – Europe’s biggest leisure trade show!
This year the biggest International Trade Show and Convention (EAS) will be held in Amsterdam from 25 till 28 September 2018. They expect more than 10.000 visitors from all over the world. There will be a congress during this Trade Show about the development in Events and Leisure Activities especially for owners from Garden Centers. If you are interested in visiting this congress send an e-mail to Gert-Jan Grimbergen, g.grimbergen@brightbuildings.eu for more details.
Hans van leeuwen, Trendwatcher & Leisure Consultant
Pleisureworld