Environmental and SWOT Analyses of Hillier Nurseries Limited

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Operations Research, , language: English, abstract: Hillier Nurseries Limited is an arboretum and retailing company with the long history of horticulture experience. The company was established in 1864 by Edward Hillier and became one of the largest plant growers and retailers in Europe. Hillier Nurseries Ltd provides plants and trees to the customers all over the United Kingdom and to various European countries. The customers of the company include various groups of bulk buyers such as garden designers, landscape contractors, developers and other. For these customers the company provides its wholesale services. The company offers an essential range of plants and related services: 'The widest range of species is grown in sizes ranging from 8-10cm girth up to super semi-mature trees of 80cm girth. A choice range of multi-stemmed plants, specimen shrubs and 'instant' hedging is also available' (Hillier Nurseries Website, 2009). As for the retailing, there is a network of retailing centers called Hillier Garden Centers which provides its services to the retail and private customers: Hillier Garden Centers include thirteen retailing centers in the UK. There are three divisions in Hillier Nurseries: Hillier Wholesale Nursery, Hillier Amenity Nursery and Hillier Garden Centers. The press release of the company states that Hillier Wholesale Nursery 'supplies a network of UK stockists, producing around 2 million container-grown hardy plants, shrubs and herbaceous perennials per year' (Anderson, 2007). The greatest tree nursery in the United Kingdom is Hillier Amenity Nursery which provides trees in containers and semi-mature trees for different purposes. Such wide scope of services provided by the company contributes to the competitive advantage which makes Hillier Nurseries such a stable entity aiming long-term performance. Particular attention is paid by the 460 company employees to the quality and assortment of plants, enhancement of customer services and the advising to clients. The present paper analyzes various factors influencing the company performance. Both the internal and external analysis of the environment within which the company operated is provided. The strategies aimed at the improvement of the retailing activity are also discussed.