Record high turnover for garden centers during coronavirus crisis

While the coronavirus crisis was a terrible blow to many sectors in the Netherlands, garden centers flourished. Turnover in the garden sector increased by 29 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2019, according to figures from sector organization Tuinbranche Nederland and market researcher GFK, NOS reports.

Netherlands residents spent over 800 million euros on flowers and plants, garden furniture and roofs between January and June. "Yes, a record turnover. We never experienced this before," Brenda Horstra of Tuinbranche Nederland said to the broadcaster.

The coronavirus had people confined to their homes more than ever. Money and time saved by not going out and not going on holiday were instead spent on making their garden nicer, among other things.

The garden centers in the border regions, which often rely on customers from Germany and Belgium, were not so lucky. They saw their turnover drop enormously in the second quarter, as travel restrictions kept their regular customers out. "In the meantime, those sales are improving again, but they really have to come from very deep," Horstra said to NOS.