Green fingers

Our good friend and top retail hack James Hall of the Telegraph wrote this on Twitter yesterday: ‘The only time that I will ever write these words in this order: I am having dinner tonight at The Ivy with Alan Titchmarsh.’

I couldn’t have put it better myself, and it was a rather surreal experience for all of us hacks who gathered at the famous celebrity hangout to hear from the great horticulturalist himself, and even for someone like me who doesn’t know his begonias from his petunias, it was really nice to meet Titchmarsh, who seems a thoroughly decent man who is clearly passionate about his work and unaffected by fame.

The reason for the gathering was to launch B&Q’s Spring/Summer garden ranges, and for the second year Titchmarsh is to be the face of the campaign. B&Q is the biggest player by a long way in what is a highly fragmented sector, but has lacked credibility among serious gardeners.

That’s where Titchmarsh comes in. He explained last night that as part of his deal with B&Q, he isn’t just fronting the ads, but has been working with the company to improve its garden offer. This has started with the supply chain and then through the stores, pointing out where product quality could be better, and then how products could be better cared for between delivery to stores and their sale to customers.

That’s required a bit of a step change in B&Q’s stores, which unsurprisingly haven’t always been geared up for selling perishable products. One of Titchmarsh’s favourite sayings is that ‘every plant wants to grow - it’s up to us not to get in the way’, and ensuring plants are well cared for in the supply chain and in stores and so reach the customer in the best condition possible is vital to B&Q achieving that aim.

Titchmarsh says he’s been standing up lots to B&Q’s 6ft chief executive Euan Sutherland - he’s a braver man than me - and that his recommendations are being taken onboard and incorporated into how the company does business. I have no reason to doubt him, and the prize is a big one. With so much of the market in the hands of often relatively unsophisticated independents, it’s the type of market multiple retailers love. The key is building authority with keen gardeners without alienating the mass-market, and working with Titchmarsh should help give B&Q that authority.