In conversation with Global Landscaping’s Caroline Wildman
Caroline Wildman, marketing director at Global Landscaping, talks about the company’s recent rebrand and its plans for the future.
Tell us about the rebrand to Global Landscaping
In the past, we had multiple sub-brands. We spoke with our customers and understood this had caused confusion in the marketplace. So, over the last year or so, we carried out a strategic brand review and this has led to us designing a new, much clearer structure for the business. The new umbrella brand of Global Landscaping will unify our product portfolio and give clarity to the unique way we operate. Unlike many other garden paving and stone businesses, Global Landscaping keeps sourcing, fabrication, freight and warehousing in-house, providing end-to-end confidence for our customers.
Under the new structure, all products and customer-facing activity will sit within the Global Landscaping brand ecosystem, which will eliminate duplication and create a scalable platform for future growth.
All our product categories, including natural stone, porcelain, decking and accessories, will sit under the Global Landscaping brand, and have a consistent visual identity and naming convention.
What are the key benefits for landscapers?
The business’s vertically integrated supply chain – from sourcing in India to fabrication, packaging, freight, UK warehousing and merchant fulfilment – reduces reliance on third parties and provides consistent quality control at every point. This unique offer is now fundamental to our brand promise: ‘Confidence from Source to Customer’.
For installers and landscapers, this means access to a broader, intelligently curated product range under one brand, with stronger cross-category solutions, including stone, porcelain, decking and accessories.
We’ve always known (and our customers have told us) that we have a beautiful, high quality range of products; now that we have streamlined our marketing proposition and introduced clearer brand communication, it will make it simpler for landscapers to find exactly what they are looking for when they look in our catalogue or visit their local supplier.
Something we have seen becoming more and more important to our customers is sustainability, and many people are now actively choosing products that are ethically and sustainably sourced. Our landscaping products are backed by a secure supply chain and rigorous quality standards.
Our production facilities in Rajasthan use wind and solar power to help reduce our carbon footprint. Any excess energy generated is returned to the local grid. The water used in production is filtered and reused on site. We are committed to safe, fair and responsible working practices for everyone involved in our products. We carry out regular audits across our sites and supply chain to ensure high standards of health and safety, ethical trading and worker welfare are maintained, in line with BSCI / SA8000 principles.
And last year, we moved to cardboardless packaging for our Indian porcelain products, to reduce packaging waste. The new minimalist packaging consists of plastic corners that are made from recycled plastic and that are fully recyclable. Each slab is printed with its product name, colour and manufacturing date, making it clearly identifiable and much easier to trace. An added bonus for the landscaper is that the labels can still be read, even in the wet and they don’t have to dispose of lots of soggy cardboard at the end of a project!
We position ourselves as a trusted partner in landscaping materials, not just another supplier.
Tell us about Global Rewards
Global Rewards is our loyalty scheme for landscape contractors, builders and garden designers. When they purchase Global Landscaping products, they can earn points by uploading their invoices to the Global Rewards website. Their points can be exchanged for a variety of rewards, such as gift cards and holiday vouchers.
Where I think the scheme will become invaluable is getting those installers’ feedback. We’d love to have a panel of installers that we can engage with, for example on product decisions. They are the ones who are going out and speaking to the end users so they can tell us about a product that people would love that nobody’s got at the minute, and things like that.
In the future, we’ve got plans to develop the scheme – maybe include business and marketing support – but at the moment it is very much in its infancy. However, although the scheme hasn’t been running for that long, we have just welcomed our 1,000th member!
Will the transition to the new branding take place straight away?
First of all, it was important to roll out the new branding internally. Everyone in the business was invited to a presentation, where we explained the new structure, why we’ve done it and the important role everyone in the business would play in implementing the changes. At these meetings, we also presented all our warehouse workers with hessian bags containing new branded workwear. The changes were really well received internally, and our teams were excited to go out and tell their customers!
Then we informed all our Global Rewards members and all our merchant partners about the rebrand. They will start to see the new branding on our stone and porcelain ranges when they go to the merchants.
Over time, they will see the branding change on our range of accessories from Ultimate to Global Installation. This includes all the products needed to produce a perfect finish, but that you don’t necessarily see, including slurry primer, paving joint compound, tile grout, trims and pedestals.
Eventually, all our products – Global Stone; Global Porcelain; Global Decking; Global Rewards; Global Installation – will be instantly recognisable, under the umbrella of Global Landscaping.
How does the rebrand futureproof the company for further growth?
The immediate benefit of our new business architecture is that it gives a clear, consistent and logical branding structure to our ranges. It means we can get behind a single brand story, giving our sales teams and customers greater clarity and focus. Operating under a clear, confident brand removes complexity, allows us to focus our investment and means we can deliver even greater simplicity and reliability to our customers, which in turn will help future growth for both us and our customers.
From a future growth perspective, all of our resources, time, energy and budget are going towards growing the equity within this one brand, so we have a much clearer, strategic focus. Future products and acquisitions can integrate seamlessly into the unified brand framework, avoiding fragmentation and supporting long-term brand equity.
It’s been a busy year for Global Landscaping already. Can you tell us about some of the new product launches?
We recently launched a range of porcelain tiles called Florence. It has an aged and weathered natural stone appearance. The edges have a really nice, tumbled effect and it is available in three colour finishes, Ardere, Straw and Thatch.
We’ve also introduced a range of Sandstone Porcelain tiles. It’s proving to be really popular, particularly for contemporary designs, because each of the five colourways has the rich colour variation and textured surface of natural sandstone. It is perfect if you want a lower maintenance, durable and slip-resistant product that won’t weather and fade but has the look and feel of natural stone. A fit and forget finish!
Another thing that could be handy for landscapers is that in our new brochure, we’ve done a nice little section about how our products can go beyond their original purpose, to show their versatility. For inspiration, we’ve shown how Old Rectory Walling has been reimagined as cobbles to create an authentic, charming pathway. Built-in seating has been constructed out of composite decking. And stone and porcelain tiles have been blended to create new texture and character.
We also provide samples through our website, which our landscapers/installers have found really useful. Rather than lugging full-size tiles around, they can order up to three small samples to show to their potential customers, all presented in a lovely, branded box. When people order samples, we also follow up with them a few months later, to find out if the products were what they expected, if they went on and bought them and if they have any feedback for us. We’ve had a really positive response – people love to be asked for their opinion, and it’s really helpful to us, too.
And we have a few more exciting ideas bubbling under the surface, which we are not quite ready to share yet!
For more information visit: global-landscaping.co.uk.
