Microsoft Dynamics NAV enables a UK garden center to grow and diversify

Since its founding in the 1960s, Chessington Garden Centre in Chessington, UK, has blossomed. While it has not expanded beyond one location, it competes handily with chain stores, with both quality product and diversification; and by managing its complex business with Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Alex Martin, Chessington's founder, discovered his passion for gardening as a boy in the late 1940s. Rationing was still in place after World War II, and the British people continued to depend upon their "Victory Gardens." In the 1960s, he purchased a bankrupted nursery from which he sold roses and produce. Since then, Chessington Garden Centre has expanded to offer décor, lighting, and products like Christmas items. It has also opened its 500-seat Sedum Restaurant, launched a garden design service with five field teams, and, about four years ago, added events such as its Christmas Grotto.

The new businesses help level the firm's income stream, says managing director Jolyon Martin, son of Alex and his wife, Ruth. "We try to balance the peak of the gardening season with a peak at Christmas."

These ventures also are designed to compete against the garden chains that have encroached on the market. While independent garden centers claimed about half the gardening market ten years ago, their share has since dropped to 30 percent, says Tim Hickman, operations director.

Dynamics NAV, integrated add-ons

Chessington has used Microsoft Dynamics NAV since 2005 to support its expanding lines of business. Over time, it's added new capabilities.

Chessington currently runs an on-premise NAV database, version 3.6, says Cheree O'Melia, account manager with The NAV People, which supports ...