The British Smart Garden Products sets-up a showroom

in Lille

Smart Garden was founded in 2003 by Jonathan Stobert. They are the leading supplier of garden products to the trade and are present in the UK and continental Europe. Their headquarters are located in Abingdon, UK and the company was already present in France, with offices located in Southern France. Their clients are mainly retail companies specialised in DIY.

As a result of Brexit, they had major issues related to customs and administrative procedures. Not having a footprint on EU soil meant having more trouble to access their clients. As a result, Smart Garden Products was looking for a setting-up solution in the EU.

France was their top choice to set-up a showroom because it represents 50% of their export sales. However, it also serves as an entry point to the EU:

The UK Business Centre Lille served as a facilitator for the company to reach out to the ecosystem. The synergies between the regional and local ecosystem enabled them to move on faster with their development project and benefit from the assistance of expansion experts, who are dedicated to helping international companies set-up on the territory.

Hello Lille – the attractiveness agency for the Lille Metropolis and one of the founders of the UK Business Centre Lille – accompanied Smart Garden Products throughout their whole project. This included assistance in:

• Finding their showroom
• Doing administrative procedures
• Getting the necessary information about the ecosystem