The British Smart Garden Products sets-up a showroom

in Lille

Smart garden – a British leading supplier in Garden products to the trade – chose the Lille Metropolis for its development project. The company was supported by the partners of the UK Business Centre Lille to settle on the territory.

Published on 20.06.2024

Smart Garden Products
in a nutshell

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.

What is the origin of the development project of
Smart Garden Product?

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:

“I have to say that that our investment in France is not only for France, it is an EU investment”
– Xavier Faure – European Director of Smart Garden Products.

Why was the Hauts-de-France chosen for
Smart Garden Products’ expansion?

Their #1 criteria was to find a location at the heart of their markets. Their export sales are mainly made in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. They also needed proximity to their offices in the United Kingdom for their team to easily travel there. The Lille Metropolis checked all of the boxes due to its proximity with those countries.

Smart Garden Products’ journey with
the UK Business Centre Lille

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

“As a British Business, we know that you will give us very good support. It is extremely appreciated when you are in an in an area you don’t know much about, to have someone who knows everything about its ecosystem and who is going to help.”
– Xavier Faure – European Director of Smart Garden Products.