How comfortable is the outdoor furniture market? with Andy Baxter of Maze

Horticulture Week Podcast

The guest on this week's Horticulture Week Podcast is Andy Baxter of outdoor furniture supplier, Maze.

Managing director since early 2021, Andy has had to navigate the firm through a particularly tumultuous time with containers prices hitting record highs and lockdowns in China halting supply.

Sterling "has been a challenge", Andy says. "At the moment, it's looking quite good. Not necessarily on the strength of the pound, more the weakness of the dollar. But yeah, it's looking positive, which in turn helps us going into 2024. I would like that to stay where it is or improve, because that is a big influencing factor on the cost prices to bring items in from the Far East."

Now amid a prolongued cost-of-living crisis, the dramatic fall in container costs means being able to pass on price cuts but "people have more places, more avenues to spend their discretionary money now" Andy says.

But he's optimistic about stocking for 2023 going into 2024:

"I think the opportunity will be to bring more products in early before the season next year to make sure that everyone's geared up in advance with the stocks ready to sell, rather than holding off for the season, waiting for the dollar to be right or the shipping containers to be right."

Maze has much to celebrate after being included in the Growth 100 Index - reflecting its phenomenal period of growth - as well as a listing in the Top 25 Retail businesses in the UK.

Trends-wise, we have reached 'peat rattan', Andy says: "there's a lot more neutrals and natural colours coming through, especially mixed materials...a lot more wood and the rope weave coming through as well.

Though online is a growth area, Andy recognises the limitations and difficulties of persuading people to make big ticket purchases on higher end products and garden centres are key in offering a place for consumers to see the product for themselves. But Andy says, garden centres need to embrace the new styles coming through:

"Our team are trying to get across and trying to incentivize people to take the plunge ...to go for these newer products, which there is demand [for] out there. I think people just need to be able to see it and touch it. "

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