“Mr and Mrs Gardening” : this other name would be appropriate on the front of Mr. Bricolage’s Reunion stores, as the offer for the garden occupies an important place and gives a personality to the sales spaces. More than just a ray, this attention paid to the garden down to the smallest details defines a large part of the brand's Reunionese identity and is rightly proud of it..
We can say that Mr.Bricolage is a tropical brand. The four Reunion stores located in Sainte-Suzanne, Sainte-Clotilde, St.Paul, Saint-Pierre and the four West Indian stores, managed by the GBH group, clearly distinguish themselves from their mainland counterparts on this point. The importance of the garden is one of the reasons why the Mr.Bricolage overseas stores are larger., like the imposing ZAC Canabady building and its 11,000 m2 surface area (including its yard of materials), the largest Mr.Bricolage in France. That's just gardening, in the tropics, is an everyday affair, and not just seasonal like in mainland France. Furthermore, in the meeting, we don't just garden, we live in the garden. “It’s an extra room in the house. Most people grew up in a garden in Reunion Island. The garden is part of Reunion culture. Too, for us, the offer for the garden is a marker of identity. We wanted it to be placed at the entrance to the stores”, explains Éric Guigard, sales director of Mr.Bricolage Réunion. Selling plants, since a year, completes the device. Mr.Bricolage sources exclusively from local nurseries. “With the living plants, we are really going all the way with this offer. The customer now finds with us everything he needs to cultivate, maintain, beautify and furnish your garden. It’s a great success”, relieves Ophélie Delarue, marketing manager.
The garden from A to Z
The cultural part is marked above all by the gradual evolution of motorized tools from thermal to electric.. In the outdoor area, the offer diversifies with the generations and reflects the evolution of housing. Mr.Bricolage brings together the two worlds into one. From the tool department, we move on to outdoor kitchen equipment (barbecue and plancha). Then to the offer of garden furniture : in addition to comfort, today it’s about decorating and dressing the garden, hence a diversity of materials and colors, in addition to the essential wood and plastic. for example, after the popularity of plastic resin pots, the trend returns to ceramics and terracotta. “We have a very nice range of pots that are suitable for both indoors and outdoors”, underlines Ophélie Delarue. Indoor gardens, including in apartment, are another request to keep contact with the earth. “Meeting the expectations of all ages, adapt to all living spaces, requires us to have a very complete range to satisfy all needs. » Especially since the microclimates of Reunion Island, more or less humid, sunny, windy, create specificities in the offer from one store to another. Gardening also benefits from the online store (click and collect and home delivery) in service since 2021. Established in Reunion since 1989, the Mr.Bricolage brand strives to cultivate its difference through gardening.
A second life in Decathlon’s hanger garden
Eco-responsibility in the garden seems self-evident. Mr.Bricolage makes its contribution. First of all, the brand sells swimming pool borders and mats made from tires recycled by Solygom. More amazing, a partnership with Decathlon, another overseas brand of the GBH group, allows you to recycle used plastic hangers from the sports brand into flower pots. These pots have been sold for six months in Mr.Bricolage stores ! The transformation is carried out by the Reunion packaging manufacturer Sodico. We owe this new circularity to the health and safety environment manager at GBH, David Payet, for which “this initiative contributes to reducing our carbon impact by promoting the distribution of products made from recycled materials and manufactured locally. » Mr.Bricolage employs nearly 300 employees in its four stores.
