Garden center chain Tuinland is being taken over, but this will not yet have any consequences for the Christmas department this year. The takeover also has no consequences for vouchers and customer cards.
Yesterday it was announced that Ranzijn Tuin & Dier from Alkmaar will take over the garden center chain. The four stores in Assen, Groningen, Zwolle and Wilp in Gelderland will remain open under the new owner.
The office with support staff in Assen will eventually close.
Ranzijn immediately made it clear that the company focuses less on home decoration and more on the pet department.
A spokesperson for Ranzijn also immediately looked ahead to Christmas. “We have a different interpretation of Christmas, with a wide range of Christmas trees. We also have pendants and lighting, but we clearly have a different focus.”
This produces disappointed reactions on social media. Lovers of the Christmas department let us know that they are looking for other Christmas outings and give each other tips on where to do their Christmas shopping.
According to Tuinland operational manager Constante Roman, this is not necessary at all. “The Christmas department will still be present this year anyway. Purchases have simply been made for next Christmas. It could of course also have been the case that the takeover would not have gone through, as a company you have to be able to anticipate that.”
He also expects few changes in the years to come. “I don’t think the offering around Christmas will change in the coming years, but we have of course become a bit more sober. Ranzijn is also looking at whether we can complement each other in this area.”
Tuinland customers are not only concerned about the Christmas department. There is also uncertainty about the validity of vouchers. Two types of vouchers are available at Tuinland: a Tuinland gift card and a National Garden Voucher. The latter is usually valid for three years.
Roman is clear about the future of vouchers. “The vouchers remain valid and this is also legally sealed. It will probably even be possible to purchase Tuinland vouchers after the takeover.”
In addition to your own vouchers, you can also go to Tuinland with the VVV gift card. The operational manager cannot immediately provide clarity about this. “Tuinland is one of the few garden centers that accepts this type of gift card. To be honest, I think this is also legally sealed.”
It was also possible to purchase a customer card at Tuinland. With this pass you can earn points for a discount. There are no changes for either the physical pass or the app and the concept continues in the same way, says Roman.
It is Ranzijn’s task to inform customers about the takeover and transfer of their data. Because Ranzijn is also a garden center, it can take over Tuinland’s customer base, but Ranzijn is also known for its veterinary clinics.
Ranzijn’s spokesperson previously announced that the company plans to also place veterinarians at the Tuinland branches. The question is whether Ranzijn may use existing customer data for this purpose.
Roman expects this to become clear soon. “I know Ranzijn to be a respectful company and must also operate within the legal framework. The animal clinic is of course a different branch, so I will pursue this myself.”
