Condursos Garden Center: Big on space, big on service

When your business spans more than 30 acres, it can be easy to get lost in the maintenance and overlook customer service.

For the team at Condursos Garden Center in Montville, N.J., maintaining a large variety of green goods is important, but providing a positive experience for the consumer is top priority.

Originally founded in 1929 as a family farm before shifting to nursery and garden retail efforts, the garden center is operated by fifth generation members of the Condurso family and offers a selection of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, tropical plants, statuary and other hard goods.

“We are a destination garden center and we are one of the largest in North Jersey,” says David Casselli, nursery manager at Condursos Garden Center. “The property itself is a 30-acre re-wholesale and retail nursery. Our selection is huge as far as plant material and we just run the gamut.”

The property includes a coffee shop, a service other garden centers have implemented. But Condursos goes one step further and even has a candy store.

“That might be something that not a lot of garden centers in our area here do,” Casselli says. “That’s one thing that definitely sets us apart.”

Carrying a large inventory to meet the needs of all consumers is only part of the equation at Condurso’s. The next step is also carrying the knowledge to answer questions and find the right product for each patron. Casselli says Condurso’s employees deliver by placing “customer service above all else.”

“We have a very expert staff here,” Casselli says. “The staff is professional and very knowledgeable. We want people who shop with us to feel comfortable here when they walk in and to have that friendly atmosphere through all parts of the garden center. We want people to remember that they came here, they found what they were looking for and they received any information that they needed. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll get the answer.”

Casselli notes that with the national economy on the gradual upswing and consumer confidence returning to pre-recession levels, rising demand for garden goods has led to inventory shortages at Condurso’s Garden Center, one of the larger issues the business has faced recently.

“On my end, I could say the plant material shortages have been a huge issue,” Casselli says. “It just seems that more and more plant material is coming up short. I think it’s in part due to demand and the economy getting better, which is a good thing, but it’s definitely a double-edged sword. We’re busy, we’re selling product but we’re also having a more difficult time finding that product.”

More than keeping inventory stocked, the Condurso’s team is also concerned with continuing to branch out into new fields and stock shelves with new and unexpected items. The business began selling patio furniture last year and is also expanding its statuary and fountain sections. Casselli says this growth is important to the identity of the garden center as it moves forward.

“You’ll see that here at Condursos, from the nursery with trees and shrubs, right through annuals and perennials as well; the desire to keep expanding the selection of what we carry from the bread and butter all the way through the more uncommon plant material that you don’t see every day.”