Avison Young worked on a plan with Darvonda Nurseries that will see 7 pop-up locations throughout Alberta & Saskatchewan

Alberta, B.C. – Businesses of all sizes have been working to navigate the challenging impacts of COVID-19 throughout these unprecedented times. In late March, Darvonda Nurseries learned that its largest wholesale buyer would not be able to accept the majority of its season’s spring plant order. Lawrence Jansen, the owner of Darvonda Nurseries, needed a solution to sell up to 80 percent of its annual vegetable and potting plants grown in Alberta and British Columbia or risk survival of its third-generation business.  Lawrence Jansen explained the situation to James Heaps, the Head of M&A and Business Advisory Services at Avison Young, and the groundwork for a solution was put in place.

In four weeks, Lawrence Jansen alongside James Heaps, Hani Abdelkader and Travis McElroy at Avison Young worked on a plan that will see 7 pop-up locations throughout Alberta & Saskatchewan. “We worked with Lawrence to effectively create 7 businesses in one month,” said Heaps.

“We believe we have a win, win, win solution; we win by working with communities and providing our product to our customers, real estate owners win by gaining a short term solution with no additional cost, and fortunately, we now have a plan in place to help our business survive,” said Jansen. 

“The support and rallying around business attitude we have seen has been unprecedented. We need to thank the Tsuut’ina Nation, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, City of Red Deer, and all the real estate landlords we have worked with for their help in navigating a different way of doing business,” said Abdelkader.

Products will be sold at wholesale cost, and includes vegetable, flower bedding plants, and hanging baskets which were earmarked for garden centres at big box retailers. The Pop-up Garden Shops will open for one to two months and will be located at:

• Open: 14815 Bannister Road SE – Former Rona (Front parking lot)
• Open: 7516 Macleod Trail S – Former Part Source (Front parking lot)
• Opening May 5^th: 1817 Crowchild Trail NW – McMahon Stadium (East parking lot)
• Opening May 7^th: 3777 Grey Eagle Drive – Grey Eagle Casino (East parking lot)
• Opening May 7^th: 4847A 19 Street, Red Deer, AB - Red Deer Westerner Park
• Open: 730 St. Albert Trail, St. Albert, AB – Former Rona (Front parking lot)
• May (TBD): 503 Ruth Street, Saskatoon, SK – Prairieland Park  

When asked what other businesses can do, James Heaps added: “The impact of COVID-19 is challenging the survival of many Canadian businesses, but at the same time businesses are rethinking how they operate, how to get their value proposition in front of consumers differently than in the past, and how to implement new ways of doing business that align with social distancing and health practices.  At Avison Young, we are working closely with our clients to navigate these unprecedented times and to see new opportunity for growth through new ways of doing business.”  

If you are a business owner and would like to know how Avison Young can assist your business accelerate change and create new opportunities to new challenges please contact: [email protected] .

 

For more information:

Avison Young Contacts

James Heaps
Senior Vice President M&A Business Advisory:
Phone: 1.403.232.4309
E-mail: [email protected]

Hani Abdelkader
Principal Retail
Phone: 1.403.232.4321
E-mail: [email protected]

Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its Principals. Founded in 1978, with legacies dating back more than 200 years, the company comprises thousands of real estate professionals in more than 100 offices around the world. The firm’s experts provide value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management and financing services to clients across the office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality sectors.

Avison Young is a 2020 winner of the Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation, having retained its Best Managed designation for nine consecutive years.

www.avisonyoung.ca

 

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