Will show wilt or bloom?
Christchurch has bought New Zealand%26#39;s premier flower show, named after the suburb of Auckland where it was first held. Will a garden show nurtured by the country%26#39;s most populous metropolis transplant successfully to the Garden City? MARTIN VAN BEYNEN reports.
Netting a major event designed to juice up the staid Christchurch image and bring in high-spending visitors should be cause for jubilation.
However, Christchurch%26#39;s reaction to the city council%26#39;s purchase of the Ellerslie Flower Show for a sum believed to be at least $1 million and possibly closer to $2m has not been unmitigated joy.
Festivals are risky propositions and when all that is being bought is a name _ an Auckland name at that _ responses are bound to be mixed.
Christchurch this week found itself the proud owner of the name The Ellerslie Flower Show, a registered trademark owned by SMC Consortium Ltd, which changed its name to New Zealand Flower and Garden Show 2004 Ltd in 2004.
The city council has contracted a related company, SMC Ltd, to organise and manage the show for the next five years, with an option for another five years.
The Ellerslie show is a drawcard for many reasons, but mainly visitors come to be inspired by stunning, innovative gardens, immaculately presented.
The gardens tend to be expensive _ several at this year%26#39;s show cost more than $150,000 _ so it is important to have sponsors prepared to fund talented designers and horticulturists to provide a spectacle.
The show, which has drawn most of its exhibitors from Auckland, will be relying on South Island exponents to fill the gap, because distance and expense will keep many North Islanders away.
Adam Shuter, 35, a Lincoln University-trained landscape designer, who works for Kerikeri-based palm nursery Palmco, picked up the double at this year%26#39;s show, which finished last Sunday. His tropical garden, which had not a single bloom and cost about $45,000 to set up, won the Supreme Judges%26#39; Award and also the Supreme Construction Award.
For Shuter, who has been involved in three Ellerslie shows, this might be his last tilt at the titles. He doubts whether his company could afford the extra costs of showing in Christchurch.
%26quot;The logistics are very hard, and it%26#39;s not feasible for Christchurch people to buy our plants because of the freight costs. Everyone I spoke to would not even think about going down there to be honest.%26quot;
Rachel Vogan, the Christchurch owner of the Garden NZ website and an Ellerslie participant and judge for many years, says she is sure the South Island has the talent to produce first-rate exhibits.
%26quot;The opportunity to get something out of Ellerslie for your business or your career is huge,%26quot; she says.
While exhibitors might not be a problem, sponsors will need to feel confident the event will offer sufficient exposure and spin-offs before they support it.
The show%26#39;s dependence on generous sponsors is clear. It costs about $3.3m to stage the show, with ticket sales in Auckland netting about $1m.
So far, only Christchurch International Airport has publicly indicated an intention to sponsor the show, although others are apparently waiting in the wings.
The climate for sponsorship in Christchurch is not always favourable.
The Savour New Zealand festival, which started in Christchurch, has this year been lost to Auckland, and the city council%26#39;s own attempt to start a flower show called Flora foundered, due to a lack of sponsorship, in 2005.
Savour owner Astrid Anderson says Auckland is a better location for media coverage and attracting delegates.
%26quot;Tell me a major sponsor that is based in Christchurch. If they want to do corporate hosting, it%26#39;s a bit difficult to fly large numbers of your clients to Christchurch.%26quot;
Given the strong South Island gardening culture, getting people through the gates should not be a worry, but pricing will be crucial. The ticket prices in Auckland _ $75 for a family and $35 for an adult _ might have to be adjusted for a Christchurch audience.
The council has budgeted for 45,000 people attending the Christchurch show over five days, 20,000 fewer than the crowd the Auckland show has regularly attracted.
Much will depend on marketing, but some risk factors are beyond the council%26#39;s control.
For instance, Manukau and Hamilton could decide to run their own garden shows.
The Mayor of Manukau City, which has previously hosted the Ellerslie event, Len Brown, says he still has the sponsors and the gardens to put on a spectacular show.
%26quot;The market is here. The international visitors come through here. Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, have gone into the site. That%26#39;s why we see the benefit of continuing,%26quot; he says.
A rival show _ far from certain, despite the rhetoric _ would spell more competition for the vital sponsorship dollar.
At least buying the event outright stops the show leaving Christchurch and taking many years of investment with it.
It is clear from the report provided to councillors before their decision to buy the show that the purchase was a pre- emptive strike.
%26quot;Securing Ellerslie for Christchurch eliminates the competition of an established international event based in Auckland.
%26quot;If council was to favour the option of developing its own event from scratch, we would always be competing with the established brand of Ellerslie,%26quot; the report says.
The council is keeping the amount it paid for the show under wraps. Naturally, sceptics are wondering if the council paid too much.
Brown is one who believes the city has been sold a turkey, although a strong hint of sour grapes is detectable.
%26quot;(Christchurch Mayor) Bob Parker%26#39;s background is in marketing, and he%26#39;s given you an absolute schmooze show, mate. You%26#39;ve bought $2 million- worth of one of the suburban names of Auckland.%26quot;
Jodi Wright, a Christchurch event entrepreneur who is responsible for the World Buskers Festival, says any entity would have to spend many years to equal the reputation of the Ellerslie show. %26quot;And that might cost a lot more than what has been invested here.%26quot;
Council corporate services general manager Roy Baker says the Ellerslie brand is internationally recognised.
%26quot;It%26#39;s not as though someone can just start and replicate what it%26#39;s all about.%26quot;
The council report proposes phasing out the Ellerslie brand and eventually changing the show%26#39;s name.
%26quot;The vision is … to build around the core event and eventually create a city-wide festival like the Chelsea Flower Show. Once this scale of festival is established, it would be possible to move the brand from Ellerslie to the New Zealand International Garden Show.%26quot;
The brand has developed and grown over 13 years, despite its share of false steps and money worries.
It started in 1994 when the Rotary Club of Auckland decided to organise a flower show to raise money for charity, and a decade later SMC Ltd bought the event.
Managing director David Mee, who came to Auckland from South Africa 14 years ago and trained to be a marine geologist, is a cool customer and he is confident he can repeat the Auckland success of the past three years in Christchurch.
%26quot;If we didn%26#39;t believe we could do it, we wouldn%26#39;t be doing a management contract for the show because, at the end of it, our reputation will rise and fall on the reputation of it.%26quot;
He denies playing off the various contenders for the show against each other in a bidding war.
%26quot;We specifically did not leverage them, because that would have made people unhappy, and then we don%26#39;t work well together.%26quot;
The council report appears to indicate the company said the show would go to Hamilton if Christchurch did not buy the event, but Mee says that is misleading.
He says the company would not have sold the Ellerslie brand without obtaining the contract to manage the event.
He is sanguine about drawing enough visitors through the gates and hauling in enough sponsorship.
The Auckland show has made a profit on its trading for the past three years and he expects that to continue.
The first Hagley Park Ellerslie Flower Show is scheduled for April 2009.
Tags: 13 years, exhibitors, landscape, Landscape Design, landscape designer, money, plants, reputation, rta, Services0
