Stodels is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

garden center A garden centre (American English spelling; U.S. nursery or garden center) is a retail business that primarily sells plants and related products for domestic gardening. Gardening centers usually revolve around outdoor home improvement and d� ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

, operating a chain of garden centers in two of the country's provinces (the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, and

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

). Headquartered in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, Western Cape, the company has been operating since 1962.

History

Stodels was established in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1962, when founder Robert Stodel began making sales through a mail-order catalogue, door-to-door visits, and out of his van on the Grand Parade in Cape Town. The first Stodels garden center opened in 1968, in the residential suburb of

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

, Cape Town followed by the opening of a Stodels Bellville garden center in 1973, where the company's headquarters is situated today. In 2006, Robert Stodel's son, Nick Stodel, took over the business, thereafter opening 5 more garden centers. In 2011, Nick became the President of the South African Nursery Association (SANA), and was the first President of the International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) to be elected from the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n continent and the Southern Hemisphere. In March 2012, Stodels opened a garden center in the Cape Town residential suburb of Constantia, which was later replaced by a garden center in

Bergvliet Bergvliet is a large, affluent residential suburb in the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town, South Africa. Bergvliet, which means "Mountain Streamlet" in Afrikaans, is located on former farmland, and comprises mostly large, detached homes ...

. In August 2012, the company opened a garden center in

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

Operations

The company has 8 garden centers, located across 2 provinces in South Africa. Stodels sells, among other things, outdoor and

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

plants,

seeds In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

, and plant-related

decor Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...

items, such as pots. The retailer also operates Stodels Cafés at some of its locations, serving food and drinks. Stodels operates a free loyalty program called ''Stodels Garden Club'', providing clients who register with discounts on garden center purchases, points for purchases, gifts, and discounts at Stodels Cafés.

Awards

Stodels has won numerous South African Nursery Association Independent Garden Centre Awards. Those include Best Garden Centre in South Africa in 2013, and again in 2022, as well as the Cape Regional Award, which Stodels has received every year since 2009. In 2017, the company's CEO, Nick Stodel, was presented with a South African Nursery Association Gold Award, the highest honour in the industry.

References

{{reflist

External links

The South African Nursery Association

The International Garden Centre Association
Companies based in Cape Town Retail companies of South Africa

History

Operations

Awards

See also

References

External links