In This Issue
Rosebourne announces official opening date
September sales in garden centres above average
Taylors Bulbs director joins HTA board as VP elect
G Plants bring back heritage Bees Seeds brand
Garden centre marketeers to battle for Worrall Cup
Heat Beads turns up the heat on the UK market
Kettler to distribute Heston Blumenthal BBQ range
Squire's set to wow children with interactive grottos
Garden King offers cash reward offered to find Santa
From stately homes to cosy cottages, NOMA leads the way with Christmas lighting
People, Brand, Knowledge and Partnerships - 4 equations for a virtuous circle
Porcelain perfection: Award winning wood effect paving
Retailers join Deco-Pak for first charity golf day
Furniture and barbecue sales sizzle in summer
£2,500 bursary is prize for Young Horticulturist of the Year
David Colegrave Foundation's new look is an eye-catcher
'Britain's best lawn' found in a Bolton garden
Why do profitable businesses lose the art of start?
Christmas at Poplars opened by Royal Ambassador
Garden Centre General Manager
Horticultural Quality Controller
Nursery Growing Supervisor
Horticultural Plant Centre Manager (Northamptonshire)
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Is Christmas a step too far for garden product sales?
Being brave, fresh thinking, embracing diversity and knowing what makes a business stand out from the crowd
Scotts Growables spoil Taylors clean sweep
Keep on growing
Will "wish-listing" have a bigger impact than "green aspirations" on the garden centre landscape for 2017?
Plant sales drop
Bord na Mona adds premium feed and compost to Growise range
Green is now the colour for Wilkinson Sword carbon steel tools
Identify opportunities and threats in the market
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
GTN's Greatest Awards 2016
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Winter warmers from coffee roaster Matthew Algie
Situations Vacant
Garden Centre General Manager
Salary: Excellent
 
Read more»
Horticultural Quality Controller
Salary: £20,000 - £22,000
 
Read more»
Nursery Growing Supervisor
Salary: £20,000 - £25,000
 
Read more»
Horticultural Plant Centre Manager (Northamptonshire)
Salary: £16,500
 
Read more»
Send us your news and great ideas
Contact us with your news. 

Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700
Furniture and barbecue sales sizzle in summer


Customers at garden centres across the country made good use of their gardens during the warmer weather with purchases of furniture and barbecues according to the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade results.

Furniture and barbecue sales were up 12.10% with hard landscaping sales close behind at 8.74%.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, explained: “We did enjoy some good weather this summer and from the results of sales in furniture and barbecues it looked like the Great British public spent a lot of this time in their gardens, which is great to see.

“They also bought clothing as sales were up 13.96%. Seed and bulb sales were generally down -16.50% due to the time of the year and outdoor plants were up just 2.55%. Houseplant sales were up 1.48% and garden sundries 6.48%.”

Pets and aquatics sales were up 4.07%, food hall and farm shop sales up 1.92% and catering 4.55%. Gift sales were down -3.26%.

Sales showed a Year to Date increase of 4% and August’s overall increase was 5%.

Iain added: “The regions that saw the biggest increase in sales during the month compared to the same month last year was South Thames at 6.77% up and Wales and West at 6.37% up. The Midlands area saw the biggest YTD change of 18.84%.”

The GCA BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.



Steven Palmer, Finance Director at Squires Garden Centres, said: “August was a good trading month for our garden centres with strong sales in plants and lifestyle categories. Our Café Bars continue to trade strongly reflecting the increasing UK trend for eating out.”

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.

Philip Gass, Director of Creative Gardens Ltd, said: “August was a decent month trading for us, weather was mixed but nonetheless sales across the board were up around 3% at each of our centres compared to the same month last year.

“Some of the noticeable improvements on August 2015 was the bird care department, which was up more than 200%, helped by a club customer promotion. Plants were up 8.7% and gardening general was up 15.7%. Coffee shops and gift shops struggled a bit in August, partly as a result of less customer club promotion in the café. Our transaction count was down slightly but average sales increased by 8.1%.”

Mike Burks, Managing Director of The Gardens Group, said: “It’s been a good summer with all parts of the business working well. Summer is a growth time at the moment albeit on a much smaller scale than the key seasons.”
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg
Email Newsletter Software by Newsweaver