In This Issue
Much loved industry figure passes away after cancer battle
OBE's for Colin Squire and John Athwal
Rachel Doyle of Arboretum scoops Retail Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award
Bunnings UK boss to take a three month break
New Year Greetings to all our readers
When will the For Sale sign go up at Wyevale GCs?
So what went on behind closed doors at the Wyevale suppliers meeting.?
Rising Stars 2017 - The final 12
Owners of garden centre face £21,000 bill after selling 'dangerous' items
Wyevale Garden Centres announces shift away from acquisitions
Wyevale Garden Centres named on 'worst to work for' list
Sad news - Alistair Lorimer dies
Durston Garden Products HOLD prices for 2018
New display ideas, new products, new suppliers at Bunnings first UK garden centre - GTN Xtra picture exclusive
Retail ops restructured as going gets tough for Wyevale GCs
All eyes will be on how Wyevale GCs plans to replace 'unsustainable' growth strategy with core business focus
Sir Terry and Mr M...unfinished business at Dobbies?
Mothers Day bonanza as garden centre records are broken across the country
We cleared out Homebase management too quickly, confesses parent company's new CEO
Carol Paris is leaving the HTA
Dobbies "gets together with Ocado to be the best on-line"
Nicholas Marshall is back in the gardening industry as CEO of Dobbies
Newshound finds Mr M has been busy recruiting 'experience'...
Terra Firma props up Wyevale Garden Centres
So this is what a Bunnings Warehouse looks like...
A bittersweet moment says Scott CEO as he announces UK, Europe and Aussie sell-off
Gardman reports £1.5m loss - but earnings soar by 50%
Blue Diamond buys Bridgford Garden Centre
Exponent Private Equity to buy Scotts business in UK, Europe and Australia
Brothers sell £15m Yarnton Nurseries business
Area Representative/Product Merchandiser
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Westland win Sword of Excellence with SafeLawn
Is this the smallest garden centre in the UK?
Glee to hold two shows per year from 2018 onwards
Garden retailers sign up to industry Xylella statement
Marshall's strategy for Dobbies to put focus back on plants
Woodlodge win GCA Associate of the year Award
"The Best Glee for Years" - Retailers verdict on this years show
"Xylella is the most serious situation I have come across in 32 years in the industry"
MEP's vote to ban glyphosate completely by 2022
Blisters, tomatoes, over 100 walkers and runners raise over £22k on Garden Re-Leaf Day
Coolings buys Potted Garden Nursery at Maidstone
Exclusive pictures from Bunnings' biggest store yet
New men at the top at Hillier
Xylella fastidiosa: how Italy has tackled the problem
Town & Country is sold to EP Barrus
Supplier rebates to exceed £1.5m for Choice members
"Garden Centre of the Future" planned for new outlet retail centre at Downtown Grantham
Bunnings UK No. 3 - Hemel Hempstead in pictures
Shoplifting costs retailers £800m a year says research
Scotts: We want out of Europe...but we won't give the business away
New trade show will demonstrate how to cater for vegans
Historic exhibition and new branding for Dobbies
Exciting new-build garden centre underway
Bunnings - Homebase - sales drop by £44m
Glyphosate licence approved for 5 years
2017: A year of transition for the garden centre trade
Top 50 most-read stories in GTN Xtra 2017
Situations Vacant
Area Representative/Product Merchandiser
Kent/Sussex area. £20k to £23k per annum
 
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700


New display ideas, new products, new suppliers at Bunnings first UK garden centre - GTN Xtra picture exclusive
No 9 Most Read Story 2017. First published: Sunday 12 February, 2017

The Bunnings Warehouse garden centre area at their pilot St Albans store provided plenty of new ways of displaying plants and products as well as some surprising new product lines and new suppliers to the UK market, when GTN Xtra made a visit yesterday.

There are not any traditional plant benches, instead creative use of concrete blocks and metal shelving form tiered plant displays from the floor right up to eye level, with bold hand written price labels.  “We are aiming to be the lowest price retailer,” they told GTN Xtra.

Colour blocked displays of pots surround the plant area, which has a wider range of plants than stocked at Homebase previously with garden sundries also outside in the covered planteria.

An extensive growing media sales and storage area is adjacent to possibly the widest range of garden decoration/landscaping products we’ve seen in either DIY stores or garden centres.  Creative screening, tiled options for play areas, new ideas for vertical growing.

The Bunnings buying team have clearly been working hard to find product differentiation.   Whites and The Organic Gardening Company from Australia are the most prominent new suppliers, along with products from UK based Sprout Gardening (their barcodes relate to Apollo Gardening).  They are backed up by products from Westland – Smart Ground Cover in stock, Scotts Miracle-Gro – Black Magic Potting Compost on display, Briers, Mr Fothergills, Hozelock, Kelkay, Elho, Outback, Landmann, Panacea, Veg Trug, Fiskars, Spear & Jackson, Qualcast and Stewart.

Inside the store it has much more of a warehouse feel.  High shelving units packed with products and even BBQ’s and spa baths displayed up high above them around the edges.

As for prices, Bunnings are making a 10% lower guarantee, refunding the difference and an extra 10% of anyone buys the same product elsewhere.

Staff, as ever make the final difference when it comes to customer service.  At Bunnings St Albans yesterday there were staff everywhere, possibly three or four times the number you’d have expected to find in a Homebase previously.  With a big focus on training – the number of badges on their aprons indicates the in house and supplier training courses they have completed – some of the staff present were on secondment from other stores getting ready for the next stage of the roll out.

GTN now looks forward to re-visiting the store as the season progresses.  In the meantime enjoy our photo gallery below…

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Bunnings St Albans 100217_GTN001.jpg
Bunnings St Albans 100217_GTN001.jpg
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