In This Issue
Business agility for the UK gardening market in a disruptive world
People, Brand, Knowledge and Partnerships - 4 equations for a virtuous circle
How will Brexit impact on the UK garden retail industry?
Four pillars of success for future retailing winners
Will "wish-listing" have a bigger impact than "green aspirations" on the garden centre landscape for 2017?
What will the next 10 years bring for garden retailing?
Why do profitable businesses lose the art of start?
Plants can be used to mitigate the effects of climate change
Being brave, fresh thinking, embracing diversity and knowing what makes a business stand out from the crowd
People are the lifeblood of the horticulture industry
Garden Centre General Manager
Horticultural Quality Controller
Nursery Growing Supervisor
Horticultural Plant Centre Manager (Northamptonshire)
Taylors Bulbs director joins HTA board as VP elect
New HTA report sets out market threats and opportunities
HTA Marketing Forum - Maximising Your Potential
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
GTN's Greatest Awards 2016
An amusing view of the image of the horticultural industry
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»
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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
 
Business agility for the UK gardening market in a disruptive world
It has never been more important for businesses in the UK gardening market to adapt and change with the times. Only those businesses that stay agile and forward thinking will prosper and grow...
It has never been more important for businesses in the UK gardening market to adapt and change with the times. Only those businesses that stay agile and forward thinking will prosper and grow.

HTA Garden Futures conference and dinner brings together key players in the garden industry to consider some of the key disrupters that face the sector. Business leaders and experts will present impactful and thought provoking business-focussed content to inspire and energise!

Alongside this, the event provides plenty of opportunity for networking with your peers from across the industry. Set in 400 acres of tranquil Oxfordshire countryside and with a purpose built auditorium and beautiful ballroom, Heythrop Park will provide a fantastic setting for this year’s event.

A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures

Sessions covering the latest information about the state of the economy, the impact of Brexit on consumer behaviour, external trends and retail design, smart homes and technology, future proofing, staying agile and thinking outside the box and responding to environmental challenges.  Read more about the sessions in this special issue of GTN Xtra.

HTA Futures 2016 Programme,  12th October 2016, Heythrop Park Oxfordshire
  • 8.30 Registration and refreshments
  • 9.30 Conference welcome from Carol Paris, HTA Chief Executive and Adam Wigglesworth, HTA President. Lunch, exhibition and networking opportunities
  • 4.30 Conference close
  • 7.00 Pre-dinner drinks
  • 7.45 Conference Dinner including the presentation of the HTA Pearson Memorial Medal
  • 9.45 GTN host The Greatest Garden Retailing Team Awards
  • 10.15 After dinner speaker - David Domoney
  • 11.00 Dinner close

hta.org.uk/gardenfutures

#HTAFutures
People, Brand, Knowledge and Partnerships - 4 equations for a virtuous circle


PY Gerbeau will deliver a ‘recipe’ for succeeding and will talk about the 4 things you need in order to survive this crazy global market: flexibility, adaptability, agility, and common sense...

Keynote speaker – PY Gerbeau

How to transform your business in order to survive and strive in new business reality

In this very uncertain world and volatile markets, new leaders must transform their businesses and inspire their teams in order to undertake extraordinary changes and transformation, to invent a business as a lean and mean machine and drive it forward by over delivering with less or no resource than its human capital.

PY Gerbeau will deliver a ‘recipe’ for succeeding and will talk about the 4 things you need in order to survive this crazy global market: flexibility, adaptability, agility, and common sense.

Leaders must remember that their best asset is not their product or their business strategy but their human capital. To succeed one must develop a virtuous circle made of 4 equations: People, Brand, Knowledge and Partnerships.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
 
How will Brexit impact on the UK garden retail industry?
Joshua McBain, Head of Innovation, Future Foundation, will be examining the short and longer term implications of Brexit for the UK economy – signposting the key projections impacting the garden retail industry...
The vote to leave the EU has created a range of disruptions and questions over the future outlook for the UK economy.

Joshua McBain, Head of Innovation, Future Foundation, will be examining the short and longer term implications of Brexit for the UK economy – signposting the key projections impacting the garden retail industry.

This will include a view on the future of the labour market, wages, prices and the cost of imported trade from abroad – as well as a view on the global factors that are likely to shape the direction of the UK economy in 2017 and beyond.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
Four pillars of success for future retailing winners


Ibrahim Ibrahim, Managing Director, Portland Design Associates Ltd will explore how consumers’ relationships with brands is shifting and how that is driving the rapidly changing retail landscape...

The future of retail - Exploring the new metrics of winning

Ibrahim Ibrahim, Managing Director, Portland Design Associates Ltd will explore how consumers’ relationships with brands is shifting and how that is driving the rapidly changing retail landscape.

Ibrahim will describe the four pillars of success that the future winners in retail will adopt and how this will shape the new notion of the shop.

Ibrahim’s presentation will be peppered with best practice examples across a wide range of retail categories.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
 
Will "wish-listing" have a bigger impact than "green aspirations" on the garden centre landscape for 2017?
Dominic Harrison, Content Director, Future Foundation will outline the consumer context for 2017, highlighting emerging shopper expectations and innovations
Every stage of the shopper journey -  from browsing to buying to reviewing to replacing - faces disruption and fragmentation in our world of tech-progress and ever-expectant consumers.

In this session, Dominic Harrison, Content Director, Future Foundation will outline the consumer context for 2017, highlighting emerging shopper expectations and innovations -  from wish-listing to pragmatic green aspirations to the arrival of "invisible commerce" -  that are likely to characterise the shopping landscape of 2017.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
What will the next 10 years bring for garden retailing?
   

George Bullivant, will chair a panel session looking at the key questions such as: The impact of Brexit, what will it be and who bears the cost, and, with so much change over the last 10 years in garden retail what will the next 10 years bring?

The future – the next 10 years of change

George Bullivant, Director of Garden Forum, will chair a panel session looking at the key questions such as: The impact of Brexit, what will it be and who bears the cost, and, with so much change over the last 10 years in garden retail what will the next 10 years bring? 

      

Panellists include Neil Grant, Managing Director, Ferndale Garden Centre,

Alex Newey, Managing Director and Co-Owner, Newey Group,

Sheila Hill, Vice President and General Manager for the UK and Ireland, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

and Carol Paris, HTA Chief Executive.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
 
Why do profitable businesses lose the art of start?
Leonard Diepenbrock, Managing Director, TOX-Dübel-Technik GmbH, will give an inspiring wake-up call that will make you run out of excuses and start something tomorrow...

Start something new tomorrow

Why do profitable businesses lose the art of start?   

Having systems, money and people in place, it should be easy for them to try new things and pave the way for complete new businesses.

Truth is: We are so caught in making things better and cheaper that we miss great opportunities left and right. 

Leonard Diepenbrock, Managing Director, TOX-Dübel-Technik GmbH, will give an inspiring wake-up call that will make you run out of excuses and start something tomorrow.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
Plants can be used to mitigate the effects of climate change


Dr Ross Cameron, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Management, Ecology and Design from the University of Sheffield examines the climate predictions for the UK and looks at how this will affect gardening and garden retail...

Gardening in a Disruptive Climate



Dr Ross Cameron, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Management, Ecology and Design from the University of Sheffield
examines the climate predictions for the UK and looks at how this will affect gardening and garden retail.

Ross will look at improving plant resilience to climatic events and the way in which landscape plants can be used more widely to mitigate the effects of climate change.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
 
Being brave, fresh thinking, embracing diversity and knowing what makes a business stand out from the crowd


Paul Pleydell – Director – design and business consultants, Pleydell Smithyman, will explore some of the trends and opportunities that could shape tomorrow’s garden centre...

Bravery, Diversity, Stability – Opportunities for tomorrow’s garden centre

Our industry is characterised by change and now, more than ever, this is vital for our businesses to excel.

Paul Pleydell – Director – design and business consultants, Pleydell Smithyman, will explore some of the trends and opportunities that could shape tomorrow’s garden centre.

This will include: building structure, being brave, fresh thinking, embracing diversity and knowing what makes a business stand out from the crowd; with ideas and examples that can be applied to our sector.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
People are the lifeblood of the horticulture industry


David Barker from The Learning Eye
 demonstrates how any organisation, however large or small, can harness technology for education and that if implemented correctly can directly enhance business performance...

Mobilisation and Learning Trends – Agility in Learning

People are the lifeblood of the horticulture industry – recruiting and retaining excellent staff are key. Using examples from learning projects across different sectors.



David Barker from The Learning Eye
demonstrates how any organisation, however large or small, can harness technology for education and that if implemented correctly can directly enhance business performance.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
 


Garden Centre General Manager (ref:DS8731)

Location: Essex
Salary: Excellent
Date: 05 Oct
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Are you an ambitious and inspirational manager with a proven track record in delivering high levels of commercial performance within a large aspirational retail environment? If you are then our client is looking for a candidate just like you to run one of their leading garden centres.

Sited in Essex this traditional garden centre originally started life as a family-run nursery and our client now has ambitious plans to transform this site from its current format, which generates £3m in sales per year, into a purpose built Garden and Living Centre capable of generating £10m+. This new centre is due to be developed during 2017/18 and once completed it will offer customers a truly unique retail experience, showcasing the very best in garden and home living products. With our clients unique store design, product range and exceptional standards in visual merchandising, they will be the destination garden centre for North London.

In line with these developments they now have an exciting opportunity for a strong and inspirational retailer to manage and lead this centre in its current format, through its re-development and onwards.

Can you offer their customers a truly unique retail experience in an aspirational environment where they can enjoy engaging with and buying fantastic products and receive exceptional customer service?
Are you the dynamic and retail focused Centre Manager who can lead and develop a dedicated team?

You will have a fantastic opportunity to take full advantage of the redevelopment to ensure the team and the Centre reaches its maximum potential. They empower all of their Centre Managers to manage their centres as though they were your own businesses whilst enjoying full support from Head Office. As Centre Manager you will be responsible for all aspects of the centre including:
Driving sales and maximising profit in order to consistently meet your KPIs .
You will deliver exceptional standards of customer service.
You will identify trends in sales and profit opportunities and you will translate these into sound retail action points.
You will be at the helm leading, developing and motivating your team with a clear focus on driving exceptional performance and managing all controllable costs.
You will ensure high standards of stock management and control are constantly maintained.
And you will carry out daily floor walks of every department.
You will understand and be able to easily connect with their AB1 customer demographic with an ability to ensure that retail standards and service levels constantly exceed their expectations.

If you are interested in this opportunity then please send your CV to us to discuss this opportunity further.

To apply for this role click here

 
Horticultural Quality Controller
Salary: £20,000 - £22,000


Horticultural Quality Controller (ref:DS8688)

Location: Swindon
Salary: £20,000 - £22,000
Date: 19 Sep
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent


Our client is a leading logistics company who collect and transport plants for redistribution to stores nationwide. They are currently seeking 2 full time Quality Assurance people to work at their Swindon Depot.

The Job

The SUCCESSFUL candidate will be responsible for Checking plants incoming and outgoing for quality so that it meets the clients standards and specifications

The Candidate

The IDEAL person will possess experience or an understanding of quality issues, excellent communication skills, good plant knowledge and an excellent eye for detail as to what makes a good garden centre plant. You will need to be flexible and able to work to shift patterns across a week and weekends

To apply for this role click here
 
Nursery Growing Supervisor
Salary: £20,000 - £25,000


Nursery Growing Supervisor (ref:DS8682)

Location: Warwickshire
Salary: £20,000 - £25,000
Date: 16 Sep
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent


This is an excellent opportunity for you to join an established and innovative horticultural business. This new role will give you the chance to develop your skills whilst helping this nursery to expand and develop their business.

The job

This role will involve care and plant husbandry of trees, hedging, shrubs and herbaceous perennials. As nursery supervisor you will be required to organise your own work and schedule your time across our three production sites. You will support the team as a whole and deal with the trade where necessary to assist with sales and give advice. You should have previous growing experience and an understanding of current best nursery practice, combined with good tree and general plant knowledge.

The Candidate

The ideal candidate should posses spraying certificates PA1 & Pa6, a full UK driving license and knowledge of pest and disease will be required.
Candidates will need to be self-motivated well organised and able to work well individually and as part of a team.
Candidates may be required to help with driving and installation works during busy periods, as well as some weekend work.

Remuneration
Competitive Salary circa £20-25,000 & Company pension scheme

To apply for this role click here
 


Horticultural Plant Centre Manager | Northamptonshire (ref:DS8580)

Location: Northamptonshire
Salary: £16,500
Date: 28 Sep
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent


Our client is a busy Northamptonshire garden centre who has a well stocked plantarea and a popular garden shop that offers customers a range of quality gifts and garden sundries. They are currently looking for a superb plants person to manage the Plant Section of the garden centre.

The Role

Will be to manage the plant section on a day to day basis ensuring plant stock is in tip top condition and merchandised to a high standard.
Liaise with the Garden Centre Manager on managing supplies and staff etc.
Supervising staff and ensuring that customer services are kept to a very high standard.

The Candidate

For this role candidates must have:
  • A proven track-record in the industry along with good man-management and supervisory skills.
  • Excellent plant knowledge and a good background in horticultural retailing is a must for this role.
  • Be a team player with the ability to offer superb customer service.

To apply for this role click here
 
Taylors Bulbs director joins HTA board as VP elect
Taylors Bulbs director Adam Taylor has joined the HTA Board as vice-president elect...

Taylors Bulbs director Adam Taylor has joined the HTA Board as vice-president elect.

O.A.Taylor & Sons Bulbs Ltd., based in Holbeach in Lincolnshire, is the largest bulb company in the country supplying garden centres, nurseries and landscapers throughout the UK and Ireland. The company’s specialist daffodil division, Walkers Bulbs, has won 23 consecutive gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Adam Taylor said he was honoured to be appointed to such a prestigious position. “I look forward to working on behalf of our industry with the rest of the board, making sure our voices are heard where needed.”

Taylor’s father, the Rt Hon the Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE, is the government’s chief whip in the House of Lords.

Also, in a statutory appointment, HTA finance director Alex Vick has joined the board with Anne Clark, Martin Simmons and Raoul Curtis-Machin (HTA directors of HR, Operations and Horticulture respectively) joining as executive directors.

All these appointments will be ratified at the HTA AGM which takes place on 6 December at the new HTA offices at Horticulture House, Chilton, Oxfordshire, OX110RN.

Carol Paris, HTA chief executive, said: “We welcome Adam Taylor to the HTA Board as vice president-elect and look forward to his contribution representing growers. Taylors Bulbs is a long established family business and I am sure that Adam will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Furthermore, the additional appointment of HTA directors to the board strengthens our core executive team, enabling us to deliver the very best for our members.”
New HTA report sets out market threats and opportunities
The HTA’s new Garden Market Analysis Report 2016, published this week-end, provides a detailed analysis of market and consumer trends over the past five years that have the potential to change the market in the coming years...

The HTA’s new Garden Market Analysis Report 2016, published this week-end, provides a detailed analysis of market and consumer trends over the past five years that have the potential to change the market in the coming years.

It includes the historical value of the market worth in excess of £5 billion including key categories and reviews what has influenced this. It aims to help businesses to look forward and describes factors that could change or disrupt the way consumers spend on their gardens.

The report is structured into three main sections:

Major market drivers – an exploration of the demographic, political, economic and technological changes that are affecting and will influence the size and structure of the market.

Market structure – an overview of the channels used by consumers and the competitive strategies at play in the market.

Market size trends – the value over time of the market and categories in it, as well as analysing the performance over time of different retail channels and garden spend by age and socio-economic group.

HTA market information manager David Denny, said
: “This report brings together a huge amount of knowledge of the size and prospects of the gardening market. It’s a must read for businesses looking to navigate opportunities and threats that the future holds.”

The report is available to non HTA members for £1,295 plus VAT. It is free to HTA members.

 
HTA Marketing Forum - Maximising Your Potential
The HTA Marketing Forum, with a theme of ‘Maximising Your Potential’, takes place on 8 November 2016 at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire...
Marketing is of vital importance to any business.  But with so many different aspects from market research and advertising to sales promotion, public relations and sales getting the marketing mix right for you can be tricky.

The HTA Marketing Forum, with a theme of ‘Maximising Your Potential’, takes place on 8 November 2016 at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire.

Come along to our one-day event aimed at all those involved in marketing and PR across the garden industry to hear from external speakers, specialists and industry practitioners. There will be plenty of insight, inspiration and top tips in bite sized sessions to ensure you are maximising the potential of your marketing spend.

The programme includes:-

Keynote speaker Mark Palmer, Group Marketing Director for Pret a Manger (and formerly of Burger King and Green & Blacks) looks at the importance of brand and how, at Pret, they focus spending on improving the instore experience rather than spending on traditional media.

Strategy
  • Marketing Consultant Nigel Temple explores the importance of having a marketing strategy and the need for a marketing mindset
  • In conjunction with Horticulture Week, Creative Solutions, Haymarket’s in-house creative agency will provide inspiration and best practice examples demonstrating the value of digital marketing as part of an overall marketing strategy.
Experiential marketing
  • Sally Cornelissen from Burleydam Garden Centre and Alan Down from Cleeve Nursery
  • Show how they use innovative events and community activity to reach out to new audiences.
Instore – the power of visual merchandising
  • Inspiration from outside the industry from ex Liberty visual merchandiser Maxine Groucutt
  • Trend watcher and green stylist Romeo Sommers will talk about using storytelling to help market your products, especially plants.
Maximising social
  • Pete Doyle from Social Retail will provide the latest know how on making the most of social media
  • Wildfire Agency will demonstrate the effectiveness of advertising on social media in reaching new audiences.
On the box
  • Richard Jackson from QVC will look at online shopping and the way in which they often sell large volumes of product at strange times!
  • Matt Young, Executive Producer of Spun Gold (ITV’s Love your Garden), will look at the challenges of getting more gardening on TV.
The event will also incorporate the inaugural GTN Greatest Marketing Awards.

Make sure you don’t miss out! Book your place now at www.hta.org.uk/marketingforum

£149 plus VAT per delegate (HTA members)

£199 plus VAT (Non-members)

For further information about sponsorship opportunities for the event please contact HTA Commercial Manager Tim Bell. Tel: 07808 775177. Email:  tim.bell@hta.org.uk
 
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
with all the news direct to your e-mail inbox...



with all the news direct to your e-mail inbox.  The best news service every weekend and all the breaking news as it happens.

Subscribe for free using this link: http://tgcmc.newsweaver.co.uk/gtnxtra/7rulj2yio7x?a=6&p=49514304&t=20355005
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts...

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2014 as well as 2015 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £195.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for this week are published in GTN Xtra tomorrow (Sunday 9th October)

Highlights of the GTN Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for this week are published in GTN Xtra tomorrow (Sunday 9th October)

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers chart for this week are published in GTN Xtra tomorrow (Sunday 9th October)

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are published in GTN Xtra tomorrow (Sunday 9th October)

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.

 
Get the GTN Bestsellers charts in full every week in the GTN Bestsellers newsletters delivered via the post for only £195.00.

GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnover in excess of £120m.

Use the weekly Garden Products and Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes charts to plan your hotspot and other promotions and ensure you have the right products in stock to satisfy the needs of your customers.

For further information contact karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call 01733 775700.

Buy your subscription today and start receiveing the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.

GTN's Greatest Awards 2016



Catering Awards - June 7th @ HTA Catering Conference
Plant Retailing Awards - June 22nd @ National Plant Show
Outdoor Living Awards - Sept  5th @ spoga+gafa
Garden Centre Awards - Oct 12th @ HTA Garden Futures
Marketing Awards - Nov 8th @ HTA Marketing Forum

Sponsored by














Send your nominations to: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

For sponsorship opportunities contact: mandy.davies@tgcmc.co.uk


An amusing view of the image of the horticultural industry


After GTN's Greatest Garden Retailing Team Awards, David Domoney provides the after dinner entertainment...



Earth in our Hands by David Domoney

After GTN's Greatest Garden Retailing Team Awards, David Domoney provides the after dinner entertainment.

David takes an amusing view of the image of the horticultural industry, some of the best kept secrets that the power of plants have on mankind and the enchantment of gardening on television.



A limited number of places are still available, book now at hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
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