The Blue Diamond Group beat three other bidders to successfully acquire Newbridge Nurseries in the first garden centre sale of 2015...
The Blue Diamond Group beat three other bidders to successfully acquire Newbridge Nurseries in the first garden centre sale of 2015. The deal was completed on Thursday 29th January with the staff being told on Thursday night. Blue Diamond MD, Alan Roper, then spent Friday meeting the teams while the announcements were made to the press.
Earlier today GTN Xtra caught up with Alan who explained the freehold purchase of the Sussex centre from owner Nigel Wait, which takes the current number of Blue Diamond centres up to 17.
“The centres offer is very AB1 – just our (Blue Diamonds) sort of customer. There is an excellent restaurant, built by Jane Wait two years ago, that is already trading at £700k per annum and the planteria is extremely strong with a great team achieving £1.3m turnover.”
Located just outside Horsham, Newbridge Nurseries has current turnover of £4.9m. “There is planning permission in place to extend the shop, which is quite small for the size of centre at the moment. I see us developing it into an £8m to £9m turnover centre,” Alan explained. ”There are 11 acres of available land.”
As to the deal itself, Alan went on to say; “The purchase was secured with our commitment to Barnsfold Nurseries. This was a hotly fought after business with 4 companies bidding. It’s good to know that owners do have ideals when it comes to choosing who to sell to. We were up against 3 other interested parties and are pleased Nigel chose Blue Diamond.”
Nigel Wait is also a partner in Barnsfold Nurseries and that business has not been sold. “We have agreed to maintain the strong relationship between the garden centre and the nursery, especially when it comes to seasonal plants,” Alan continued.
“All our centres work with local bedding growers, so we will be able to extend the Barnsfold relationship to supplying Redfields, Bambridge Park and Wilton House centres.”
“I’m looking forward to returning to Newbridge on Monday to continue my meetings with the teams, explaining how we run our centres and the degree of autonomy we encourage.”
Asked about other developments across the Blue Diamond Group Alan explained that planning permission has gone in for the Leeds site they have been working on for 11 years, building works have started at Trelawney Wadebridge and David Danning told GTN Xtra when we met him at the GCA Conference that site clearing work was underway at Probus in advance of planning permission coming through.
And of the group’s flagship centre in Hampshire Alan reported: “Redfield’s traded really well through November and December after the opening of phase 2. With only word of mouth promotion customer numbers were up by 30%.”
Controversial plans to build a Waitrose supermarket at Van Hage Garden Centre at Great Amwell have been revived. The plans had been withdrawn just hours before East Herts District Council’s planning committee meeting last December...
Controversial plans to build a Waitrose supermarket at Van Hage garden centre at Great Amwell have been revived.
The plans had been withdrawn just hours before East Herts District Council’s planning committee was due to discuss them on December 10 last year. They have now been resubmitted.
Waitrose wants to Waitrose to relocate to Van Hage Great Amwell store when its Bircherley Green shop in Hertford closes in 2016.
"These plans us the opportunity to provide an improved store in the region,” said a Waitrose spokesperson.
Bircherley Green Shopping Centre has been deemed unsuitable for future growth, despite an earmarked £40million revamp by developers Wrenbridge, which includes a supermarket twice the size of the current store.
A website promoting the Van Hage development states the new site would mark an increase of capacity from 12,500 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft.
The retail giant states: “It would not be fair to Hertford or the people the store would employ to progress a scheme which was not viable, as well as operationally challenging, and at risk of closing in the future so it is not an option we are able to consider further.
“Our aspiration has always been to retain a presence in Hertford, but only if we could find a viable opportunity for us to do so, which has not been possible at this time.”
The retailer also claimed the new site would provide it with “a modern branch” with “vastly-improved parking."
Before the withdrawal of the proposal in December, it had been recommended it for refusal.
Council planners had criticised the proposal, stating it would be an “inappropriate development” of the green belt and damage the town centres of Hertford, Ware and Hoddesdon.
But Van Hage's Chris Roberts, says: “I’m feeling quite positive about it, I think there’s a good chance it will be approved, but it depends on the planning officer and the councillors.
“We feel we have been able to address some of the issues that were fed back out. It’s a very solid application and it will be very good for the community and Van Hage.”
Footwear retailer Brantano has reported a 6.6% increase in sales for the year to December 31, as it continues to roll out its garden centre concessions...
Footwear retailer Brantano has reported a 6.6% increase in sales for the year to December 31, as it continues to roll out its garden centre concessions.
Like-for-like sales at the retailer were up 4.8% for the year to December 31. Online sales were up 32% and now account for 6% of total sales at the business.
Brantano opened 20 concessions during the year, predominantly in garden centres including Gates in Oakham, Rutland, and two branches of Wyevale Garden Centres, in Brighton, East Sussex, and Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
The retailer currently has 145 stores and 33 concessions. It plans to open a further 25 concessions, mostly in garden centres but including some department stores, in 2015. The business declined to provide details of the locations.
David Short, managing director of Macintosh Fashion UK, which owns Brantano and Jones Bootmaker, said garden centres had proved to be a perfect fit for the business as it hones in on the lucrative over-50s market, as well as its existing target demographic of mothers with young children and ‘empty nesters’.
“Our ranges are already refined to satisfy these customers,” he explained. “It means we can hit the ground running and we are delivering strong sales in our new concessions from day one.”
Last year Brantano opened two stores, in Cannock, Staffordshire, and Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and closed shops in Sheffield, Exeter, Wrexham, Bradley Stoke and Thurrock.
Perrywood Garden Centre's Kirsty Clark, crowned this week as the Westland/GCA Rising Star of 2014, has urged garden centre staff to take part in this year's programme.
Perrywood Garden Centre's Kirsty Clark, crowned this week as the Westland/GCA Rising Star of 2014, has urged garden centre staff to take part in this year's programme.
Kirsty was voted the Rising Star of 2014 by delegates at the Garden Centre Association Conference in Chester and picked up her award on stage at the Gala Dinner.
The Rising Stars Programme, run by Westland Horticulture and supported by the GCA has been running since 2009.
Its aim is to develop the best new talent in the garden centre industry through a year-long training course facilitated by Ian Boardman, IBBIS Director.
The course helps the Rising Stars understand the importance of merchandising and Ian works with each candidate to show what they could implement at their own garden centre and how to measure results.
Ian said: “I was proud of them all and what they had achieved. Their presentations were very professional and they received great applause and many compliments from the audience. I liked the way they were all cheering each other on and had bonded as a mini team."
Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director for Westland Horticulture, added: “Encouraging new and emerging talent is essential for the future of our industry, bringing fresh ideas and inspiration. That’s why Westland will continue to invest heavily in training for garden centre staff and will once again support the next Rising Stars programme.”
Anyone interested in applying for the 2015 programme should contact the GCA on 0118 930 8918 or visit www.gca.org.uk. The closing deadline is February 25.
Pictured, from left to right: Edward Conroy (Managing Director of Westland Horticulture), Lisa Waim (Rising Star finalist, Haskins Snowhill), Cerys Williams (Rising Star finalist, Perrywood) Kirsty Clark (Rising Star winner, Perrywood), Hannah Mason (Rising Star finalist, Chessington), Matthew Fay (Stewarts Garden-Lands, Christchurch) and John McDowell (Sales Director, Westland Horticulture).
The economy is looking up and oil prices will stay low for up to three years, leading economist Roger Martin-Fagg told the GCA conference this week in a session that left delegates visibly cheered.
The economy is looking up and oil prices will stay low for up to three years, leading economist Roger Martin-Fagg told the GCA conference this week in a session that left delegates visibly cheered.
He said the recent collapse of oil prices represented a bonus of about £600 a year for the average UK family – and the cash would probably be spent. “If you were to get 10% of that, you would have a great year,” he said.
Roger reminded GCA delegates of the close link between house prices and consumer confidence, which had been rising over the past 18 months. There had been a £25 billion increase in mortgage lending in 2014 but there was no chance of another house price bubble; the government wanted to restrict mortgage payments to around 9% of household income.
He was confident interest rates would not rise this year and probably not next and over a period of three to seven years were likely to reach no more than 3%.
Price and wage inflation would remain low for the time being, he said, and retail margins had held up well, even during the economic crisis.
He believed it would not be in the UK’s best interests to leave the EU following a referendum. “The EU needs reform and you have to stay at the table to achieve it,” he said. “It would be a mistake to leave.”
Roger also gave a personal prediction for the General Election in May: a Conservative victory by five or 10 seats.
The Scotts Company has confirmed that it is retaining the services of Simply Sales to continue its sales support for Scotts Solus Brands...
The Scotts Company has confirmed that it is retaining the services of Simply Sales to continue its sales support for Scotts Solus Brands.
Simply Sales’ Gary Martin and Steve Wilkie have been Solus sales agents for several years, covering Scotland, The Borders and Northern Ireland. They will continue to maintain existing service arrangements and build up further sales in these regions. They will provide additional sales support to Bruce Willox and Christine Jarvis in Scotland and Chris Ross and Colin Reddick in Northern Ireland.
Gary and Steve will be able to take product orders across the whole Scotts portfolio – both Scotts Solus Brands and Scotts Miracle-Gro products.
Gary says: “We’re delighted to be joining up with the world’s leading supplier to the Garden Industry and we’re excited about the innovation, marketing and quality products that Scotts Miracle-Gro are renowned for. Seeing these qualities come into the Solus brands is extremely pleasing for us moving forward and the signs are already very positive.
“Signing up with Scotts Miracle-Gro and handling the Solus brands we know so well, will give our customers confidence moving forward, and continuity of service with the current portfolio.”
Scottish and Northern Irish customers can contact the following for any product and retailer support:
Garden lighting products have shone brightly in this week’s GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart with Smart Solar Fluted Stake Light being the highest climber...
Garden lighting products have shone brightly in this week’s GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart.
Smart Solar Fluted Stake Light is the highest climber, moving up 19 places to No 5.
Gardman Solar Black Nickel Glass Marker Light is the highest re-entry.
Gardman Coach Wall Light is the highest new entry.
Another new entry is the Gardman Gard Tool 6 in 1 Multi Purpose Hand Tool (below).
The age old problem of gardeners knowing which secateurs to purchase to meet their particular needs has been solved by the innovative marketing team at Crest Garden...
The age old problem of gardeners knowing which secateurs to purchase to meet their particular needs has been solved by the innovative marketing team at Crest Garden.
In one simple move they have created a compact display module which explains exactly why there are different types of secateurs and what each one is used for. The Kent & Stowe ‘Secateurs Station’ incorporates six styles of secateurs with a description of each model.
The module has modest dimensions of 70x50x21cm which means that it can be securely sited near a checkout or customer service desk. The robust metal stand is powder coated with printed header and side panels.
Commenting on this simple yet effective and educational display technique Colin Smart, Commercial Director said “We aim to have a point of difference in everything that we do. Our research indicated that that there was a real need to bring clarity to the secateurs sector to ensure that gardeners select the correct type to meet their particular needs.”
Kent & Stowe secateurs are designed in the UK and manufactured to exacting standards from high quality materials.
The hand crafted secateurs have a premium cutting action with added cutting strength. The Bypass, Anvil and Swivel models have precision ground blades and are produced from heat treated SK5 carbon steel.
The endorsement ‘Built on tradition, Crafted for life’ is supported by a full 5 year manufacturer’s guarantee. The Secateurs Station is included in the Crest Garden Spring Promotions.
The range is available from the end of February with RRP’s from £9.99 to £19.99.
Nicky Moffat,CBE, former director of HR and the highest ranking female officer during a 27-year career in the British Army, shared her secrets of good leadership with delegates in a compelling presentation...
Nicky Moffat,CBE, former director of HR and the highest ranking female officer during a 27-year career in the British Army, shared her secrets of good leadership with delegates in a compelling presentation.
She was the only woman to reach the rank of Brigadier - the other 200 were men – battling against initial low self-belief and prejudiced attitudes to earn the respect of “my soldiers”.
She said the key lessons she had learned included:
Develop knowledge-based self-confidence – being able to answer questions correctly makes you more credible
Be clear where you are heading – and have a clear vision
Make well-considered and timely decisions
Set the highest attainable standards and then lead by example
Give clear directions – you are far more likely to get results when you communicate effectively
Empower your workers – with a ‘what, not how’ approach
Build your teams and develop your people
Be balanced, consistent and fair
Celebrate success and value everyone’s contribution.
Nicky used a video from the Australian Army to illustrate the power of clear leadership which included the line: "The standards you walk past are the standards you accept."
After launching the Glovies for Garden Re-Leaf Day idea with a world record attempt at the GCA Conference 2015, Glovies are now being reported across Europe.
GTN Xtra has just recceived this latest batch of Glovies captured at Christmas World in Frankfurt and at Frankfurt airport.
Getting a Greenfingers Glove into a selfie or any other picture is one of the ideas being used to get maximum publicity for Garden ReLeaf Day 2015 on March 27th.
Garden centres are reminded to register their Garden ReLeaf Day activities with the Greenfingers team so that they can be included in all of the national press publicity which will be generated at the upcoming Garden Press Event.
Boyd told GTN Xtra; "I have managed to go through the whole conference without really highlighting Briers support for the Glovies campaign. If it hadn't been for the beer they bought me last November the idea would never have been born!"
See Glovies from the GCA Conference on the gallery below and watch out for a Glovies Special Issue of GTN Xtra in the next few days - we'll publish all of the Glovies we've received so far. If you have a Glovie to add, please send to trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk.
Cowells of Newcastle and Barton Grange Brock have retained their grip on the GCA’s Garden Centre of the Year Awards, announced last night by comedian host Justin Moorhouse...
Cowells of Newcastle and Barton Grange Brock have retained their grip on the GCA’s Garden Centre of the Year Awards, announced last night by comedian host Justin Moorhouse
Cowells were nominated Garden Centre of the Year for the fourth time, with Garden Wise and The Old Railway Line centres runners-up. Barton Grange won ther Destination Garden Centre of the Year title, also their fourth, against competition from Bents Garden & Home and Burston Rose & Garden Centre.
The other eight centres making up this year’s Top 10 Garden Centres of Excellence in the GCA’s annual inspections audit were: Ayletts, Bents, Burston, Garden Wise, Perrywood, Poplars, Simpsons and Squires Twickenham.
Martin Cowell dedicated his award to his later grandmother, who died earlier this month. “She brought up me and my two sisters while mum and dad were building up the business – this is for her,” he said.
It was unbelievable, Martin said, to have won the award four times in five years. “I feel so humble to have won this again,” he said.
Barton Grange managing director Guy Topping said: It is just amazing. To win this four times is something else, not something we would ever have dreamed of. Seeing the quality of retail this year, we didn’t think we were going to win this year.
“My team are getting nervous now, they see the rest of you closing in on us. You are all our inspiration, you drive us on, you give us confidence to do what we do at Brock.
Guy praised the quality of this year’s conference, the second organized by Will Armitage during his year of office as chairman. “The team have been so fired up by the speakers we have heard,” he said. “For Will to have put on a second conference of this quality of remarkable.”
The entire Barton Grange delegation took the stage for the presentation of the trophy – all except one have worked at the centre since the Brock site opened.
Sunday's Roman Games challenge and Race Night together with a chartity auction on the GCA Conference Gala Dinner raised a massive £13,000 for Greenfingers...
Sunday's Roman Games challenge and Race Night together with a chartity auction on the GCA Conference Gala Dinner raised a massive £13,000 for Greenfingers...
Some £9,500 was raised on Sunday and another £3,500 last night when tickets for a celebrity dinner at Clifton Nurseries and a week's holiday on the Barton Grange Narrow Boat on the Llangollen Canal were auctioned.
Squire’s Garden Centres presented cheques totalling £13,454 to various charities across the South East. The donations were collected from customers who made charity donations in return for a free visit to Santa at Squire’s centres during the Christmas period.
Squire’s Garden Centres presented cheques totalling £13,454 to various charities across the South East, including The National Autistic Society, Princess Alice Hospice and Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospice.
The donations were collected from customers who made charity donations in return for a free visit to Santa at Squire’s centres during the Christmas period.
Shoppers were generous with their pounds and were more than happy to see well deserving and progressive local charities benefit from their donations.
“Our free grotto was incredibly popular and it was great to see our customers show their appreciation,” said Sarah Squire, Deputy Chairman at Squire’s.
“Our garden centre staff make their own choice when it comes to which charity to support through the grotto and we certainly agree that each local charity selected very much deserved the wonderful support shown by the local community.”
The generosity didn’t just end with the free grotto donations; three of the centres invited their local charity to exclusive previews of the new Magical Grotto Experience with Magic show, and the new Christmas Circus Extravaganza which took place at Squire’s Garden Centre in Washington. Fun was had by all those who attended the events and it certainly kick started a memorable festive season.
Lastly a charity tombola was organised by Squire’s Garden Centre in Shepperton which took place during the festive shopper evening. A fantastic sum of money was raised and it was great to see the team at Shepperton put their creative fund raising ideas into action.
Squire's Badshot Lea picked two Greatest Christmas Awards, organised by GTN, earlier in January.
Over £10,000 was raised on the eve of the Garden Centre Association Winter Conference at Carden Park in Cheshire when a team of garden centres (Pansies) took on a side made up of suppliers (Cabbages) in the 5th Annual Greenfingers Challenge Cup.
Over £10,000 was raised on the eve of the Garden Centre Association Winter Conference at Carden Park in Cheshire when a team of garden centres (Pansies) took on a side made up of suppliers (Cabbages) in the 5th Annual Greenfingers Challenge Cup.
The event, made up of a series of fun events followed by a race night and auction was the curtain-raiser for the two-day conference, with all the proceeds going the industry's charity, Greenfingers.
And it was the Cabbages team captained by Danny Adamson, which took the honours.
The Greenfingers Challenge Cup took a Roman Games theme, with events including: Hadrian's Fort Building Chariot Racing Caligula's Road Building Maximus Sling Shot Titus Tug o War Hostillian Football
Sponsors for the event were: Cadix, William Sinclair, Handy Distribution, Deco Pak, Forest Garden, Westland, Brier's, Taylor's Bulbs, Woodlodge Pots, Karcher and La Hacienda.
The final amount raised from the day will be announced at the GCA Annual Dinner on Tuesday night. Sarah Loveri, of Greenfingers, said: "It has been a fantastic day. The amount of money from this one event is outstanding, simply incredible."
Horticultural celebrities from TV and radio are busy recording questions for the 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz at the moment, and garden centres who sign up to take part in what is set to be the biggest and best quiz yet can take advantage of the ‘early bird’ entry fee of just £50 - if they sign up before 1st January 2015...
Horticultural celebrities from TV and radio are busy recording questions for the 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz at the moment, and garden centres who sign up to take part in what is set to be the biggest and best quiz yet can take advantage of the ‘early bird’ entry fee of just £50 - if they sign up before 1st January 2015.
Popular stars of TV and radio Christine Walkden and Chris Beardshaw are currently recording questions for the quiz, along with their BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time colleague Eric Robson and BBC weatherman Peter Gibbs. Other well-known gardening experts such as Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness, Matthew Biggs and Matthew Wilson (Greenfingers Chairman) are also contributing to the esteemed quiz.
All monies raised from the quiz, with questions this year written by Andy Bunker of Altons Garden Centre and produced in the studios of Garden Radio, will once again go to the Greenfingers ‘Rosy Cheeks’ campaign. The campaign aims to provide much needed gardens for children who spend time in hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating inspiring gardens and outdoor spaces for them to relax in and enjoy.
The 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz is available to all garden centres, gardening societies and other organisations and is the perfect way to participate in the fourth, annual Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day, which takes place on 27th March 2015.
For the £50 early bird rate (£100 after 1st January 2015) participants will receive a pack containing all they need to host the quiz – it includes a special CD or Mp3 download of pre-recorded questions (and answers) to play to the audience, everything needed for the picture round, and a bonus pack of fundraising ideas, hints and tips.
Bosworth’s Garden Centre in Burton Latimer were one of the many garden centres that received great interest in last year’s Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz. Marketing Co-ordinator, Jonathan Biggs, said: “The quiz was so easy to run, our teams were delighted to hear celebrities’ voices asking the questions, and the ‘heads and tails’ game was great fun.”
Garden centres wanting to take part should register on the Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day website, and can also take advantage of free publicity for their events, by filling in the simple form online at www.gardenreleaf.co.uk/register-an-event. Once registered, each individual event appears on the site’s ‘events’ section, and is searchable by area to help the public find their local participating garden centre.
The quiz is just one of many ways to raise funds for Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day. Other retailer participation ideas include in-store sponsored cycle rides, as well as fun family day activities such as making cress heads and sowing Sunflowers – the Home Garden Association’s plant of the year for 2015. Suppliers can also get involved with the Loose Change promotion.
To ensure maximum exposure for your event, make sure to register soon via www.gardenreleaf.co.uk/register-an-event. To order your 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day quiz pack, explore other opportunities for supporting the 2015 event as a supplier, or participate as a retailer, email info@gardenreleaf.co.uk.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and experienced Retail Manager to join the Blue Diamond Group. We are currently recruiting for a Centre Manager for St Peters Garden Centre in Jersey.
Blue Diamond Group is one of the UK’s largest Garden Centre Groups, turning over £70m annually with centres throughout the UK and in the Channel Islands.
Whilst having responsibility for the management of the Garden Centre, the successful candidate will be able to recognise sales trends in detail from our reports package and use this information to improve sales performance and the profitability of the through replenishment and merchandising.
Only candidates with retail management experience and commercial skills will be considered, in order to ensure that sales are driven and that the level of service exceeds customer expectations.
The salary is dependent upon experience, however up to £50,000 plus benefits.
Should you require any further information regarding this role, or wish to apply for the position, please contact the HR department on recruitment@bluediamond.gg
Are you a talented, experienced, business-focused account manager?
Do you have a proven track record in developing long-term, profitable relationships with customers?
Are you a strong team player - someone who can bring fresh ideas, excellent communication skills and plenty of energy to an already dynamic sales team?
Are you hungry to take your career to the next level within a fast-growing family-owned business?
STV, the UK's leading supplier of pest control products to garden and hardware stores, is looking to recruit an experienced Key Accounts Manager with an impressive contacts book and extensive knowledge of the UK homes and gardens sector.
This office based role is exciting and varied. You will be expected to:
manage and develop selected national accounts in line with STV’s overall business plan
build on STV's existing category-leading position
work with senior managers and STV's commercial team to contribute to the overall sales, marketing and NPD strategies
provide accurate but challenging revenue, volume and profit forecasts – and achieve them
Think you can do that? Then we’d love to hear from you. Send your CV and covering letter to marketing@stvpestcontrol.com. A full job description is available on request.
My client is a large independent garden centre with an excellent reputation in the industry.
They are currently looking for a talented horticulturist with good retail experience to join their team.
You will be responsible for leading a team in the shrub area of the plantarea, and will be responsible for maintaining quality of both the customer service and the plants.
The planteria team must have excellent plant knowledge and would be able to potentially cover other areas outside of shrubs.
For a confidential discussion, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #6291
Garden Glows, a Trans-Continental Group brand, will in 2015 launch the ‘Fairy Dwellings’ Collection of garden ornaments. These solar-powered decorative fairy houses have equal appeal in the daytime and evening...
Garden Glows, a Trans-Continental Group brand, will in 2015 launch the ‘Fairy Dwellings’ Collection of garden ornaments.
These decorative fairy houses have equal appeal in the daytime and evening.
With incredible detail, they are solar powered; capturing the sunlight, internal LEDs illuminate at dusk, creating the enchanting effect that they are inhabited.
A brand new twist for fairy houses, currently Fairy Dwellings are the first of their kind.
Each has been designed with a specific character in mind: Petal Flamewand, Meadow Corndancer, Rain Pepperfilter to name but a few.
There are 10 complementary designs in the collection including a thatched house, logs, boots, mushrooms, apple and squash, providing countless in-store merchandising opportunities.
Each Fairy Dwelling comes perfectly presented for the gift market and is beautifully illustrated with the Fairy that makes it her home. It’s planned that the collection will be further developed in 2015 and expanded for 2016 with additional ornaments to create a ‘Fairyland’ in the garden.
Customers and suppliers of Earlswood Plants in Solihull are being assured that there will be a seamless transfer of business when the firm goes into dormancy this month. The retail plant side of the business will be taken on by the White family, who will sell plants to the general public through Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre, and the wholesale cash and carry will be transferred to Wyevale Nurseries.
Customers and suppliers of Earlswood Plants in Solihull are being assured that there will be a seamless transfer of business when the firm goes into dormancy this month.
The retail plant side of the business will be taken on by the White family, who will sell plants to the general public through Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre, and the wholesale cash and carry will be transferred to Wyevale Nurseries.
Heather Williamson (pictured), Joint Chairman of Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford, said: “Earlswood Plants, which also trades as Greenline Plants, will cease trading and all creditors will be paid in full and within the normal terms of business.
“The company was set up in 2009 as a 50/50 partnership between Wyevale Nurseries and Innocenti & Mangoni Piante in Italy.
“The decision has been made to put Earlswood Plants in to dormancy primarily due to a significant change to how landscape and garden design customers buy from nurseries, with the emphasis moving to email and online purchasing and deliveries direct to client sites rather than collecting from a cash and carry. Our aim is to find better solutions for our customers.
“We want to meet our customer demands and it seems fitting to split the business. The retail plant side of Earlswood Plants will be handed back to the White family, who will trade plants through Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre and intend to further develop the retail site.
“Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre understands its retail customer base in detail and will be able to offer a more coherent service to its customers.
“The cash and carry side of Earlswood Plants will be transferred to our Head Office in Hereford and the Wyevale Nurseries Landscape & Amenity sales team will pick up the Earlswood Plants wholesale accounts.
“By running the wholesale business from Wyevale Nurseries customers will benefit from our dedicated sales team, a much wider selection of plants and our own distribution. We aim to offer customers equal, if not a better, range and to continue the excellent service levels provided by the team at Earlswood Plants.”
Earlswood Garden Centre & Landscape Centre was established in 1996 by Steve and Dave White. It specialises in landscape materials, sheds and garden buildings with a range of top quality fencing panels and garden sheds manufactured on the premises.
Dave White, Managing Director at Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre, added: “It is business as usual for Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre and we will continue to strengthen the retail plants side going forward.”
Wyevale Nurseries is one of the largest family-run wholesale nurseries in the UK. It was established in 1928 by Harry Williamson. It continues to be a family-run business with ownership and joint chairmanship currently being held by the third generation, Heather and Simeon Williamson.
Wyevale Nurseries has a significant product range and is regularly introducing new plants. It offers a large variety of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants to garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners.
For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk.
Stewart Garden has launched its 2015 catalogue. Slicker and sharper than ever before, the catalogue is bursting with new launches, colours and shapes. Ranges include grow your own products, watering, pots, propagators, garden accessories and sundries.
Stewart Garden, the gardening division of UK manufacturer, Stewart Group Holdings, has launched its 2015 catalogue.
Slicker and sharper than ever before, the Stewart Garden 2015 catalogue is bursting with new launches, colours and shapes. Ranges include grow your own products, watering, pots, propagators, garden accessories and sundries.
There are three new planter collections featured for the coming season. For the contemporary garden consumer both Tall Vase and Moroccan ranges will bring style and modern design. The addition of the new Lead Effect range caters for more traditional consumers with classic lines and timeless styling. On trend with the up and coming colours highlighted in the Pantone Fashion Colour Report - Spring 2015, new colours of light blue and cherry are added to the Essentials planters range to bring further fresh and inspirational ideas for 2015.
Stewart Garden manufactures all of its planters from quality plastic at its state of the art factory in Banbury. Exacting quality control processes ensures they’re strong, durable and guaranteed to withstand testing weather conditions. Stewart Garden provides eye-catching point-of-sale and store-specific merchandising advice for all retailers. The catalogue features the dedicated merchandising solutions that are available for each range in order to help retailers chose the right display vehicle for their store.
Speaking about the new catalogue, Gavin Wray, channel manager at Stewart Garden said: “The latest Stewart Garden catalogue is an all-encompassing guide for our retailers, featuring many new products for 2015. Now 70 years strong, Stewart Group Holdings has the products, the expertise and the knowledge necessary to help retailers grow their businesses in 2015 and beyond.”
Stewart Garden plays an active role in the gardening and leisure industry through its membership of:
•GIMA – the Garden Industry Manufacturers Association
•Gardenex – the Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers
•HTA – the Horticultural Trades Association
In 2011, Stewart Garden’s Heat and Grow Thermostatic Propagator came top in the Which? Gardening Best Buy windowsill propagators test. In 2013, the company won the Supplier Partnership award for Ancillary Machinery at the Plastics Industry Awards for its work with Summit Systems.
Jack’s Magic from Westland has completed its domination of the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media chart for January. Last year it was the No 1 bestselling line all the way through to February and this year has been the same...
Jack’s Magic from Westland has completed its domination of the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media chart for January. Last year it was the No 1 bestselling line all the way through to February and this year has been the same.
Other strong performers:
Westland Large Potato and Veg Planter is the highest climber, rising 25 places to No 15.
The ‘Organic Instant’ version is the highest re-entry.
Scotts Miracle-Gro All Purpose Compost (56 litres) and Westland Growbag are other products returning to the Top 50 bestsellers.
Arthur Bowers John Innes Seed has seen sales double in the past week.
A fine-cutting Bypass Lopper and a stainless steel Cut-n-Hold Pruner are the latest trappings to be added to Darlac’s extensive range of gardening tools...
A fine-cutting Bypass Lopper and a stainless steel Cut-n-Hold Pruner are the latest trappings to be added to Darlac’s extensive range of gardening tools.
Fine Bypass Lopper
Featuring as part of Darlac’s Expert Range, this handy little lopper really is the crème de la crème when it comes to quality. The head is manufactured from drop forged aluminium giving it the quality look and feel it deserves.
The SK5 high carbon tool steel blade has been designed to cut up to an impressive 25mmmaking it the perfect alternative to secateurs when gripping and squeezing is proving difficult.
The aluminium oval shaped handles make it really light and easy to use - in fact, the overall weight of this classy looking lopper is just a mere 458 grams, which is guaranteed to be a huge selling point, especially amongst the ladies!
Like all Darlac tools these loppers come packaged on blister card, with brightly coloured eye catching point-of-sale instructions for in-store display as well as a ‘Try-Me’ option for consumers.
RRP: £25.00
Cut-n-Hold Pruner
The Cut-n-Hold Pruner is ideal for deadheading and collecting flowers for home use or creating a spectacular floral display. The stainless steel gripper is self-adjusting and suitable for live growth up to an astonishing 15mm. Just the ticket for prickly roses, holly etc.
Its bright red ergonomic shaped handle, makes it easy to hold and alleviates any possibility of getting lost amongst the foliage.
This too, is presented on blister packed cardboard with brightly coloured point-of-sale instructions for in-store display and again has a Try-me option available for consumers.
A new APL Market Update report has been launched specifically aimed at landscapers and designers. This report will be available quarterly and covers economic updates as well as industry news relevant to members in this sector of the industry.
A new APL Market Update report has been launched specifically aimed at landscapers and designers. This report will be available quarterly and covers economic updates as well as industry news relevant to members in this sector of the industry.
The report is presented in two sections; part one covers the state of trade, economic updates and industry news, and part two focuses on a specific topic of interest to landscapers.
For the first edition of APL Market Update this topic looks at the results of a recent APL survey on typical day rates of hire of different types of equipment.
Average equipment costs for a day’s hire were calculated from the survey responses and the results aim to give landscapers an ‘at-a-glance’ way of benchmarking their costs against others.
HTA Market Information Manager David Denny comments: “We are really excited to provide this new tailored resource for landscapers and designers. We want to give APL members the market information they need to save costs and increase sales and we hope that this will be a useful first step.”
HTA ahave announced they will be exhibiting at Spring Fair, at the Birmingham NEC....
HTA ahave announced they will be exhibiting at Spring Fair, at the Birmingham NEC.
HTA have always had a presence at the key gardening shows such as Glee and Four Oaks but with the Spring Fair being such an important show for garden centre retailers and suppliers, the HTA want to be available for the membership and will have a stand in Hall 2, no 2C37.
HTA staff will be on hand to provide information and Point Of Sale on National Garden Gift Vouchers and the opportunities around gifting that the scheme provides along with the wider benefits of HTA membership.
HTA will have a lounge area where all members will be welcome to come along to have meetings, discussions or just a well earned break with refreshments. With the ever increasing size of the show some workspace to review what has been seen, check figures and plan ranging will prove useful to members.
HTA will also be promoting 'Love the Plot you've Got' the Garden Industry Marketing Board's cross industry promotion, providing a good opportunity for garden retailers to find out more information on the promotion and how they can get involved.
There will also be information available on the HTA CRoP partners, strategic partners who work with HTA members to save money whether helping to reduce credit card rates, save on utility bills, waste services, packaging, H&S, compliance and in a host of other areas.
To register and receive your free ticket for Spring Fair, please visit www.springfair.com
“It’s an intensive process, but extremely rewarding,” said Simon McArdle. “And viewers will pay attention, for sure...”
William Sinclair Horticulture has finished location shooting in South Africa of the launch TV commercials for its new Growing Success GrowQube® tomato planter and Deadfast 4L RTU weedkiller spray.
The 30 second commercials will start to air on March 26 and the campaign will run until the end of June – including prime time slots on ITV1, Channel 4 and several Sky channels. It required a production team of 75 people to complete the week-long shoot in Capetown under the direction of Sinclair Marketing Director, Simon McArdle.
Local production company, Groundglass first had to find a garden location without tropical or native plants so that it could be made to look like a natural English garden.
Erica Brumage who directed the GrowQube® video, said: “I wanted to capture a little girl’s delight in the joy of growing her own tomatoes and I’m sure the final cut will stir the emotions of a British audience.”
The Deadfast Weedkiller commercial required a different approach. Director Ari kruger was commissioned to bring the effectiveness of the product to life using a complex mix of live action and CGI special effects. He said: “The Deadfast brief called for drama and excitement,” he said, “and viewers will pay attention, for sure.”
“It’s an intensive process, but extremely rewarding,” said Simon McArdle. “Winter filming requires that we follow the sun to the Western Cape of South Africa. It’s a big investment but we anticipate it will be returned with interest when these new products hit the shelves. The agency, production company and the directors have exceeded all our expectations.”
Creative and media work was done by Jola Jackson from Sinclair’s London agency, Premier Communications. “We approached this brief in a very innovative way,” she said, “and this enabled us to give our clients exceptional results and value for money.”
Martin Breddy has left Scotts in a company restructure, which sees Sheila Hill become UK General Manager...
Martin Breddy (above) has left Scotts in a company restructure, which sees Sheila Hill (right) become UK General Manager.
The Scotts International Business Unit has restructured and, as a result, all European and Asia-Pacific countries, including The Scotts Company (UK) Ltd, will now report directly to the company’s USA headquarters, rather than the previous system – via the International Head Office in Lyon, France.
In practice, this means that the UK division will now be able to independently make its own trading decisions, which ensures that all decision-making is faster.
A statement from the company read:
"For our trade customers, there will be no change – it’s business as usual – actually, it will be better! The changes will enable us to better meet the needs of our customers and the consumer.
"Our 2015 operational plan is in progress and we’re excited by the opportunity for our new products to drive new sales opportunities for both our customers and for Scotts. There are no changes to our supply chain, and we will continue to provide excellent service levels to all our customers.
"These changes do mean, sadly, that Martin Breddy has left the company. Martin’s role as Scotts Miracle-Gro’s VP and General Manager of the UK and Asia Pacific spanned two worldwide regions. Martin leaves us on a high in his personal career, having been pivotal to the thriving position of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the UK, culminating in the highly successful acquisition of the Solus business last year. We wish Martin every success in his new ventures."
Sheila Hill has replaced Martin as UK General Manager, so the company is in very safe hands moving forward. Sheila has worked for Scotts Miracle-Gro for many years. She started 18 years ago as Lawns Brand Manager. More recently, her role was Vice President and International Marketing Lead, working on new product development, strategy and marketing plans across all the European countries.
There are no changes to our local sales and marketing teams, which continue to be led by Rainer Schubert and Paula Parker respectively.
Sheila says: “I am delighted to take the baton from Martin and lead the UK business. I have been fortunate to stay close to the UK business in my international marketing roles, and know it and many of our key customers very well. I look forward to immersing myself in the UK business and am lucky to have the support of the existing UK Management Team to continue to drive the business forward. The UK is already the star performer in the Scotts’ portfolio and with these changes we will drive even more value for the consumer as well as greater growth for our customers as well as for Scotts.”
Garden RELEAF is looking good "down under" with around 100 Garden Centres participating around Australia...
Garden RELEAF is looking good with around 100 Garden Centres participating around Australia.
Key suppliers are being very supportive too. Leigh Siebler reports "this will be a major promotion for garden centres in Australia and Jeff Kennett from beyondblue is working closely with us on publicity."
The HTA will be holding Cost Reduction Programme (CRoP) Clinics at the end of February, where HTA members can meet CRoP partners and learn how to reduce costs to their business. Garden Radio is one of the partners taking part in the clinics...
The HTA will be holding Cost Reduction Programme (CRoP) Clinics at the end of February, where HTA members can meet CRoP partners and learn how to reduce costs to their business.
Two free events will take place over two days providing the opportunity for members to network, meet their Regional Business Manager and find out about the savings available to them through their HTA membership.
CRoP partners including 2Circles, Alpha Packaging, B2B Links, Barclaycard, Citation, Ecovision, Garden Radio, HTA Utilities, Paskett PR, SWR and HTA Insurance will present their business offers and will also be available to chat one-to-one with members.
Members are advised to bring bills and statements in order to make the most of this opportunity to save money and reduce their business costs.
A free lunch will be provided by the venue for attendees at the events which take place on:
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 2012 as well as 2013 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.
Access is by subscription only. For £145.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most upto 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.
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 £145.00.
GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnoiver 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.
“The centres offer is very AB1 – just our (Blue Diamonds) sort of customer. There is an excellent restaurant, built by Jane Wait two years ago, that is already trading at £700k per annum and the planteria is extremely strong with a great team achieving £1.3m turnover.”
But Van Hage's Chris Roberts, says: “I’m feeling quite positive about it, I think there’s a good chance it will be approved, but it depends on the planning officer and the councillors.
After launching the Glovies for Garden Re-Leaf Day idea with a world record attempt at the GCA Conference 2015, Glovies are now being reported across Europe.
Squire’s Garden Centres presented cheques totalling £13,454 to various charities across the South East, including The National Autistic Society, Princess Alice Hospice and Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospice.
Horticultural celebrities from TV and radio are busy recording questions for the 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz at the moment, and garden centres who sign up to take part in what is set to be the biggest and best quiz yet can take advantage of the ‘early bird’ entry fee of just £50 - if they sign up before 1st January 2015...
The 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz is available to all garden centres, gardening societies and other organisations and is the perfect way to participate in the fourth, annual Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day, which takes place on 27
Customers and suppliers of Earlswood Plants in Solihull are being assured that there will be a seamless transfer of business when the firm goes into dormancy this month. 
Fine Bypass Lopper
Cut-n-Hold Pruner
“It’s an intensive process, but extremely rewarding,” said Simon McArdle. “Winter filming requires that we follow the sun to the Western Cape of South Africa. It’s a big investment but we anticipate it will be returned with interest when these new products hit the shelves. The agency, production company and the directors have exceeded all our expectations.”
Martin Breddy (above) has left Scotts in a company restructure, which sees Sheila Hill (right) become UK General Manager.
