Woof woof! GTN Newshound here…..yes, I’m back, but to tell you the truth, I’ve been so busy sleuthing this Dobbies thing, I’m seriously cream-crackered, so you may have to take what follows with a large pinch of salt (make that a sackful!!).

The call to duty came down the dog and bone (no, I’m not keen on it either, but if that’s what people want to call it, who am I to argue….grrrrr) last Saturday evening as Rule the World went first past the post at Aintree  (at 33-1 wot! A good day for some, yours truly included, but not the boss, who had piled a pony behind the joint favourite. Many Clouds? You bet there were...But as I told him, a weak punt gets what it deserves in the Grand National). “Quick as you like, get down to the Dog and Duck, I’ve got a job for you.” [If it had been the Fox & Hounds, I wasn’t budging]

Anyway, after the boss had paid for the round he thought was going to be funded by his winnings, I felt a nudge in the ribs from his left Hush Puppy (I know, I know…so-oo degrading). He looked me straight in the eye (with his ‘good’ one, the one he used at the bookies…) and droned, in a tone I can only describe as ‘gambler’s gutteral’: “Well, I suppose we’d better move on…it’s the Dobbies Steeplechase next. We’ll nail it this time, won’t we Hound?”

That was the moment I knew it was going to be one helluva a week. My mission: check out the runners and riders – and pick a winner. I winced and whined in a whinging sort of way. “Dear God [dog spelt backwards, geddit?], it can’t be that difficult, can it?”

Boss, no amount of tail-wagging will stop these guys slamming the door on me as soon as I show up. “Sorry…we never comment on speculation”. Grrrr and double-grrrr.

So that’s how I came to spend the week pounding the pavements with my ear to the ground, nose in the air, sniffing out all I could about the names on the racecard. So….woof woof!...here goes:

Runner: Wyevale Garden Centres. Rider: new jockey Roger McLaughlan. Clearly starts as odds-on favourite, with many successful runs over jumps – but will the newcomer at the reins persuade the trainer it’s worth taking on at this critical juncture in the equity cycle, with its own sale perhaps just around the next bend?

Runner: The Current Management Team. Rider: experienced garden industry jock Andy King (right), CEO under Tesco since September 2013. An MBO by the people who know the business best should not be ruled out – if they can find the right partner. Freedom from corporate restraints could re-kindle enough latent entrepreneurialism to stay the course.

Runner: A New Partnership. Rider: former Dobbies CEO James Barnes. An investment banker by background, Barnes ran Dobbies from 1989 until 2013. He shaped the garden centre chain we now see, led an MBO in 1994, floated the company on the AIM in 1997 and negotiated the sale to Tesco in 2007.  He has since acquired many business interests, the latest of which is Farm Park Ltd, which is involved in developing, investing in, and advising on the creation of niche destination retail leisure enterprises based around food and local provenance – the right nosebag flavour for the garden centre industry’s current major trends. Could that give him an appetite for a re-visit?

Runner: Another New Partnership. Rider: former Wyevale/The Garden Centre Group CE Nicholas Marshall. Those close to him say he retains a passionate belief in the future of garden retailing – and the recent interest he expressed in acquiring Homebase made reference to further enhacing the DIY chain’s gardening credentials. He was beaten to the post that time – but he might regard a fully-formed garden centre chain like Dobbies as a great second prize.

Runner: The Hillview Group.  Rider: CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies and his investors have built, by acquisition, a chain of nine moderately-sized garden centres since 2011 and they are hell-bent on expansion – but probably not at any price. Dobbies, with its head office infrastructure a potential jump too far, might prove a tricky and expensive add-on for them and steer them away from what they’re good at – adaptable local retailing.

Runner: Blue Diamond.  Rider: CEO Alan Roper. (left) Although frequently critical of ‘formula retailers’ like Dobbies, he will be attracted by some of the chain’s prime locations and will surely identify opportunities to add his own ‘points of difference’. If he believes he can emulate the success of Redfields or the re-launched Trentham and bring Dobbies back into consistent profit, he might try to persuade his board that a super-group of 50-plus garden centres – the UK’s second largest – is within sight of the post.

Runner: B&Q  Rider: CEO Michael Loeve . An unlikely starter. Parent company Kingfisher will have enough on its plate fighting off the party below without a tiring and commercially distracting chase like this.

Runner: Bunnings. Rider: Richard Goyder, MD of Aussie institution Wesfarmers, who bought Homebase earlier this year. However, the proposed re-branding of Homebase under the Bunnings brand will be an expensive affair with a drag-on for investors for the next few years, so they may want to keep the blinkers on, with Wickes and B&Q in their sights.

Runner: John Lewis Partnership. Rider: either Andy Street, MD of John Lewis, or Rob Collins, MD of Waitrose. On the face of it, the customer profiles of both business would be a good fit for Dobbies and on a number of sites would bring them face to face with arch rivals Tesco. Would they be able to make it work any better than Tesco has done?

Runner: Next plc. Rider: Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise. Under the Tory life peer’s leadership, Next has forged ahead with a series of Home & Garden stores, warmly received by customers by all accounts. The out-of-town locations of most Dobbies centres might give the baron ideas about how Next can further extend its reach. They could make a last-minute appearance on the racecard.

Runner: Haskins Group Rider: Warren Haskins. The Haskins group, currently has four high-turnover sites in the south and says it wants more. Chairman Warren Haskins, whose great grandfather Harry Haskins first started growing plants commercially in Poole in 1882, may look on a bid for Dobbies as the perfect growth accelerator. Having sold the Hobbycraft chain in 2015, his personal wealth is listed at £115m on the Sunday Times Rich List – but would he risk any of it on Dobbies?

And there we have it, my little Dobbie-watchers. Enough hounding for one week, so now I’m off to spend my winnings….yes, I put a sneaky 10p on Rule the World to win. Perhaps the butcher will let me have two for that much! See you on race day. Woof woof!

The need to inspire and educate the consumer to encourage spend has never been greater and with POS merchandising being an intrinsic part of this process Meadow View have re-designed their entire POS collection around this concept. 

All their POS now features awe-inspiring lifestyle shots of their products featured in simple effective schemes which have been designed to inspire the consumer, and strongly promote cross sales into other relating product areas.

These engaging photos have been created to encourage the consumer to not only buy gravel but rockery stone, pebbles, cobbles and even plants. 

This innovative POS is further aided by all the featured products’ suitability and benefits being listed in easy to read and legible fonts on each product board. Alongside this there are imperial and metric quantity tables, meaning all the relevant information is listed concisely in one place, to make the buying process effortless and instantaneous.

Each board also includes an image of the bag, making it simple for the customer to locate and identify the product in store. Furthermore each board has an individual QR code which links directly to an online help portal called go recreate which serves an excellent resource for how to use and lay the products, whilst showcasing inspirational gardening shots that help visualise which products will complement each other.

Stockists of the Meadow View Range of decorative aggregates, paving and stoneware are encouraged to think about linking products featured in each lifestyle shot to primarily make the buying process thought provoking and as simplistic as possible for the consumer which will strongly increase the potential of upselling into related product sectors.

Marketing Director Sarah Hill stated: “This is a very exciting time for Meadow View Stone and its loyal customers, who will immensely benefit from the increased sales potential this NEW POS is designed to capture. 

"An increase in our stand designs and POS height also addresses the demand for better visibility of our products in store meaning they are no longer an after-thought for perusing customers."

For further details of our NEW POS range please contact our Sales Director, Simon Routledge on 078910 42537 or Head Office on 01948 841607.

During the proceedings the following appointments were announced:

• Chris Ramsden of Hozelock was voted in as GIMA President
• Richard Pyrah of Kelkay was voted in as  Vice President
• Kate Ebbens of Cadix has taken on the role of Honorary Secretary

In addition to the existing council of

• Colin Wetherley-Mein, Vitax Ltd
• Matt Jackson, Briers Ltd
• Rainer Schubert, The Scotts Miracle-Grow Co. Ltd
• David Carey, Mr. Fothergill’s Seeds Ltd
• Chris Holloway, Apta
• John Gomersall, Forest Garden
• Jason Perrin, LG Harris
• Mark Butler, Town & Country
• Simon McArdle, Westland Horticulture

Five new council member have been nominated to take on responsibilities of Council Membership representing the views of the members, and they are:

• Heather Culpan, Burgon & Ball
• Craig Hall, Deco Pak
• Tara Truman, Outback BBQs

This maintains the GIMA council at its maximum capacity of 16, with extensive representation of the GIMA membership

During his opening address, New GIMA President Chris Ramsden vowed to progress the good work done by his predecessor, Colin Wetherley-Mein, by continuing to build relationships with other trade associations and work closely with Vicky Nuttall, GIMA Director, to develop even more benefits for GIMA members.

The Association also reported a healthy financial position and with a small operating profit being recorded.

GIMA membership continues to grow steadily, with 14 new members joining since the start of the year, including two associate members.

New full members to GIMA include The Patio Black Spot Company, Knauf Insulation, Hum Partnership, Halewood International, BBQ Gourmet, Belstane, Bathgate Silica, Jardi d’Jo, Outback International, European Garden Products Husqvarna and Paroh.  New Associate members included Lawler Associates and PP8 Marketing.

Membership of GIMA is open to all manufacturers and suppliers of products to garden retail, with a UK or European base.

For further information about GIMA and the benefits membership brings visit www.gima.org.uk or contact the GIMA office on 01959 564947 or email info@gima.org.uk

• Garden Products - up 23%
• Veg-2-Gro - down 10%
• Growing Media - up 44%
• All Items Index - up 13%

 A live catalogue of 10,000 square metres

The fact that Groen-Direkt is growing even more strongly than the market trend is not a matter of luck, according to Koert, but a logical outcome of the organisation’s specific formula: “Buyers who visit our fair for the first time are delighted by the treasure trove awaiting them there. Thirty times a year we present a live catalogue of 10,000 square metres. The buyers stroll among the plants, look, compare and buy. Every time, we try to turn our fair into any European garden plant buyer’s dream. For almost twenty years our fairs have formed the basis of our unique formula. And during those years our range has steadily expanded and we have fine-tuned our services to ensure that they closely meet the requirements of the markets we supply. This is a constant process. And after all these years our efforts are paying off for the growers and buyers concerned. The past year a remarkably large number of new companies have discovered our treasure trove.”

Garden centres and DIY stores

“The crisis years have taught entrepreneurs to make choices and to focus on specific targets. Some shops try to tempt bargain buyers with popular products that will sell well, while others prefer to offer a wide range and a high level of service. Retailers simply have to make such choices, also the retailers in our garden-plant sector. You know that you can make a difference as an entrepreneur by making the right choices. In our sector it’s green that makes the difference. But you do need a strong partner to help you make that difference. And Groen-Direkt is that partner for the purchase of garden plants,” says Gert Koert, convincingly supported by his organisation’s results. “With a very wide, up-to-date range and special conditions we offer a perfect purchasing channel for both garden centres and DIY stores. Something to suit all tastes. And with our range offering so much choice, all retailers can create their own identity for their shops,” Koert explains. “What also makes our formula unique is the large number of growers at our fairs. Up to 150 nurseries have a stand there, enabling buyers to make direct agreements about, say, forward deliveries.”

Everything under one roof
Groen-Direkt works with a unique formula, offering a wide, highly diverse range of garden plants under one roof by combining thirty sample fairs a year with a webshop. Buyers can see, feel and smell the plants themselves at the fairs, or opt for the convenience of purchasing via the webshop, where they can view weekly updated photos of the products. In both cases they can choose from a distinctive range of plants that they will receive quickly, via one order, one delivery and one invoice.

In the remaining part of the year, around twenty more fairs will be organised in Boskoop, where trading companies and garden centres will find a full range of garden plants. The organisation’s webshop at www.groen-direkt.nl also offers the entire range accompanied by weekly updated photos of the batches.

Town and Country have gone national with their children’s gardening glove competition, following the success of an inaugural project in their home county of Leicestershire.

All 4- to12-year-old children will have an opportunity to design a new gardening glove for Town and Country to be launched at Glee.

The competition has been running since 4March and has already attracted more than 400 entries.  Closing date is 10 June. 

The judging panel who will pick a winner on 20 June includes Lee and Dale Connelly, Blue Peter’s Skinny Jean Gardeners. They will be joined by Stephen Kiernan, the schools coordinator for ‘My Edible School’, Rob Smith, winner of BBC2’s Big Allotment Challenge, HTA chief executive  Carol Paris and Gill Perkins, conservation manager of the Bumblebee Society. All are passionate about encouraging children into gardening and learning from the great outdoors.

The winning glove designs will be shown on the company’s stand at Glee in September.

Chichester College inspired visitors the most at this year’s Ideal Home Show by picking up the Young Gardeners of the Year People’s Choice Award. Visitors at the Ideal Home Show, sponsored by Zoopla, voted Chichester College's garden to be their favourite out of the six participating colleges.

In close second place was Askham Bryan College, who were also awarded a Gold medal and the prestigious Best at Show award by the judges in March.

The annual competition, now in its sixth year, which is organised by TV gardener David Domoney, offers students a great opportunity to showcase their work and celebrate the best of sustainable British gardening.

Each college was given a 5.5m x 4m plot to both plan and design a garden that demonstrated an understanding of harmony and sustainability. The show gardens are meant to inspire city dwellers, showing all that can be achieved in urban locations. They create a sense of tranquility and sustainability for homeowners to act as an escape from the pressures of inner city life and bring a touch of nature to the heart of the metropolis. The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community set clear guidelines based on organic and sustainable principles that the charity has championed for so long.

The judging panel was led by some of the leading lights of the horticultural, design and media industries including TV Gardener Alan Titchmarsh, and Simon Sadinsky from The Prince's Foundation for Building Community and Carol Paris, Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association, Deborah Stone, former Chairman of the Garden Media Guild.

Simon Sadinsky, Head of Education at The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, said: “Nurturing the talent of future generations and spreading the message of sustainability and the importance of nature is important to The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. We are delighted by the talent on display this year and want to congratulate Chichester College for winning the People’s Choice! Hopefully it will inspire many more people to think about what nature, even in the shape of the simplest back garden, can teach us”.

David Domoney, organiser of the competition, said: "A delightful win for Chichester College. It is a testament to all of the hard work that the students have put in. They have captivated the visitors of the Ideal Home Show and what a great thing for the students to put on their CV’s when they leave college looking to join the commercial world.”

The 2016 participating colleges were:

• Chichester college, Sussex (2012, 2013 & 2014 Champions)
• Capel Manor, Middlesex (2011 Champions)
• Askham Bryan College, North Yorkshire (2016 Champions)
• Pershore College, Part of the Warwickshire College Group
• Shuttleworth College, Bedfordshire
• Writtle College, Essex (2015 Champions)

Soft Landscaping Contracts Manager (ref:DS8265)

• Responsibility for the management of landscape operatives.
• Quality control of operations.
• Management of materials. Contract negotiations with clients. Production of method statements and risk assessments. Ability to find workable solutions to problems as they arise.

• Experience within the commercial soft landscaping industry as a Contracts Manager or Project Manager. Experience in managing landscape operatives.
• Good plant knowledge and soft landscape construction experience. Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills. Excellent organisation skills and a fine eye for detail. Be numerate with good report writing skills. Have a good ability to impart instructions clearly and lead and motivate your teams. Full driving licence and current CSCS card are essential.

• Salary: Circa £30,000
• Benefits will include company vehicle for business use, mobile phone and fuel card.

• The ideal candidate will understand both the category and customers, possess strong  communication and negotiation skills and have a passion and enthusiasm for customers and products.
• They should an excellent team player focused on driving sales and profitability.

• The effective management of a number of key departments (to include Gifts, Farm Shop, Customer Services and Seasonal). The management of staff within these departments.
• The ability to work closely with other members of the Management Team to ensure the garden centre performs to its optimum.
• Ensuring customers have received an exceptional level of service.
• Communicating effectively at all levels.
• Duty Manager for the site on a rota basis.

• Possess excellent people and communication skills.
• Enjoy working as part of a highly motivated team.
• Have relevant retail experience within a busy environment. A garden centre background would be advantageous.
• Possess excellent IT skills.

• You will be a Contracts or Regional Contracts Manager preferably with a landscape service or maintenance background, with a proven track record in utilizing great interpersonal skills to deliver strong positive client relationships.
• You must also be passionate about developing a great customer experience. Whilst it is important that you can see the bigger picture, the smaller details of client management will also be important to you, with the understanding that without the basics in place success won't be possible.
• You will enjoy the challenge of representing the client and what we stand for, working to meet the high expectations of blue chip clients across the Southern counties.
• You will be able to work to clear financial guidelines and provide business development insight to meet on target revenue expectations.
• Interpreting management information to recommend and carry out sound commercial and trading actions will be important as the skills required to implement some of the projects that results.
• You should feel at home within a strong group management team, welcoming the challenge as well as the support, strengthening teams to ensure that they work at their best.

To apply for this role click here

With continued responsibility for garden and leisure ranging and for further development of own brand and exclusive products, this role provides the Group with new opportunities to innovate and diversify our product range, thereby strengthening our position within the garden centre industry.

Stuart joined Blue Diamond as Head of Gardening in April 2014 with extensive experience in the garden centre industry. He has successfully undertaken and overseen range adjustments to align categories with the Group’s target demographic. He has expanded the leisure portfolio with direct sourcing from manufacturers and increased both the quality and quantity of our own brand offering.

Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond, commented, ‘Stuart has done excellent work in his role of Head of Gardening, demonstrating a clear affinity and awareness of sourcing quality products in line with the company ethos. This new role will significantly strengthen our approach to product development enabling us to provide innovative and exciting new products for our customers’.

Stuart said, ‘my strength has always been in product development and I enjoy identifying products with great potential and applying my creativity to develop these products even further. By prioritising product, this gives us an amazing opportunity to offer a range that can outperform and differentiate us from our competitors’.

As a result of Stuart’s promotion, Blue Diamond is now recruiting a replacement Head of Gardening with sole responsibility for the commercial management of the garden and leisure categories. This appointment will enable more focus on sales opportunities during the key trading seasons. Prospective applicants should apply in writing to recruitment@bluediamond.gg.

• Woodlodge 5-inch Standard Spang Pot is the highest re-entry at No 24.
• Smart Garden Solar Powered Bluebell Lights (below) are the highest new entry at No 29.
• The highest climber, moving up 28 places to No 8 is Doff Slug Killer 800g + 200g Free.

• Quantil Cucumber F1 is the highest climber, jumping 30 places to No 18.
• The highest re-entry is Quantil Sweetcorn Extra Sweet at No 20.
• Bridgen Thyme Thymus ‘Silver Queen’ (AGM) is the highest new entry at No 37.
• Another newcomer to the chart is Quantil Tomato Shirley.

• The highest new entry is Durstons Manor Farm Multi-Purpose Compost (60 litres), which has jumped straight to an impressive No 2.
• Arthur Bowers Multipurpose Compost (50 litres) is the highest climber, moving up 18 places to No 15.
• The highest re-entry is Scotts Levington Multi Purpose Compost (50 litres) at No 34.

On-line banner advertising with Gardeners’ World, RHS and the Time Inc. portfolio will continue throughout the gardening season. Highly active social media campaigns are also running on platforms including Facebook, twitter and instagram, playing an important role in the communication and interaction of the unique features of Flopro.

Commenting on this heavyweight campaign, Natalie Searle, Marketing Manager said: “Flopro is unique in the watering category and our message to consumers is clear. With Flopro you get No leaks, No kinks, No twists and it is compatible with all brands. Our aim is to bring awareness and recognition of Flopro to as many consumers as possible through our multi-platform advertising campaigns."

Flopro is now being stocked by over 600 garden centres and early repeat orders indicate very good consumer off take for this new major player in the watering category.

To place an order see your local Crest Garden contact or phone the Flopro Hotline on 01480 443753.

• With its emphasis on catering and food, will the new Rosebourne project point the way for the next generation of garden centres?
• Generation Game spotlight on Brookside Garden Centre in Kent.
• Pavers – the big step towards boosting revenues and footfall.
• Open days at Europlants and Classiflora Zelari.
• Launch of GTN's Greatest Awards - how to enter.
• Malcolm Scott special on garden centre catering.
• Property advice from Gilbert Evans.
• Review and pictures from Garden Re-Leaf Day.
• The next pet product betsellers from PATS Sandown.
• The Wonderful Wildlife World.
• Build sales by developing a playground – top advice from John Stanley.
• GIMA column - Positive mood will help us face challenges ahead.

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 £145.00 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 here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

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.

Squire’s has invested £700,000 in extending and refurbishing its Long Ditton garden centre.

The shop area is 25% bigger, with new flooring, more tills, and a new customer information desk and the Café Bar (above) has increased in size by 30%. Low-energy LED lighting has been installed throughout and will roll out to all other Squire’s centres later this year.

The plant area (above) has a new and improved layout, making it easier to browse.

A new 10-minute Wildflower Walk has been planted predominantly with native indigenous wildflowers and affords stunning views across Surrey and Middlesex.  Customers are being invited to take a picnic or you can get a take-away lunch from the Café Bar.

Squire’s celebrates its 80^th anniversary this year.