In This Issue
Aussie bid for Homebase could intensify competition
It's getting a bit Crowdered out there....
Winter weather fuels sales of cold-weather products
Rising Stars prepare for Brighton finale on Monday
Brantano crisis could impact garden centre concessions
'Golden Age' ahead as horticulture action plan is launched
Improved performance halts Thompson & Morgan sales process
Further growth for Harrogate Christmas & Gift
New Area Sales Manager for Town & Country
Future of garden centres in the hands of a new shopper
New training bursary at Thrive in memory of the late Charles Notcutt
Andy McIndoe appointed new Trustee at Greenfingers
Are You Still Loving Your Plot?
Christmas footfall helps lifts seeds and bulbs sales
Join GTN Xtra on the HTA Netherlands Retail Study Tour 17-19 February 2016
Third GROW London show aims to inspire city dwellers
The Greatest Awards go back on tour in 2016
Loose lbs and gain £'s for Garden Re-Leaf Day
Plant Area Manager (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (West Yorkshire)
Bedding Department Head (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Plantarea Manager/ Supervisory (Berkshire)
Plantarea Manager/Horticultural Manager/Garden Centre
Plant Area Sales Assistant (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (Somerset)
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Early-bird garden product sales are disappointing
Growing media sales off to a flying start
Onions set the pace in Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers
Pictures from The Greatest Christmas Gold-winning Teams
Brookside Garden Centre
Haskins West End
Hillmount Garden Centre
Mains of Drum
Premier Decorations
Bents and Le Friquet
The Greatest Christmas Display winners
Silverbirch (Small Garden Centre Gold)
Old Railway Line (Mid-sized Garden Centre Gold)
Barton Grange (Large Garden Centre Gold)
Le Friquet (Group Garden Centre Gold)
Matt's over the moon to be a Rising Star at Squires
Coolings Rising Star Sophie loves responsibility
From watching at Blackpool, Will Clark is now a Barton Grange Rising Star at Brighton
Jack Fillingham graduates from Sunshine training scheme to Rising Stars
Barton Grange Cookshop Rising Star Kath Bailey sets her goal on winning in Brighton
Sam Clark from Cowells is "chuffed" to be a Rising Star
'Make room for gnomes' urges Squire's
Groen-Direkt comes of age!
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Situations Vacant
Plant Area Manager (Full time, including alternate weekends)
West Horsley KT24 6AR
 
Read more»
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (West Yorkshire)
Salary: Dependent on experience
Read more»
Bedding Department Head (Full time, including alternate weekends)
West Horsley KT24 6AR
 
Read more»
Plantarea Manager/ Supervisory (Berkshire)
Salary: Dependent on experience
Read more»
Plantarea Manager/Horticultural Manager/Garden Centre
Salary: £18,000-£24,000
Read more»
Plant Area Sales Assistant (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Twickenham TW2 5PA
 
Read more»
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (Somerset)
Salary: £20,000-£24,000
Read more»
Send us your news and great ideas

Contact us with your news.  Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700



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Future of garden centres in the hands of a new shopper


Leading consumer and shopper behaviouralist Ken Hughes is appearing at the 2016 GCA annual conference next week to talk about the customer of the future.
 
Ken blends expertise in consumer psychology, social anthropology, behavioural economics and neuromarketing to answer the question: Why do shoppers buy and how can we make them buy more?
 
He says: “The digital native of today is 35, has children and a garden. These are not pre-family urbanites and they make up more and more of a garden centre’s core target every day.
 
“The technology shifts are of course interesting, but they are only the catalysts for what is really happening. There is a new shopper and consumer DNA emerging, fundamentally different from anything that has come before. The future of the garden centre business is in the hands of this consumer generation, with all other life-stages also heavily influenced by digital interaction.
 
“These consumers are hard-wired differently. They will not react to the same stimulus that has worked for the previous generations. It is time to future proof and understand what this will mean for your industry and for your very survival as a business.
 
“Using a blend of social, cultural and digital anthropology, retail futurology and global consumer behaviour shifts, it’s time to examine where this could all be heading. If your shopper DNA is changing, don’t you think it makes sense to examine this new blueprint to truly understand the implications to your business?”
 
Ken, who is the CEO of Glacier Consulting, is acknowledged as one of the most respected thought leaders on Shopper Marketing and Shopper Centricity, Omnichannel & Digital Strategy alongside Retail Futurology.
 
He added: “Most organisations put the focus of an omnichannel strategy too heavily on the available technologies – the tablets and smartphones, the apps and social media. But technology is only ever an enabler for us to build better connections with our shoppers and consumers. Technology itself is never what we should be focusing on.
 
“The real change is taking place in the global shifts within social and cultural norms. There are huge differences in expectations between consumers born Before Google (BG) and After Google (AG). As these Digital Natives (born in the 1980s) are now entering their 30s, we are set to witness one of the biggest shifts in global consumer behaviour, perhaps since the invention of the teenager in the US during the 1950s.
 
“What do this generation expect from life, relationships, brands and retailers? What will they demand from a consumption and purchase experience? And most importantly how we must prepare to meet these needs in the house, home and garden centre business.”
 
As well as running his own business, Ken is also a part-time professor in consumer behaviour and a board member & strategic advisor to many organisations on the future of consumerism and shopper trends.
 
Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “We’re delighted Ken is joining us at this year’s conference. His consumer insight organisation, Glacier Consulting, began life as a market research agency, but he soon identified his key area of interest was people, not markets.
 
“How humans express their desires and expectations through how and what we buy has become his sole focus, resulting in his agency advising a global client base of some of the world’s biggest brands - Unilever, 3M, IKEA, Coca-Cola, AXA and Heineken to name a few.
 
“He is famous for his inspiring keynote speeches, which he delivers in a captivating and highly energetic manner, all served with a generous helping of Irish wit!”
 
The GCA’s annual conference will be held at The Grand Hotel in Brighton.
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