GIMA AWARDS 2017 – THE WINNERS

GIMA Sword of Excellence

Winner: Westland Horticulture - Westland SafeLawn

What the judges said: “A great new product that clearly addresses both the customers’ needs and concerns, with a really strong marketing campaign behind it.  A very worthy winner.”

GCA Supplier of the Year

Winner: Smart Garden Products

Finalists: Decco, Woodlodge

What the judges said: “Great quality of products, service and reliability”, “Fantastic innovation and new products” and “Even in a difficult year the service was excellent”.

Gardenex Export Achievement Award

Winner: Briers

Finalists: Smart Garden Products, Crest Garden

About the winners: Currently Briers export to 20 different countries, and have witnessed particular success from the United States, the Netherlands and Belgium. Briers’ presence and growth on the continent has been cemented by Jackie Eades’ association with EFSA and the long-term commitment to numerous trade shows.

GIMA AWARDS 2017 - PRODUCT AWARDS

Garden Care

Winner: Westland Horticulture - Westland SafeLawn

Finalists: Round Up – Round Up Telescopic Weeding Wand, SBM Life Science Ltd – Baby Bio® Feed & Mist for Orchids, Sipcam UK – Ecofective range

About the winner: Unlike existing 'all-in-one' lawn products, CleanLawn does not require children and pets to be excluded from the treated area after application, and does not require a spreader to be applied without the risk of scorching. In addition, raking out dead moss and thatch is not necessary as these waste materials are 'eaten' by microorganisms, leaving you more time to enjoy your lush, green lawn.

What the judges said: “Addresses the issues the consumer demands, simply and effectively”

Growing, Planting Equipment and Sundries

Winner: Elho b.v. – Elho Corsica Door Stopper

Finalists: Hozelock Ltd – Superhoze 30m & 15m, FITT SpA – YOYO 2017, Elho – Super XXL Grow Table and Lid

About the winner: The door stopper is a totally new product to the market. There is no other synthetic product at present that is able to be planted to create a unique way to hold open a door. With the addition of wheels to easily move when planted this makes it innovative. 

What the judges said: “Innovative new design, it broadens the use of standard planters.”

Garden Tools, Machinery and Implements

Winner: Burgon & Ball - Ergo Deadheader

Finalists:  Spear and Jackson - Select Stainless Allotment Hoe, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company - Evergreen Wizz Year-Round Spreader, Hozelock Ltd - Pico Power, Pico Power Home, Burgon & Ball – FloraBrite range

About the winner: This tool is designed to be held in a new way. The finger loop, uniquely shaped handles and comfort grip allow the Ergo Deadheader to nestle in the palm, taking the strain off the wrist and thumb for more comfortable cutting.

What the judges said: “Designed with the user in mind not just the task, it's easy and comfortable to use.”

Outdoor Leisure

Winner: Hutton Garden and Landscaping Products – Melrose Dining Set

Finalists: Woodlodge Products - Mendip Fire Pit, CPL Distribution Limited - Homefire Olive Briquettes, Fallen Fruits - Dachshund Bench

About the winner: Most outdoor garden furniture is produced using small dimension softwood with the aim of achieving low cost to the consumer. The Melrose is proof that using innovative British manufacturing techniques, high quality products can be produced at a very affordable price.

What the judges said: “Excellent value for money with good environmental credentials, and it's made in the UK too!”

Plants, Seeds and Bulbs

Winner: Hawkesmill Nurseries - Salvia Microphylla 'Jeremy' or Salvia 'Pink Lips'

Finalists: Westland Horticulture - Unwins Sensational Sweet Peas range, Mr Fothergill's Seeds Ltd - Optigrow vegetable seeds, Hawkesmill Nurseries - Victorian Viola range

About the winner:  Salvia Pink Lips (Jeremy)® is a pink form of the popular Salvia Hot Lips and is exclusive to Hawkesmill Nurseries for 2017. The stunning blooms are pink-white instead of red-white (Hotlips) and the flowers have a larger size (about 50% larger compared to Hotlips). 

What the judges said: “Beautiful and hardy; a great follow up to the popular Hot Lips variety.”

Garden Landscaping

Winner: Forest Garden – Decibel Noise Reduction Panel

Finalists: Grange Fencing Ltd - Adjustable Garden Screen, Deco-Pak Ltd - Milano Porcelain Paving, Ronseal - Garden Paint New Colours, Forest Garden – Whitby Arch & Arbour Range

About the winner: It is the first attractive, affordable and ready-assembled acoustic panel on the market available for purchase and home delivery from national retailers. Unique Triform technology incorporates boards with a triangular profile that optimise the diffusion as well as reflection of nuisance noise.

What the judges said: “Shows a good understanding of the need to reduce noise and stress in the urban environment.”

Garden Clothing & Gifts

Winner: Horticultural Trades Association – National Gift Card

Finalists: Crest Garden - Kent & Stowe Gardener's Clothing/Gift, Burgon & Ball - FloraBrite range, Crest Garden - Kent & Stowe Garden Gift

About the winner: Unlike the old propriety gift cards, retailers can sell as well as redeem the NGGC. The purpose-built transactional technology enables the card to be activated by any epos system and even online. This enables the widest possible sale and redemption possible. The gift card is all-inclusive for retailers.

What the judges said: “A great product for driving more sales into gardening” and “Great for both retailers and customers.”

Pet Care, Aquatics and Wild Bird Care Products

Winner: Fallen Fruits - Best for Birds Range

Finalists: Cadix UK - Outdoor Statue Birdbath, Gardman - Butterfly Glass Bird Bath, Wildlife World - Dewdrop Wildbird Window Feeder

About the winners: Fallen Fruits’ Best for Birds wedge and hanger feeders are aimed at the entry level price point; a pocket money product. They allow customers to experiment with different feeds in different locations to see what suits their garden birds. The feeders are colourful and easily disposed of when empty.

What the judges said: “Innovative unique design, low cost and recyclable.”

Garden Lighting, Water Features & Ornamentation

Winner: Smart Garden Products Limited – Eureka! Retro Solar Lightbulb

Finalist: Smart Garden Products - Illumina Silhouette Table, The Solar Centre - Lumify USB Solar Festoon Lights, Smart Garden Products - The Elvedon Collection

About the winner: Following the success of the Eureka! Solar light bulb, this larger sized light bulb and retro Edison filament lighting effect continues the evolution of the Eureka! range of products and provides consumers with an enticing, new option. The new flattened bottom allows them to sit on tabletops as well as hang. 

What the judges said: “Bang on trend again; a great new twist on a bestseller.”

GIMA AWARDS 2017 – MARKETING AWARDS

Best Point of Sale Material

Winner: Briers Ltd - Kids Range New Display Concept

Finalists: Kelkay Ltd - Collections, Smart Garden Products – Doormat displays, Westland Horticulture – Smart Cover Mega Pallet

About the winner: Addressing the retailer’s needs directly, by enabling them to display a high impact range that delivers in a compact footprint.  The new merchandisers are robust enough to withstand the retail environment and flexible enough to allow retailers to choose their ranges to suit their customers.

What the judges said: “A great use of space and colour with a strong link to the product.”

Best Consumer Product Packaging

Winner: Westland Horticulture – Westland Safelawn

Finalists: Wildlife World - Floral Gift range, Burgon & Ball - Brie Harrison range, Hozelock - Superhoze Packaging

About the winner: Extensive research gave Westland the insight needed to spot a gap in the existing lawn range. Parents and pet owners were worried about safety concerns, rather than seeking organic alternatives. By naming the product 'SafeLawn' and giving clear visual representations on pack, Westland was able to identify a consumer need.

What the judges said: “Functional, colourful and distinctive packaging with clear messaging addressing the consumers fears and aspirations.”

Best Marketing Communication Award

Winner: Gardman Ltd - The Royal British Legion Charity Campaign

Finalists: Westland Horticulture – Westland SafeLawn, Hozelock - Bizzi Marketing Campaign, Wagner System GmbH - Out of Black Forest video

About the winner: Gardman became corporate partners with the Royal British Legion and launched a range of poppy wild bird care products; a cast iron poppy bird feeder dish and two premium wild bird care seed mixes.  Through sales of these products, Gardman have managed to raise an incredible £240,000 to support veterans and their families.

What the judges said: “A simple but effective campaign that delivered great results and ticked all the boxes: Product that sold through, an excellent marketing campaign, and a worthy charitable connection.”

The winners of the GIMA awards 2017 were announced at Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales by comedian Hall Cruttenden.

The pinnacle of the garden retail industry’s calendar, the event has brought together manufacturers, retailers, members of the press and industry figures, to celebrate the 16 highly-deserving winners. 

GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall, commented on tonight’s event. “I would like to be the first to extend my congratulations to all of the winners.  Each year we say that the calibre of entries could not be exceeded, and each year we are proven wrong!  This year saw not only a record number of entries, but the quality of these entries was the best yet. Our judges really did have their work cut out. I think we can agree though, that the winners are highly deserving of their awards. Each of them have created a product or service that really stands out in this hectic industry we work within. This level of ‘standout’ has to be celebrated, and it’s fantastic to be able to provide this platform for celebration and recognition.”

This year, the GIMA judging panel was made up of Julie Burrell, Head of Trading Seasonal and Stationery, Wilko Retail,Tony Kersey, Garden Tools & Watering Buyer, Bunnings & Homebase, Neil Grant, Managing Director, Ferndale Garden Centre, Robert Hall, Halls Gardensite, James Hollingworth, Garden Products Buyer, Suttons Consumer Products, Nick Liszka, Buying Manager, Wyevale Garden Centres, Neil Pope, Garden Trade News, Andy Schofield, Commercial Trading Manager, Home & Garden Group and Allan Wilson, Senior Buyer, The Klondyke Group.

Vicky added: “My thanks also have to go to the panel of dedicated judges who gave up their valuable time to take part in this year’s judging process.  Their combined expertise and market knowledge has been invaluable throughout the judging process, and has helped to create a particularly strong list of winners.

“Finally, I extend my thanks to all those that have entered the awards in 2017, as well as our sponsors, without whom we would not be able to put on an event of this scale.”

See a full report of the GIMA Awards 2017 in the August issue of GTN.

Skylark Garden Centre in Wimblington, near March, Cambridgeshire is celebrating 40 years of Star Wars at the Skylark Maize Maze.  Now in it’s 12^th year, the Skylark Maize Maze is celebrating a much bigger birthday in 2017 – the 40^th anniversary of Star Wars!

Each year the Skylark Maize Maze features a different design and when designing this year’s maze there was one theme that truly stood out, and that was Star Wars. After 40 years at the forefront of science fiction – and a great passion of the Skylark team, especially the owner, Edward Gowler, and his children – it felt fitting that Star Wars would take centre stage once more in the shape of a 12 acre Maize Maze in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fenlands.

Designed in the retro movie poster style, the maze – when viewed from above – features Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Hans Solo, Darth Vader and even the Deathstar. A smaller maze has been created within the ‘Star Wars’ headline, perfect for little ones with shorter attention spans!

Bart Woodbine, Events Manager at Skylark Garden Centre, said: “Star Wars is so iconic for so many people. It’s more than just the films themselves, but a real passion and obsession for many – including myself, as well as our owner Edward and his children!  As 2017 marks the 40^th anniversary since the first film was released, we couldn’t imagine our Maize Maze honouring anything else in 2017 – it’s the perfect theme!”

In addition to the maze design, the Star Wars theme will continue throughout the summer at Skylark’s Funyard, including a special Star Wars gift shop.

The maze was also officially opened by a member of the Star Wars original cast, Tim Rose. Most famously known as Admiral Ackbar, part of the Star Wars franchise, Tim joined the Skylark team for a special Press Day, officially opening the maze for the 2017 season.

Skylark Maize Maze’s celeb guest Tim Rose started his career with Jim Henson in New York working on Sesame Street. He was one of the forerunners of animatronic design and is still in great demand today. 

His many credits include several Muppet movies, as well as Dinosaurs, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Return to OZ, Fierce Creatures, Walking with Dinosaurs, Spitting Image, Dr Who and the inimitable Howard the Duck.

Most famous of all is his character Admiral Ackbar in both Star Wars- Return of the Jedi (with his famous line “It’s a Trap!”) and The Force Awakens. He also appears as “Shollan” – the white Calamari in “Rogue One”.

As well as several movie projects, Tim has recently been working with his old friend Paul Zerdin, winner of America’s Got Talent 2015, on new puppets for his  show.

You can find out more about Tim and his work at: www.admiralackbar.co.uk

The Skylark Maize Maze: 10 things you never knew!

1)     The Skylark Maize Maze is the largest in East Anglia. In total the maze covers an area in excess of 12 acres! That’s the same size as 12 football pitches or 192 tennis courts!

2)     The maize used within the Skylark Maize Maze is a tropical crop, and needs warm wet weather to thrive. As you can tell, we like a challenge here at Skylark! On average there will be 20,000 plants per acre.

3)     At Skylark we use a special variety of maize called ES Ballade by Grainseed Ltd. It grows up to 2.4 metres in height.

4)     The 2017 maze marks the 12^th maze at Skylark.

5)     Previous designs have include Minions, a map of the world, a monkey-tastic safari theme, and the infamous Lord Kitchener ‘Your Country Needs You’ poster.

6)     In total the maze features 3km of pathways – that’s almost 200 calories burned, though expect to burn a few more as the adrenaline kicks in!

7)     Each year, over 15,000 people visit the Skylark Maize Maze, travelling from across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and further afield.

8)     The average time to complete the maze is around 45mins, but that doesn’t account for getting lost!

9)     We’re award winners! In 2015 the Skylark Maize Maze won an award for ‘Best Tourist Attraction in Fenland’.

10)  The Maize Maze trend started in Anneville, Pennsylvania USA, however the first mazes date back almost 4,000 years to the times of Greek mythology.

Skylark owner, Edward Gowler tells GTN Xtra about Sklyark Garden Centre.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the history of Skylark – how does a Fenland farmer become a garden retailer?

Until the early 2000s, the Gowler family (myself, brother, Chris and parents, Robin and Jenny) were classic Fenland farmers, working over 1,500 acres of arable farmland, growing everything from wheat and barley, to sugar beet. However the early 2000s were a tough time, so we recognised a need to diversify and create a more secure business model. The surrounding areas were lacking in garden centre style businesses so spotting this gap in the market we decided to open a garden centre or, to be more precise, a country store and garden centre.

In the early stages it was just a "shed" but we soon built a café - a necessity for us to survive at the time. The plant house was added and has increased in size over the years, and the café has doubled in size.

Chris and Robin still manage the farming side of things, whilst I work with my team, including Bart Woodbine, Events Manager and Greg Newstead, Garden Centre Manager within the garden centre itself, and also the events programme which has become a significant part of our annual offering both as a business and to the local community.   The family connection continues with my sister-in-law running the café, whilst my wife also manages the outside catering aspects of the business.

What is your ethos and vision for Skylark?

Our vision is quite simple - to be the best garden and leisure destination in the area by offering an excellent and memorable day out with great customer service. 

How have you developed the Maize Maze and how has this affected the reach of Skylark within the local area?

Events quickly became a huge part of our offering, and about five years ago we decided to invest heavily in ensuring our events programme was as good as it could be. This investment was mainly directed at the Maize Maze and Funyard, but it also had a knock-on effect to our wider event offering.

The investment enabled us to offer new attractions such as a zip wire, new go-kart track and tractor rides. We were also able to re-fence all the animals for a better experience. We have also invested in PR consultants, and customer service training, as well as adding a gift shop for more add-on sales opportunities.

The main effect of all of this was that we were able to effectively position ourselves as more than just a garden centre with a Maize Maze added on, and in doing so have now become the Fenland's largest tourist attraction. 

How important has it been to differentiate yourself from other garden retailers?

Differentiation is so important to us. We are a little off the beaten track (as is the Fenland way!) so we have had to offer something that the large multiples often fail to do, which is offer outstanding customer service and added value in every step around the store. For example, we insist on loading customers’ cars. We also offer free delivery to the local area, and pride ourselves on listening to what our customers want, often offering special orders so they can get exactly the right plant, garden furniture or gifts that they desire. For us, it’s the little things that make the difference as well as the big things such as the Maize Maze.

What other events do you run throughout the year besides the Maize Maze? How do these events affect turnover/ profitability?

Our aim is to create a full annual calendar of events, ensuring that parents almost always have something to attend with their little ones, especially during the school holidays.

Once the Maize Maze and Funyard closes in early September, we starting preparing for our ‘Spootackular’ October half-term, when we create a special Halloween themed maze and Funyard. This includes our mysterious magic and balloon show, pick-your-own pumpkins and pumpkin carving. Halloween is quickly becoming one of our biggest annual events. Tickets sales are continuing to grow year-on-year. This is in part due to the fact that there are no other such events in the local area, but also due to the fact that our customers are fantastic at getting involved, helping to make such events a really fun and memorable time.

Once Halloween is complete, we then harvest the Maize Maze and start looking ahead to the festive period, with Santa’s Grotto opening in late November. Christmas is a great time at Skylark, customers are busy buying gifts for all the family, whilst the children are enjoying having their picture taken with Santa and his ‘elves’, or choosing a special gift from the Gift Shop.  It’s a lovely way to round off the year.

Once the New Year rolls round it’s back to it, getting the Funyard ready for the Easter holidays. As the Maize Maze is only in the planning stages come Easter, we add additional attractions to the Funyard such as lamb feeding, an all-weather marquee for magic shows, and, of course, Easter egg hunts!

What next for Skylark?

One thing is for sure – we have no intentions of stopping!  We’ll keep moving forwards. Current plans include an update to our tractor ride, as well as investing in shade from the summer sun and adding brand new toilet facilities. We have also earmarked 2018 as the year that we complete out latest ambitious project, by adding a new entrance and car park. We’ll also continue to offer everything our customers have come to expect – from a packed schedule of events to a strong product offering across the board. We’ve still got a lot of growing to do – it’s all incredibly exciting.

The focus was very much on summer outdoor living this week as buyers attended SOLEX with stock rooms emptying quickly after a great summer for furniture and BBQ’s.

GTN presented The Greatest Outdoor Living Sales Team Awards at the show with Alton, Chessington, Bramblecrest and Shackletons winning the Gold Awards. 

Meanwhile back at the garden centres plant sales revived but not by enough to get back above last years volumes for the same week.  Customers are still looking to add colour to their garden but gardening activity has slowed down with sales of garden products and growing media all dropping off considerably.

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 14%
• Growing Media Top 50 – up 5%
• Veg 2 Gro Products Top 50 – down 26%
• All Plants index – down 4%
• All Items index – down 4%

The Greatest Outdoor Furniture Sales Team

• Bronze Award – Coolings Green & Pleasant
• Silver Award – Millbrook Gravesend (pictured above)
• Gold Award – Shackletons Home & Garden - who also win the SOLEX Best Furniture Retailer Award

The Greatest BBQ Sales Team

• Bronze Award – Perrywood
• Bronze Award – Bents
• Silver Award – Hayes Garden World
• Gold Award – Alton Garden Centre - who also win the SOLEX Best BBQ Retailer Award

The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Supplier of the Year

• Bronze Award – 4 Seasons (below)
• Bronze Award – Supremo
• Bronze Award – Scancom
• Silver Award – Kadai
• Silver Award - Weber
• Gold Award – Bramblecrest (above)

The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Sales Team

• Bronze Award – Poplars
• Bronze Award – Bents
• Silver Award – Millbrook Gravesend
• Gold Award – Chessington

The Old Railway Line Garden Centre scooped the most awards during the Garden Centre Association’s Wales & West regional awards evening on Thursday, July 13, 2017 at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre in Somerset.

The Welsh garden centre took home seven awards including Garden Centre of the Year in the Garden Centre (GC) category while Bernaville Nurseries in Devon won the same accolade in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “The first of our regional awards meetings was a great success and we’d like to say a huge ‘congratulations’ to all of the very deserving winners as well as a massive ‘thank you’ to Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre for being the perfect hosts for the evening.

“Other awards on the night included the Dick Allen Award for Most Improved centre, which was won by Plymouth Garden Centre, and the ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant, which saw Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre take the crown in the DGC category and The Old Railway Line Garden Centre in the GC category.

“We’re now very much looking forward to the next meeting for the North West/North East region, which takes place at Klondyke – Wilmslow Garden Centre on Wednesday, July 19.”

The full results for the Wales & West region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Bernaville Nurseries (DGC)

Best Customer Service: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

Environment and Community Award for Best Environmental Practice: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Barton Grange Trophy for Innovation and Creativity: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Plymouth Garden Centre

The ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre (DGC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre (DGC)

Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC)

Best Outdoor Living Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC) joint winner with Trelawney Garden Centre (DGC).

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide. Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

Garden Trade News were at the NEC early on Monday to capture all the action from the build-up to the three-day SOLEX, which took place last week. See the picture gallery below...

Read all the news from SOLEX in the SOLEX SUN: http://solexsun.newsweaver.com/Newsletter/fgh5ww3xaep

Just as at Wimbledon, ant season drove a spike in pest control sales last week but overall garden product Top 50 sales volumes were down once again.  Having said that many garden lighting and plant feed lines did increase their sales to re-enter the chart. 

The highlights were:

• Doff Ant Killer 300g + 33% Extra Free was the highest re-entry at No 10.
• Smart Solar Eureka! Neo Stellar Light Bulb Lantern was the highest climber, jumping 27 places to No 6.
• Hozelock Micro Hose 4mm x 10m was the highest new entry at No 43.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

As summer Veg-2 Gro sales continue to tail off it’s Chilli festivals and bigger potted plants that customers are most interested in now.  Thirty eight out of the Top 50 lines this week have increased their sales but the total Top 50 volume is down by nearly 20%. 

The main highlights this week were:

• Farplants Rosemary Common was the highest re-entry at No 2.
• GCP Raspberry Ruby Beauty Patio from Garden centre Plants (3-litre) was the highest new entry, jumping straight to No 9 spot.
• Quantil Peas 8cm was the highest climber, moving up 29 places to No 19.

As expected growing media sales dropped week on week as we move into July, but it is another week with a year on year increase for the sector.  That makes it 17 out of 27 weeks this year when growing media sales have beaten last year.  Whereas last weeks increases were dominated by small bags, this week we are back to big bags of multipurpose and specialist ericaceous composts with significant increases.

Other main highlights were:

• Westland Gro-Sure Ericaceous Compost & 4 Month Feed (50 litres) was the highest re-entry at No 5.
• Scotts Levington John Innes No3 (25 litres) was the highest climber, moving up 28 places to No 6.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose + John Innes (56 litres) stayed on top of the chart.

The first week of July saw a considerable bounce back in plant sales compared to the last week of June but not enough to beat sales for the same week last year, ending down 4%.  This was driven by the Top 3 bestselling plants; Pelargoniums (including bedding geraniums), Dahlias and Begonias all selling 17% less than last year and keeping overall volumes down.

• Bacopa were the highest re-entries to the Top 50 with sales up by 400%
• Cosmos jumped 24 places to No 23.
• Diascia also grew sales by more than 400% to re-enter at No 33.

Haskins Garden Centres is pleased to announce the promotion of Andy Harris from Garden Lifestyle Buyer to Gardening Senior Buyer. Andy has been with Haskins for 11 years when he joined from university as a Buying Assistant. He will be heading up the gardening team and take on the responsibility for buying houseplants, bulbs and indoor pot covers.

Colin Brickell will continue to buy garden plants and will take on the extra responsibility for bedding plants.  Matt Hill will now be responsible for garden lifestyle products and retain wild bird care, with a new position of assistant buyer for garden goods being created.

Haskins is sadly saying goodbye to Caroline Beck, their bedding and houseplant buyer for the last 13 years, who will be leaving on 14th July to spend more time with her young children.

LOFA announces “LOFAssured” initiative to ensure all cushions sold by members comply with Trading Standard’s and FIRA’s fire safety regulations...

SOLEX, the UK’s most prominent trade show for garden furniture and barbeques, sees LOFA (Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association) focusing on raising awareness of fire safety standards/regulations for garden cushions in a new campaign – LOFAssured.

This new LOFAssured initiative was launched at SOLEX at the NEC in Birmingham. One of the conditions of LOFA membership is that members must adhere to a code of conduct, part of which is compliance with all current legislation; it is this culture of propriety that the retailer and customer buy into when they source product from LOFA members.

LOFA has appointed FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association) and entered into a Primary Authority Partnership with Hertfordshire Trading Standards to aid the members in their quest for full compliance.

It is a condition of membership that all LOFA members are fully compliant and authorised to display the new LOFAssured logo. The message “look for LOFAssured products and buy from a LOFA member. Take comfort in being fully covered by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and 1993”  will be promoted to retailers and consumers from January 2018 and throughout the 2018 season and beyond.

LOFAssured will prove a distinguishing factor setting LOFA products apart from other non-compliant suplliers.

SOLEX is hosting an information stand attended by representatives from FIRA and Hertfordshire Trading Standards officers. 

Members and buyers can check out the full compliance regulations so that, throughout the supply chain, all are fully informed about the issue and the benefits of purchasing products from LOFA members.

That is the job of LOFA as the industry’s trade association – to protect members and their customers.

https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993

Following a period of sustained growth, Vitax has added to its sales team with the appointment of a new area sales manager to work across the South West.

Julian Franklin, who has over 20 years’ experience working in the gardening and horticulture sector, joins from Town and Country where he was area sales manager for the South West for 17 years. 

Responsible for managing existing customers as well as securing new business, Julian will be working with clients primarily across Somerset,Devon and Cornwall. 

Julian will also be working closely with Vitax’s existing South West area sales manager – Julian Goodhand - who will continue to cover Avon, Wilts, Hants and Dorset.

This is the first time Vitax has split its southern territory between two managers, but is essential to manage growth as Colin Wetherley-Mein, Vitax’s sales manager, explains: “Vitax has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years which has seen it customer base in the South West increase considerably.

“To enable Vitax to continue to provide a first-class customer experience, we have taken the decision to appoint a second area sales manager in the region to manage client relationships.

“Julian’s experience speaks for itself and we are delighted to have him on board.  Working in the area for over 17 years, Julian has already built a good network of contacts and has contact with the majority of our clients – which is essential for continuity.”

Prior to joining Town and Country, Julian worked for Gibbs Palmer but says now is the time for change as Julian Franklin, Vitax’s joint South West area sales manager, explains: “I have worked with Town and Country for the majority of my career and have thoroughly enjoyed my time there, but it is time for a new challenge.

“I know Vitax well and wanted to move to a company that is highly regarded in the industry.  Having worked in London and the South East, I am now based in the West Country and will be able to utilise my knowledge of the area to help Vitax grow further.”

Julian joins a sales team of 11 covering the UK and Ireland.

Following a review carried out over the last few months, the HTA Board has decided to appoint a Chairman to assist the Board in co-ordinating the activities of the Executives and their teams at Horticulture House.

Adam Wigglesworth, President, said: “The Board of the HTA has decided that the interests of the Members are best served by appointing a professional Chairman. He or she will be able to give the time and energy to ensuring that the strategic objectives of the Association are being achieved. In addition, the Board will be expecting the Chair to represent the HTA at a senior level to Government and other stakeholders.”

Adam added: “The Executive Team, headed by Alex Vick, are specialists in their areas, and I have no doubt that the individual, whether from the industry or not, will quickly be able to get up to speed on the significant issues for the members.”

“The Board will now commence a selection process with the aim of employing the new Chair in the next 6 months.”

Great family films return to Webbs, Wychbold at their Summer Open Air Cinema for Summer 2017.

Out on the terrace Webbs have already held a sell out presentation of Beauty & The Beast on Friday 14th July.

Future screenings include:

Mary Poppins (U, 1964) - Friday 4th August

The Little Mermaid (U, 1989) - Thursday 24th August

Up! (U, 2009) - Friday 15th September

Doors open at 5.30pm and shows start at 6pm.

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 here

Highlights of the GTN Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro 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.