The Garden Retail Experience, TREx, in Holland clashed with Spring Fair this year so GTN Xtra couldn't make it there, but here is the official post event report and a gallery of over 200 photos that you can use for inspiration and ideas.  Next year the dates of TREx are February 12th, 13th and 14th which is after Spring Fair. If you'd like to join us on a trip to this unique retail event please e-mail trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

THE GARDEN RETAIL EXPERIENCE 2018
We happily look back on a successful TREx 2018 on 7 and 8 February. The new event location at De Beursfabriek in Nieuwegein provided new impetus and positive reactions from both visitors and participants.

There were plenty of innovative cases, concepts, and presentations for green retail to see and experience. And all this in a continuously great atmosphere.
The ultra-green floral entrance allowed visitors to step right into a spring atmosphere. After which a catchy introduction video displays the TREx 2018 theme in two amazing minutes: From Stores to stories. Then, through garden presentations, the four main customer segmentations for the garden centres were further explained.

That the customer was the focus of TREx 2018 could be seen across the entire event: in the presentations by the 150 participants, in the various inspiration squares, and in the keynotes by Chantal Riedeman (From Stores to stories), Jos Burgers (One fan per day), and Richard de Hoop (Future music in the garden industry) on the main stage.

Each TREx day ended with a series of TREx Talks. In ten minutes, ten prominent figures, including Jacky Michels (GroenRijk), Andries Breel (Qidos), Jeroen van de Schenk (Performance Solutions), René Spaanderman (Kega), and professional cyclist Laurens ten Dam (Team Sunweb), shared their vision on the theme From stores to stories.

Dynamics
The new location in Nieuwegein gave the event a more modern appearance and brought more dynamics, exciting routing, and new surprising elements such as the flower concept stores, the catering squares, and the arena.

The increased size also worked out well. There was 50 percent more surface area and 25 percent more participants. And partially thanks to the new central location, many more trade visitors were able to visit us.

The portion of foreign trade visitors also grew significantly: in addition to German, Belgian, and French visitors, we also welcomed British, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Swiss, and Japanese people. The number of visitors increased by about 50 percent to 3,483 people.

In addition, more garden centre employees have spent an active day, partially thanks to the special Growth Factor programme set up with Tuinbranche Nederland. Special florist activities were organised and flower presentations were created in collaboration with DPK Florist Magazine: this resulted in more florist visitors.

TuinZaken Retail Awards 2017
Prior to TREx 2018, on Tuesday 6 February, the professional jury awarded the TuinZaken Retail Awards 2017, the coveted prizes for the garden centre industry, during the stylish TREx Gala. The often surprising results also show appreciation for well-known names in the industry.

The TuinZaken Retail Awards 2017 were awarded in eight categories. The Karel Verdonschot Award was awarded to Gerard Berkelmans and Peggy Leurs won Retailer of the year 2017. The TuinZaken Product Awards went to: Talen Tools (Garden maintenance and tools), Duyvesteyn Plants (Interior green), Van der Starre (Exterior green), By-Boo (Interior decoration and atmosphere), Esschert Design (Exterior decoration and atmosphere), Beeztees (Animal products).

From stores to stories
The umbrella theme of TREx 2018 is From stores to stories. This is about the transition of garden centres from physical distribution sites to multichannel locations. Storytelling, discovery, experience, and offering solutions for consumers play an important role in this. TREx consists of a large concept store designed as a garden centre. Here, on various inspiration squares and in the stands, innovative cases, concepts, and presentations for green retail with the latest products of the 2018 spring/summer collections were shown. With the use of things like technology, social media, and long tail order in store applications and in line with the wishes and needs of modern customers. 

In short, if you want to stay aware of the latest developments and trends in the garden industry, a visit to TREx is enough to be fully up to date in terms of your knowledge and experiences.

TREx 2019 will take place on 12, 13, and 14 February 2019 in De Beursfabriek in Nieuwegein.

TuinZaken Retail Experience is organised by
TPK Media & Events | Publisher of TuinZaken, Garden Retailer, and DPK Florist Magazine