Close on the heels of the shock Brexit vote in the EU referendum came the equally unexpected exit of three quarters of the Garden Centre Association’s standards inspection team, announced on Friday.

Not one, not two but THREE of the GCA’s standards inspectors announced on the same day that they would be standing down after the 2016 round of inspections.

Alyson, Andy and Ian are standing down from their roles at the organisation this year (2016).

Inspectorexit 1: Alyson Haywood is taking on an operational post with Van Hage at Great Amwell

Inspectorexit 2:Andy Campbell, an inspector for 12 years, wants to spend less time away from home and more time with his family

Inspectorexit 3: Ian Boardman, the most senior member of the inspection team, is going forward to work on other projects.

GCA chief executive Iain Wylie said he was really sorry to see these three widely respected industry experts go. “I completely understand their individual decisions to step down at this stage and wish them all the very best with their new ventures.

“They have all been a pleasure to work with and an integral part of the organisation. They will be missed and I’d like to thank them for all their hard work and commitment.”

The fourth inspector – and now last man standing – industry stalwart Roger Crookes, will continue in his role, "I intend to continue serving GCA and it's members" he told GTN Xtra on Friday night.

The search for replacements has already started.  “We’re very happy to speak to people interested in the posts from all areas of the industry,” Wylie said. “Anyone keen to find out more about the role should contact me via email or phone at the GCA before we start the recruitment process in earnest so we can ensure they get full details sent out to them.

“We view this very much as an opportunity to re-fresh our team of GCA inspectors and we’re seeing this as a positive situation moving forward, although of course we’re very sad to see Alyson, Andy and Ian go.”

Alyson Haywood is a former general operations manager at Wyevale Garden Centres and was responsible for six regional managers. Her other roles have included general manager roles at Woodlands Nurseries and Bridgemere Garden World and head of nurseries and regional manager with The Garden Centre Group.

Julian Winfield, chairman of the GCA said the contributions from the departing inspectors and the inspection process itself had undoubtedly improved members’ standards

Andy Campbell said: “I would like to think that I have served the GCA members well during this time, supporting the members in improving retail disciplines and customer service standards as they develop their businesses.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this role and learnt a lot at the same time. I would like to thank the GCA for enabling me to participate in what I believe is a very powerful business improvement tool and wish them well for the future.

“My reasons for leaving are entirely personal. With a young teenage family, I wish to spend more time at home during these important years, recognising that before I know it they will be making their own way in life. This is not retirement, simply a re-balancing of home and work life.” 

Ian Boardman has extensive horticultural and retail experience, having worked in the garden centre industry for the past 40 years. Prior to becoming one of the GCA’s inspectors 18 years ago, he was employed for three years as plant area manager and for 10 years as a general manager responsible for a team of more than 100. He has also worked in France for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Ian told GTN Xtra: “It was not an easy decision. I love GCA and all it stands for. But there are other things I want to do and being an Inspector means a very intense three month period each spring. It’s very satisfying to re-visit centres on a four year rota basis with the other Inspectors. You can see the changes and improvements they have made based on our feedback and hearing their successes is great.  I like to think that I have helped drive the industry forwards and to develop the inspection process over the years. “

Ian explained that he will formally step down after the 2017 GCA Conference in St Andrews, Scotland in January 2017. In the meantime he will be continuing to facilitate the very successful Westland/GCA Rising stars programme, present the GCA South Thames Area Awards and also his annual roundup of best practice at the GCA Annual Conference.

“Huge thanks to all at GCA for all their help and support over the years and to my Inspections Team. I will still be around in the industry helping develop people and businesses, organising mystery shopping, facilitating management training, judging competitions and continuing with the Rising Stars programme. I might not wear my shoes out so quickly in future though  – we walk miles each day during Inspections season!”

The owner of Bybrook Barn Garden Centre at Ashford in Kent is reported to have confirmed that he is in discussions with potential purchasers.

An article in the local press claimed Longacres Nurseries, which has garden centres at Bagshot and Shepperton and a garden shop at Chobham, was rumoured to have expressed an interest in taking over Bybrook Barn, whose managers had earlier declined to deny rumours that it was set to close down.

Bybrook Barn’s owner Terry Burch, who set up the original centre in a nearby barn in 1975, is reported since to have quashed the stories of imminent closure but confirmed he has been talking to other garden centre operators about a potential sale in order to secure the long-term future of the business. He is said to have described the closure rumours as “absolute nonsense”. He also said he had had approaches from developers but preferred to sell the business as a going concern to protect staff.

Mr Burch is in his eighties.

GTN Xtra attempted to contact Longacres for comment but without a response as we reached the deadline.

As we neared the end of a wet and stormy June, plant sales held up well – showing a week-on-week increase of 9% – while across-the-board sales were down 10%, according to the EpOS data supplied by garden centres for GTN Bestsellers.

Pelargoniums continue to lead the way as the bestselling plant in garden centres, still selling at least double the volume of the next highest plant genus, which is Petunia this week. No doubt many of these will be going into hanging baskets and planters.

Two new plant genera feature in the chart this week, Armeria comes in at No.8 and Aquilegia at No.19. Also looking good and growing sales to re-enter the chart are Violas, back in at No.24.

As the ramifications of Brexit continue to grab media space, you may want to make sure your gardening sales, and plant sales in particular, are in good shape. During the period of uncertainty caused by the 2008 economic crash, plant sales and gardening fared better than most other retail sectors.

A staycation promotion ready for all customers who may decide not to fly off to faraway places because of the exchange rate may pay dividends.

Apologies

Due to a family bereavement we will not be able to produce the GTN Bestsellers newsletter next week.  Normal service will be resumed the following week when we will include the half year statistics and graphs. 

Thank you.

Staff knowledge is the most influential factor when gardening consumers are deciding where to shop, according to the latest market report from analysts Mintel.

In‘Garden Products Retailing UK - June 2016’ (£1,750 from store.mintel.com), Mintel says inspirational displays influence 40%, while 23% say cafés are important. The 25-44 age group values an informative website.

Mintel’s research suggests that 50% of consumers perceive the garden as ‘a pleasant pastime’, while it is viewed as ‘a practical environment’ by 26%. For 24%, the garden is another room. More than a third of consumers claim gardening is a favourite pastime.

The report says steady growth in a market of 22.8 million gardens is forecast until 2021, fuelled by demand from the over-55s, whose numbers will have increased by more than 1.9 million by 2020.

Around 45% of people with a garden or outdoor space have shopped for garden products at B&Q in the past year, the research claims.

Glyphosate – the active ingredient in leading garden weedkillers, including Roundup – has been been given another temporary reprieve by the European Commission.

Early last week (Monday 27 June), just three days before its licence was due to expire, the Commission extended approval for 18 months to allow further research by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The agency is due to report back next year.

Campaigners had been hoping they had done enough to persuade the commission to ban glyphosate altogether, on health and environmental grounds. The Commission stepped in to break the deadlock after a standing committee of member states failed to reach a consensus on a way forward.

Gary Philpott, UK business director for lawn and garden at Monsanto and chair of the Crop Protection Association’s Common Sense Gardening Group, said: “Gardeners will be relieved that they will continue to be able to purchase and use this safe, efficient and effective garden care chemical. However, it is disappointing that what should have been a routine re-authorisation process has become politicised, causing some to lose sight of the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence showing that glyphosate poses no risk to human health or the environment.”

Philpott believes that, given that the existing extensive evaluation carried out by the EU and the fact that more than 40 years of robust scientific evidence had confirmed that glyphosate poses no risk to human health, the standard 15-year renewal should have been granted.

“Hopefully this 18 month extension will provide an opportunity for common sense and scientific evidence to prevail,” he said in a statement. “Failure to re-licence glyphosate for the full 15 year term would be contrary to the science and remove a key tool which

helps create and maintain a garden as part of an integrated approach that considers alternative methods of pest, weed, and disease control when appropriate.

“Human health and responsible use of garden care chemicals is and must always be our highest priority. As an industry we take pride in the detailed submissions we provide to regulators and the extreme rigour with which our products are assessed. Gardeners can feel confident when using glyphosate-based products that they provide a highly effective and safe solution to weed problems at home.”

Garden designers and landscapers visited Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford last week to see its new product developments for the coming year.

The founder and principal at the Cotswold Gardening School, Caroline Tatham and garden designer and TV presenter Kate Durr, were guest speakers.

Attendees were able to tour the 70-acre container nursery site where more than 1.5 million plants, including more than 1,000 different varieties, are grown annually.

Caroline hosted a talk and slide show covered covering large-scale garden creation and renovation and the designing, building and planting of the Festival Gardens and celebrity stage at RHS Malvern Spring and Autumn shows.

Kate, who has a diploma in professional garden design, described how she designed and built her first RHS show garden at the Malvern Spring Festival in May 2015 using Wyevale Nurseries plants, after winning a national RHS competition. She said it was encouraging to see Wyevale Nurseries fostering its relationship with design professionals and working together to help the industry. “Wyevale Nurseries have their fingers on the pulse and know what’s ‘hot’ in the plant world right now, with wonderful new products in the pipeline.”

Left: (left to right) Ben Gregory, product development co-ordinator at Wyevale Nurseries with Charlotte Collins from the University of Gloucestershire at the Wyevale Nurseries’ Open Day.

Nectar rich plants that support butterflies are the theme for the HTA’s ‘Plant of the Moment’ for July.

They include a huge range of bedding plants, perennials, flowering shrubs and bulbs that produce the simple, open blooms that butterflies love, and suit virtually any site or soil. They act as fuelling stations for butterflies, moths, bees and other beneficial insects.

One of the most popular is buddleja (Butterfly Bush). Several dwarf and compact varieties are now available to suit pots or tiny spaces, with flower colours ranging from pink and white to blue, lavender, magenta and deep purple.

Some of the best flowering perennials provide long-lasting displays, with a succession of flowers opening over several months. These include varieties of rudbeckia and Echinacea (Cone Flower), both valued for their outstanding garden performance.

Lavenders provide welcome nectar for butterflies through the summer months, while planting a range of Sedum (Ice Plants) will ensure more flowers develop into autumn to feed Small Tortoiseshell and other late-flying butterflies as they prepare for hibernation.

With more than 50 species of butterfly resident in the UK, and dozens more flying across from Europe, gardens can play a vital role in ensuring their survival.

Customers will appreciate the following planning and planting tips:

• Choose a range of suitable plants with different flowering periods to ensure there’s something in bloom throughout spring, summer and autumn for butterflies to feed from.
• Several butterflies hibernate through winter. Adults emerging from hibernation need flowers to feed on in spring. Others require autumn blooms to stock-up on nectar to help them survive during hibernation.
• While flowers are important to feed adult butterflies, different plants are needed for butterflies to lay their eggs on and to feed their caterpillars.

Click here to download the media pack which features: plant information for each month including top plants, tips and companion plant ideas, high and low resolution photos, plus Point-of-Sale samples from Floramedia and Hortipak.

Photo - ©Adam Pasco Media

Members of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) were treated to a rare vision of the future of UK multiple retail DIY and home when the Association’s latest forum featured presentations about both Bunnings and Kingfisher in one information packed session.

A fifty minute recorded interview with Bunnings CEO John Gillam and CFO for nine years Michael Wedgwood proved a real insight into the character, trading style and ambitions of this iconic Australian retailer.  Now the owner of Homebase in the UK and set to go head to head with B&Q, Bunnings has strong values, a high profile approach to its stores and the communities which support them and a clear strategy for product and category development.

The Bunnings interview was perfectly complemented by an equally frank presentation about Kingfisher’s plans – this time from the vendor’s perspective.  ‘Living through ‘One’ Kingfisher – the suppliers’ viewpoint’ was presented by Lee Mellor, MD of Keter Products/Curver Plastics.  His presentation detailed his own and his company’s experience of the ‘One’ Kingfisher programme.  Intended to unify buying power across all Kingfisher’s retail brands, the ‘One’ Kingfisher programme presents vendors with numerous challenges beyond the obvious including legal, financial and HR.

Lee’s presentation focused on the organisation and communication changes required to interact and serve Kingfisher’s new organisation model in the best way.

The forum also covered trading and trends in France with Valerie Dequen, general manager of the French suppliers’ trade association, Unibal, together with Stephane Dalimier, director general of NMC France and Vice President of Fediyma.  Guy Burtenshaw of Media Events also provided an update on the Home Press Event which will take place in July in London.

Paul Grinsell, DIY and garden sector director of BHETA said: "The arrival of Bunnings in the UK and the roll-out of Kingfisher’s new approach to sourcing have both been the subject of much speculation and debate, so it was fantastic to enable BHETA members to get so close to the real experience.  I’d like to thank all the contributors including Bunnings and in particular, Lee Mellor for sharing some very special information on the day.”

For more information about future BHETA events, contact BHETA member services on 0121 237 1130 or visit the website.

Above right: Lee Mellor, MD of Keter Products/Curver Plastics at the BHETA Forum

• Are you active as an independent sales representative in the garden branche?
• Are your customers garden centres, florists, DIY-shops, garden designers or garden webshops?
• Are you looking to expand your product range with high quality products?
• Do you want to increase sales in your area?
• Do you want to work with a dynamic team in a growing organisation?
• And are you an enthusiastic, driven, self-employed person with lots of persuasiveness and do you have a passion for gardening?

Then you might be one of the persons we are looking for!

How to continue:
Send your motivation and c.v. to peacock@peacock.nl and indicate in which counties you operate.

After receiving your information, we will contact you within 1 week. When there is mutual interest we will meet at the GLEE in Birmingham at Monday 12-09-2016. So save the date!

You can respond until 30-07-2016.

Peacock Garden Supports ● Industrieweg 22 ● 5688 DP ● The Netherlands ● www.peacock.nl

• Will be to manage the plantarea on a day to day basis ensuring plant stock is in tip top condition and merchandised to a high standard.
• Liaise with the group Buyer on managing supplies, stocking and plant choices.
• Supervising staff and ensuring that customer services are kept to a very high standard.

The Candidate

• For this role candidates must have:
• A proven track-record in the industry along with good man-management and supervisory skills.
• Excellent plant knowledge and a good background in horticultural retailing is a must for this role.
• Superb plant merchandising skills.
• Be a team player with the ability to offer superb customer service.

To apply for this role click here

• Responsible for sales in North West and Scotland the position presently reports to the Managing Director pending appointment of a National Sales Manager. Over recent years the business has yielded some market share, but following a £2million investment in the UK operation with a range of new and improved products the business is being regained, key to the role is to accelerate this process.
• The role requires a pro-active approach providing negotiated pricing and product knowledge to distributors, their customers and our direct accounts. Preparation of market reviews in the area, forecasting and input to annual budget.
• Involvement in product development with the rest of the Sales team and technical colleagues is an element of the job.

• Preference will be given to those with experience of sales in the Horticultural Industry; a knowledge of plastic products is not necessary, but an understanding of how a commercial nursery operates would be valuable.
• The candidate must already reside within the region and will be based from home.
• Computer literacy with Word, Excel is necessary to an average user level.
• A clean driving licence is necessary with some speeding convictions excepted.

• An annual salary (paid monthly) of £25,000, more for outstanding candidate.
• Potential to earn 15% of salary in bonus, based mainly on individual performance to sales and margin targets.
• Company private pension plan
• Four times annual salary Death in Service insurance is provided.
• A company car is provided and fuel for business use, the incumbent reimburses private usage at an agreed rate.

• Team leadership skills are essential as is the ability to communicate well with customers delivering excellent standards of customer care. Working in a busy retail team environment means you will have to have a hands-on approach to all duties within this department.
• Candidates must have a background in retail, be able to merchandise and manage rapidly changing stock.
• Knowledge of garden products and garden chemicals etc. would also be an advantage but additional training can be given.
• If you are passionate about Garden Sundries and would enjoy sharing this enthusiasm with our client's customers, we would love to hear from you.

Bonningtons, the Nottingham based garden products supplier has been preparing for the possibility of Brexit and they’re now in a good position to support customers through what is bound to be a turbulent few months.

Ian Fisher, owner and chief executive says “We’ve been building contingency plans for some time and our buying team have made several extra trips to the Far East to line up some great deals. Our 20-strong China team are working on an aggressive sourcing plan that will help us to stabilise our landed costs.”

Bonningtons have several months US$ in hand purchased at favourable exchange rates, and an additional £6million stock holding to see them through the early part of the next season.

Additionally, they have recently secured a great new freight deal which is delivering savings to help offset the challenges faced in exchange rate fluctuations.

Ian goes on to explain “The great news is that over the past few months we’ve invested significantly in the future development of the business, adding new brands, new products and a raft of new process and support systems to bring Bonningtons to a whole new level. The business has grown very rapidly in the past couple of years and we’re ready to move on to the next stage. I’m not going to allow market volatility and uncertainty prevent us from achieving our goal of £50m within the next 2 years.”

Sergio Tartaglia, Bonningtons Sales Director added “So, whilst we can’t predict what will happen to future rates, nor can we guarantee complete price stability, we have done everything we can to maintain our competitive pricing. We’ll be sharing our new plans and the exciting future for Bonningtons with all our customers at GLEE and I’m looking forward to the next phase of our exciting growth plans.”

Bonningtons, one of the UK’s fastest growing SMEs will be at SPOGA GAFA 4 – 6 September 2016, GLEE 12 – 14 September 2016, Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair, 8 – 11 January 2017 and Spring Fair, 5 – 9 February 2017.

Bonnington Plastics
Glaisdale Parkway
Nottingham
NG8 4GP

CHA has announced that Stuart Booker, who for the past 10 years has looked after the day to day management of the association, is to step down to take a new role in the agriculture and horticulture PR industry.

The CHA secretariat team at head office in Brasted will continue to manage the daily activities and UK group participations at events including GaLaBau 2016, IFTF 2016, IPM Essen 2017 and Fruit Logistica 2017.

As currently, Theresa Swann, Head of Events & Administration will be overseeing the secretariat work of the CHA and during the run up to the inaugural GrowQuip conference, dinner and exhibition, she will be supported by Gemma Chandler and Latisha Springer.  Gemma has been working for the Federation's secretariats in Brasted over a period of 3 years.  She has 20 years’ experience in corporate communications and events management.  Latisha has undertaken several independent event projects while undertaking an events management degree and is looking forward to using these skills to support the CHA's launch of the GrowQuip conference, dinner and exhibition showcase. 

A familiar face to many in the commercial horticultural industry, the current CHA Chairman Ms Pat Flynn will continue in the role of CHA spokesperson and is looking forward to representing the CHA at the many UK and international events where the CHA will have a presence in the forthcoming year.

Pat will also continue as the lead contact for the inaugural GrowQuip 2016, the cross-industry conference and exhibition launched by CHA which will take place on 26-27 October at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

Speaking of his new appointment, Stuart Booker explained: “I am leaving CHA in a healthy position with the launch of GrowQuip gaining such encouraging support both in the UK and overseas. With new international events coming into the calendar, CHA can continue to assist new and existing UK exporters to reach new clients and new markets across the world.

 “It was with a heavy heart that I have to say goodbye to my colleagues at CHA after 10 extremely rewarding and memorable years. This exciting new challenge came at the right time for me personally and for my career, although it does not make the decision to move on any easier. I would like to thank everyone at the CHA secretariat and committee, including Director General of the secretariat Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE, Chairman Pat Flynn and Head of Events Theresa Swann for all of their support over the last 10 years.”

Pat Flynn, Chair, CHA, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Stuart for his dedication and hard work over the last 10 years and wish him well for the future.

“We are looking forward to working with the expanded secretariat team at Brasted on what will be an exciting year for the CHA, with new UK and international events underway and new business services to support the membership being launched in the next couple of months.”

The continuing interest in herb growing showed up strongly again in last week’s GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart.

The top performers were:

Farplants Chives Garlic Herb, the highest new entry at No.5.

New entries from Common Rosemary and Pink Rosemary (both from Farplants).

Highest climber was Bridgen’s Rosemary, moving up 33 places to No 4.

Highest chart re-entry was Quantil’s Sweet Potato ‘Erato White’ in 10cm Pot at No.19.

Moroccan Mint from Farplants is the new No.1 after shooting 24 places up the chart.

The GTN Bestsellers Growing Media chart reflected a poor sales week.

Volumes were down 8.3% on the previous week and behind the same period in 2015 (-31.6%) and 2014 (-15.2%).

This week’s Growing Media star performers were:

• Highest re-entry was Scotts Levington John Innes No.1 (25 litres) at No 24.
• Highest climber was Westland Multipurpose + John Innes 20L + 5L Extra, jumping 22 places to No 13 in the chart.
• Arthur Bowers New Horizon Multi Purpose (60 litres) was another returning product. 

Garden lighting lines helped to bolster sales during a week which saw GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Top 50 volumes down on the same week in 2015 (-23.5%) and 2014 (18.6%).

The notable performances in the Top 50 were:

• Gardman Solar Mini Ice Orb and Smart Solar Eureka! Lightbulb Lantern were the top two bestselling items.
• Highest re-entry was Gardman Ribbed Marker Light Black Nickel at No.10.
• Highest new entry was Smart Garden Solar Crystal Glass Stake Light at No.21.
• The highest climber was Gardman Standard Hanging Brackets 30/35cm Black, moving up 12 places to No.33.

• The story behind the sale of Dobbies.
• GIMA Charity Golf Day report and pictures.
• Smell the coffee - how to make your drinks offering work.
• It's time for tea - great afternoon tea tips.
• MasterChef - advice from the Greatest Garden Centre Chef team.
• Service with a smile - great customer service.
• Are you ready for Glee?

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.

All available from https://www.espressowarehouse.com/c/121/beans