Castle Gardens (above) have won the GCA Christmas competition for Best Garden Centre for the eighth successive year and Bents (below) have been awarded Best Christmas Destination Garden Centre in the UK.

After the results were confirmed last week Bents posted "Voted Best Christmas in the UK!" on their facebook page and Louise Burks, director of The Gardens Group, explained in a press release; “We’re delighted to win this national award for the eighth time, it’s a real achievement and one we are extremely proud of. Our Christmas displays demonstrate a real team effort across The Gardens Group, as everyone works hard to make sure they look their absolute best, from the opening in October, right up until Christmas.

Brimsmore, another of The Gardens Group centres came third in the national garden centre category. This year marked the first time that The Apple Tree Farm Shop, based at Brimsmore Gardens, was judged and it received high praise from the judges for its “enticing, comprehensive and easy to shop range of local products”, as well as the Christmas hampers available, filled with a selection of goods from the farm shop, which is all stocked “in wonderful little huts.”

Louise added: "For The Apple Tree Farm Shop to receive such high praise in its first year being judged is incredible. We make a real effort to stock the very best produce from local makers, growers and butchers, so it’s fantastic to get this recognition on a national scale.”

See GTN Xtra's photo gallery of Christmas at Bents 2017:

Wooff woof! Yes it’s me, your industrious (and occasionally industrial) Newshound reporting for duty.

You’ll be wondering if I found much to set the tail wagging at this week’s gathering of the supply chain at Fortress Wyevale. I’ll be honest…they wouldn’t let me in. Didn’t like my credentials. The cheek! I didn’t ask to see theirs.

So I’ve had to resort to sniffing the turn-ups and hemlines of the summoned horde of 100 or more after they streamed out of the Holiday Inn near Syon Park HQ from what was billed as a progress update. We can’t name names, because we promised, but we know them all and they’re not robots.

Nobody was crying, I can report, so for CEO Roger Mclaughlan and his team, it must have gone well.

“Excuse me,” I say to a man who looks to me like the chief executive of something important, “what did you think of what you heard in there?”

“Strong team,” he nods. “They’re all good individually.

“They still have a challenge in cascading direction to the rest of the business. It was well-presented plan – improvements in all areas of the business are planned.

“I still think their challenge is how do they drive footfall into the store. You need to be ‘known for something’ and I think they still aren’t quite sure what it is.

“That said, doing the basics better should give them a little bounce in 2018.”

Moving down the line, I home in on a smiling face that looks as though it liked what it heard. It was a useful meeting, he thought, clearly aimed at reassuring peoples, even though they have seriously reduced the number of suppliers they’re listing. “For those who are still trading with them, knowing they are working on things is good.”

They mentioned they were selling off  “a load of excess stock”, but politely refrained from blaming anyone…

And they mentioned how things like the new Epos system and streamlined IT and mobile phone purchases will all help the business to run more smoothly.

Your Hound liked the sound of that more than what he heard next. Apparently, at one point the suppliers were invited to join in a football crowd style chant which went something like: “We are Wyevale, Wonderful Wyevale, Wyevale of the Park…”

How did that register on the Cringe-ometer, I wonder?

Anyone hoping for spectacular revelations on the day would have been disappointed, it seems. “To be honest, there wasn’t anything especially controversial or secretive presented – essentially an honest and interesting summary of their ongoing plans and initiatives,” said another trouser-leg. “The main points were the new finance facilities already widely reported, wider adoption of the distribution centre along with some inevitable supplier consolidation, local empowerment, new recruitment, focus on serviced and so on…”

I’m getting the drift. All positive, then? “Extremely,” said another turn-up (although it could have been a hemline). “I was impressed by their optimism and enthusiasm for the business. It has given me as a supplier more confidence that they are on the right road and have the bank’s support to move forward.

“I am not prepared to divulge detail but in reality it’s not that important. It was: a) this is where we’ve got to so far and b) this is where we are going next. And the desire to form strong partnerships with suppliers.”

So there we have it, my little kennel keepers. I can’t say the tail is wagging wildly, but at least it’s still holding up.

As we enter the final months of 2017, UK based supplier of compost and growing media, Durston Garden Products Ltd reflects on what has been another momentous year.  

“Whilst the company’s successful year must be attributed to a combination of factors,"  says National Sales Manager, Dan Durston, "it is without doubt that we have seen an increased level of new enquiries as a result of our recent BUY BRITISH marketing campaign.  

"The objective of the campaign was to persuade retailers that as BREXIT negotiations continue, that now is the right time to switch supplier to one much closer to home – and based on recent feedback and  orders placed, it would appear that the campaign has been a great success."

In recent weeks Durstons has also announced that it will be holding its prices for 2018, which is a complete contrast to many of its competitors.  

Other compost suppliers are finding themselves having to hike-up their prices for 2018 due in-part to the often logistical nightmare associated with shopping abroad and the lengthy supply chain involved with that process.

“The word is out,“ continues Dan, “that Durstons is a great company to do business with and  that we really can delivered products to you  anywhere in England and Wales within 5 days from receipt of order – now that’s got to be a good thing!.

"What’s more we also guarantee to HOLD our prices for 2018. Equally and unlike some other compost suppliers we have had a full harvest this year and are confident therefore that we can, and will, meet any orders and obligations that we engage in."

Family-owned Durston Garden Products is extremely proud of its 150 year-plus British heritage and its state-of-the-art packing facility in Somerset. The facility is located alongside the family owned land where the peat is harvested, processed, bagged and then shrink wrapped onto pallets before being  loaded onto Durstons  own-branded lorries ready for distribution to anywhere in the UK.

“As we end the year on a high,” says Dan, “we look back with pride at what we have achieved once again as an independent British organisation, whilst also look forward to bigger and better things to come."

The company has produced a video called Durston's Amazing Compost 2017, which can be viewed here https://youtu.be/6H95RW5fEFY

For more information about Durston Garden Products visit www.durstongardenproducts.co.uk

Squires Twickenham – attractive use of vertical space.

The 20 finalists in the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Ruxley Rose competition have recently (November, 2017) been judged and there is strong evidence of continued enthusiasm for selling plants at member centres.

The two winners, judged to have the best plant areas, will be announced during the GCA’s annual conference at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon between January 21 and 24, 2018.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “During the spring our member garden centres received inspections of their plant areas. The scores from these inspections determined 20 finalists who went through to our autumn judging process.

“Our Ruxley Rose judge, Roger Crookes, has just completed his visits to these centres and we are now in the process of collating the results prior to the announcement of the winners at our conference in January.”

Nationally the top centres in both the Garden Centre (GC) and Destination Garden Centre (DGC) categories were revisited in September and GCA members scrutinised on how they were promoting and marketing plants during the autumn selling season.

Perrywood container gardening ideas – creative use of vertical space and simple chalk board messages.

Roger said: “It was very encouraging to see increasing evidence of ‘plant area confidence’ among the finalists of the GCA’s Ruxley Rose Best Plant Area competition. Plant sales have been quite strong for the past 18 months and there is evidence of some much needed re-focussing on our plant areas.

“On my inspections I noticed continued growth in sales of ready planted containers, herbs and large pots of flowering perennials and grasses. Instant colours and impulse appeal are often the bread and butter of the plant area.

“I also noted that bulbs are increasingly visible on the plant area rather than the shop and some centres were offering a broader range of conifers, which were looking great at the end of summer, leading me to wonder if we could see a return to the 1980’s enthusiasm for dwarf conifers.

“Many centres had an imaginative use of vertical space and roses were looking particularly good. I also noticed some short and punchy ‘personalised’ chalk board signs dotted throughout various centres, which when used alongside printed Correx boards and POS cards, helped to add a more personal feel.”

During his inspections Roger also noted that hedging and heathers are two plants groups which seem under promoted in some centres.

The scores from Roger’s judging visits will now be combined with the finalists’ spring inspection scores and the winners of the Best Plant Area in the Garden Centre and Destination Garden Centre categories, will be announced during the GCA’s annual conference in January.

Stratford – strong presentation and range in the rose department in September.

The finalists in the Garden Centre category are:

Cowell’s Garden Centre in the North East
Fairways Garden Centre – Ashbourne in the Midlands
Fron Goch Garden Centre in the North West
Garden Wise (Dumfries) Ltd in Scotland
Mains of Drum Garden Centre Ltd in Scotland
Meadow Croft Garden Centre in North Thames
Pacific Nurseries in the Midlands
Planters at Bretby Ltd in the Midlands
Stratford Garden Centre in the Midlands
Sunshine Garden Centre in North Thames.
 

The finalists in the Destination Garden Centre category are:

Aylett Nurseries Ltd in North Thames
Barton Grange Garden Centre in the North West
Bents Garden & Home in the North West
Bicester Avenue Garden Centre in North Thames
Burston Rose and Garden Centre in North Thames
Pennells Garden Centre – Lincoln in the Midlands
Perrywood Garden Centre & Nurseries Ltd in North Thames
Simpsons Garden Centre in Scotland
Squires Garden Centre – Twickenham in North Thames
Woodlands Nurseries in the Midlands.

Christmas is either peaking too soon or we are just in for a bumper season, according to EPOS data supplied by garden centres for GTN Bestsellers. 

As the graph below shows, last week the sales volume of the GTN Christmas Top 50 products matched the peak of 2014 in the second week of December and was only 7% behind last year’s bestselling week at the start of December.

With ice rinks opening, grottos already fully booked and plenty of other Christmas events planned, our gut feel is that despite the economic uncertainty at the moment, customers are using Christmas as a ‘feel good’ excuse, and where garden centres have visually appealing displays with a mix of great products on sale, high levels of purchase are inevitable.

What do you think about the prospects for the rest of the Christmas Spirit? Have we peaked too soon? Do let us know by email: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...

Garden Products - down 21%

Growing Media - down 3%

Wild Bird Care - down 8%

Christmas Products - up 38%

All Plants Index - up 45%

All Items Index - up 5%

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

The importance of brand, appealing to mature customers, data protection, direct mail and loyalty schemes were just a few of the topics on the agenda at this week’s sell out HTA Marketing Forum.

This annual one-day event, aimed at all those involved in marketing and public relations in the garden industry, took place at Horticulture House, Chilton, Oxfordshire on 15 November.

Amongst the key learnings were…

Future proof your business by viewing it through mature eyes.

Make age irrelevant - there are many shades of grey.

Your brand is about what your customers tell each other about you.

Capitalise on the popularity of ‘indoor’ as a gateway to gardening.

Make sure you are GDPR compliant by 25 May 2018.

In this digital world don’t forget direct mail as part of the marketing mix.

Think mobile first to ensure reduced dropout rates for mobile transactions.

Don’t forget your existing customers when reaching out for new consumers.

Fake news makes professional PR more important than ever.

Simple initiatives and random acts of kindness can have a big and lasting impact.

Get involved in National Childrens’ Gardening Week – 26 May-3 June 2018.

Look out for HTA Gifting Scheme marketing materials and content to dovetail into your existing activities.

Join in with Poinsettia Day on 12 December.

Partnership marketing can bring great rewards for all.

Create memorable experiences for your customers.

To read the full event report visit: https://hta.org.uk/event_listing/hta-marketing-forum-2017.html

Dealing with tricky consumers can be quite a challenge requiring patience as well as great communication skills and a detailed understanding of the product as well as business relationships.

David Coton, partner at GardenSite.co.uk and a loyal Kelkay customer, knows only too well how hard it can be to join up all the pieces when a product sale goes wrong. So he was particularly impressed when Kelkay were able to sort out his consumer’s problem resulting in complete resolution of what could have turned into a difficult situation.

In fact, he was so impressed that he dedicated the annual GardenSite award to Leanne Arrowsmith in the Kelkay customer services team. “Leanne was able to take immediate action with a very positive and reassuring tone,” he said. “ She dealt with the problem very efficiently and it was a real pleasure to deal with her. We all love working with Kelkay because the team are so helpful and dynamic in all respects”

Leanne was presented with her award at Kelkay Head Office by a proud Antony Harker who said: “We very quickly hear if things don’t go quite right, so it is so great to hear about the successes and acknowledge someone on the team who really goes the extra mile for our customers.”

“I’m just doing my job, but it’s lovely to know that someone has noticed!” Leanne said. “The whole team handles challenging situations every week, but it’s rare for someone to make the effort to mark our success in this way. We are all pretty chuffed!”

Alzheimer’s Society and Britain’s best known gardener, Alan Titchmarsh, have come together to stand united against dementia by producing a brand new guide encouraging garden centres and nurseries across the UK to become dementia-friendly and sign up to their Forget Me Not campaign.

The guide, which is backed by gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh, includes information for garden centre staff about dementia as well as practical tips and advice on how they can make their business more accessible to the 850,000 people across the UK currently living with dementia.

Calling on Britain’s garden centres to future-proof their products and services by taking simple dementia-friendly steps such as displaying clear signage or ensuring accessible toilet facilities, the guide shows that when a business gets it right for people with dementia, it gets it right for everyone.

Designed for garden centres and nurseries at any level, the guide not only offers practical advice on how to make garden centre venues more dementia-friendly and accessible, but also provides tips and guidance on how to support staff, customers and all those affected by dementia within the local community. The garden guide tips are easy to implement and include reflections from people with dementia on what really works for them.

For businesses considering the financial implications of becoming a dementia-friendly business, the guide addresses the fact that people with dementia and their families often have considerable disposable income and spending power, with the average household affected by dementia spending £16,800 per year. Becoming a dementia-friendly garden centre can increase revenue, improve customer service and future-proof a business’s products and services.

With dementia set to be the 21st century’s biggest killer, Alzheimer’s Society is also encouraging garden centres to fundraise and help fund their vital work to provide information and support services to people affected by dementia, improve care, continue research, and create lasting change.

Alan Titchmarsh MBE, gardener, presenter and novelist, who provided the foreword to the guide, said: “Gardens and gardening are incredibly important and a constant feature throughout our life, especially so for older people and people affected by dementia. A garden can help people living with dementia enjoy socialising and connect with others by creating a shared experience, to take part in physical activity and stimulate the senses and memories, all of which greatly improves their well-being.

“By developing an understanding of the condition, garden centres can make a huge difference to people living with dementia to continue to play an active part of their communities and continue to do the things they want to do.

“I am delighted to support this guide and the incredibly important work that garden centres are doing to support people living with and affected by dementia.”

Bents Home and Garden in Glazebury, who recently selected Alzheimer’s Society as their Charity of the Year 2017, have been working closely with the charity to become more dementia-friendly while raising much-needed funds.

Matthew Bent, Managing Director of Bents Garden & Home said: “Bents has not only committed to raising money for Alzheimer's Society as our Charity of the Year 2017 but we are also working hard to become a dementia-friendly destination.

“Over the past few months we have worked with Alzheimer's Society to provide tips and training for our staff and guidance as to how they can help people with dementia while at the centre. We even had an Alzheimer's Society stand in the centre during Dementia Awareness Week earlier on in the year.

“All of this plays a crucial role in ensuring that people with dementia feel active, supported and valued when shopping at Bents - and strengthens our relationship with well-established and new potential shoppers. We would definitely recommend becoming more dementia-friendly to other garden centres across the country."

Emma Bould, Programme Partnerships Project Manager at the Alzheimer’s Society said: “Alzheimer’s Society is proud to be launching this guide to help garden centres become more dementia-friendly.

“We know through initiatives like our Side by Side service that visiting a garden centre is a really popular activity for older people affected by dementia and something they are keen to continue doing throughout their condition. While there are some excellent examples of garden centres who are working to become dementia-friendly already, there is the opportunity for even more businesses to get involved and help support people living with dementia to continue enjoying gardening and garden centres.

“We hope this guide will encourage garden centres across the UK to unite against dementia and start their dementia-friendly journey by committing to taking practical steps to improve their stores and services for people affected by dementia.

For more information on the Forget Me Not campaign, how to get involved and to download the guide, please visit: www.alzheimers.org/uk/gardening

Charlie Barker has joined Tong Garden Centre at Bradford in the newly-created position of finance director. He joins from Cranswick plc and brings a wealth of corporate finance experience.

Tong MD Mark Farnsworth said: “We are delighted that Charlie is joining the team. We have known each other for a long time and are confident that he will be a great fit for our team and business. We have had a busy two and a half years re-establishing Tong as one of the best garden centres in the area and are delighted with the progress that we have made.  Now is the time to further strengthen our team as we look to the future.”

Barker is excited by the opportunities that lie ahead: “This is a great industry to be involved in and I am delighted to be joining the team who have achieved so much in such a short time. This is an ambitious business and I look forward to helping them to deliver the plans.”

Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson bought Tong Garden Centre in May 2015 for an undisclosed sum and have since invested almost £2 million in improvements. Turnover has more than doubled since they took over and the business has created over 100 new jobs.

Left to right Charlie Barker and Mark Farnsworth

Two garden centres who use live reindeers in their Christmas attractions have been criticised by animal rights activists over the past week.

In Yorkshire, protesters urged the Wyevale Garden Centre at Birchencliffe to cancel the live reindeer event planned for last Saturday (12 November), which it condemned as cruel.

In Kent, campaigners accused Hawley Garden Centre at Dartford of animal cruelty for featuring live reindeer in its grotto.

The Birchencliffe centre (formerly Armitages) has held a reindeer parade for many years to herald Santa’s arrival.

Urging them to cancel its plans, Animal Aid, one of the UK’s largest animal rights organisations, said research by vets showed that reindeer suffered when uprooted from their natural habitat and placed in captivity. It added: “The research shows that a poor diet, exposure to diseases and stress are prevalent and lead to a high mortality rate in captive reindeer.”

The stress of being carted around the country to busy, noisy brightly-lit environments was “a huge welfare concern. This applies to reindeer whether imported from the wild or bred in captivity”.

WGC said health and safety checks were made to ensure the reindeer were comfortable and came to no harm.

Animal Aid campaign manager Tod Bradbury told the Huddersfield Examiner: “Reindeer should be living free in the tundra, not placed in a busy street. Not only is it cruel to transport these often shy, reserved animals around the country and force them into stressful environments, it also gives the wrong impression to the public – in particular, young children. It teaches them that animals are mere props and decorations, rather than sentient beings deserving of respect.

“We are absolutely sure that Wyevale Garden Centre’s motives were related to bringing festive joy to local residents. However, this can be achieved without putting the well-being of animals at risk.”

A WGC spokesperson said: “The reindeer parade is actually a part of our Christmas Charity Grotto…all moneys raised go to local charities. The parade is an activity that locals within the areas of which they’re running look forward to every year, making this a fun-filled safe activity for all to enjoy and health and safety checks are thoroughly made before, during and after the parade to ensure that the reindeers involved in the parade are comfortable and not harmed in any way.”

At Dartford, local activist Rob de Silva collected almost 500 signatures on a petition calling for the centre to “stop exploiting reindeer this Christmas”.

“Loud crowds and noises can be very stressful for them, never mind the fact that they'll be stuck in a small space all day being prodded by children,” he added.

The centre’s director Janice East said the petition was unfair. “We are an animal-friendly garden centre, where all the staff love animals. We do not hire the reindeer in, they are our own reindeer that we bought when they were just four months old. They are ours, and all the staff know and care for them. They have their own purpose-built Christmas pen with a second fence so people can't get too close. They come out of their pen themselves though, and they like people.”

Ms East said they had declined past requests to hire out the reindeer because they felt that changing their surroundings would distress the animals.

With 140 years of horticultural experience between them, Thompson & Morgan's newly-formed new product development team is able to boast a rich diversity of expert horticultural knowledge.

True to its tradition of providing gardeners with the newest, most interesting and best quality flower and vegetable varieties, the T&M new product development team is pulling out all the stops.

Paul Masters, who heads up the horticultural team at Thompson & Morgan, is excited about next year’s range. “Our plant breeding team, led by Charles Valin, has been working overtime and the new varieties that we're going to be offering are phenomenal! Some of them are completely revolutionary in the gardening world,” he said.

Paul brings more than 36 years of horticultural and gardening expertise to the team. He started his career as an apprentice at Notcutts, rising to the position of production director, and has travelled extensively in Europe and North America in his search for new and interesting plant varieties to offer to UK gardeners.

Colin Randel is widely known in the horticultural business as an authority on vegetables. His experience of growing and developing vegetables varieties is second to none and extends to almost 50 years. Colin was Chair of the RHS Wisley vegetable trials sub-committee for eight years from 2006 to 2013.

Peter Freeman is the most widely travelled team member, having visited the Far East and India as well as many European countries looking for new products. Over 38 years in the horticultural business, he has worked in nurseries and garden centres, in buying and management. Peter has a particular passion for herbaceous perennials.

Kris Collins returns to the T&M fold shortly to take up his new role as quality control manager on the horticultural team in mid-December. He brings veritable mine of knowledge and experience from almost 20 years in professional horticulture.

Animals at the zoo in the grounds of Van Hage’s Great Amwell garden centre in Hertfordshire may have to be put down following failure to obtain retrospective planning permission.

Ventura Wildlife Park opened at Van Hage’s in the summer of 2016 on land previously covered by Van Hage's zoo license. The centre still operates a small animals enclosure of its own.

But now planners say the wildlife park must close by February 2018 because it is not a suitable use on Green Belt land. A retrospective planning application and subsequent appeal were refused.

“We feel this is unjust considering what the land had previously been used for, and the fact that the majority of zoos in and around London are located on green belt land,” Mr Palmier told local journalists.

A petition started in a bid to save the zoo has received almost 3,000 signatures.

Mr Palmier has said that although every effort will be made to re-home the 45 species if the zoo were to close, the worst case scenario would see animals put down if homes were not found in time.

A spokeswoman for East Herts District Council said no special circumstances had been demonstrated that would outweigh the harm that would be caused to the Green Belt.

"While the council is able to license the zoo and is sympathetic to the entrepreneurial owner, this cannot override planning policy.

"Our planning decision was tested at appeal when an independent Planning Inspector also concluded that the development was not a suitable use of Green Belt land.

"Planning decisions are never easy, and retrospective applications are particularly difficult when a business has already set up.

The small animals enclosure at Van Hage is unaffected.

B&M UK, the 560-store value retailer, grew sales by 17.2% for the 6 months to Sept 23, with earnings up 20% to £107.8m.

The group’s chairman, Sir Terry Leahy, said pre-tax profits had also risen, although gross margins were down 0.8% thanks to a shift in the sales mix towards the lower margin grocery and FMCG products and end of season clearance activity, particularly on gardening and outdoor products.

“Our trading momentum in the UK has been maintained, driven by more shoppers seeking out value at B&M, combined with further improvements to our offer for customers particularly in ranging, pricing and store standards,” he added.

B&M has opened 50 new stores this year and believes there is potential for 950 or more as consumers across all income groups continue to shift towards discount formats for regular purchases.

“In tough times, shoppers don’t just love a bargain, they need a bargain and B&M's competitive position has never been stronger,” sir Terry said. “Whilst the economic and consumer background remains uncertain, we are confident that B&M is well-positioned to prosper even in a difficult retail environment.

“In the coming months we note that we face the challenge of trading against last year's exceptionally strong Christmas performance.”

Specialist Dutch tree nursery Boomkwekerij E. de Jong has reported growing sales of its ‘Royal Hedge’ range of pre-planted hedging.

In summer 2015, it included grasses in the range for the first time. Available in planted bags from 50cm long, they can be used to create a colourful garden screen or balcony feature.

‘Royal Hedge’ plantings of taxus and Prunus lusitanica are currently popular in this category. Fagus and carpinus are also available in the same format.

You can also use this Royal Hedge on your balcony. Place the beautiful flowering Royal Hedge in a planter and you have a wonderful decoration on your balcony or terrace.

You can see the nursery’s full range of plant material at the annual IPM Essen show in January 2018.

Information: visit the website

Fashion brand Klass has opened two more unmanned concessions with the Klondyke group – at Lady Green Garden Centre, Formby and High Legh Garden Centre, Knutsford (pictured).

Klass now trades in eight of Klondyke’s 22 centres, with two of them fully staffed departments (Wilmslow and Brookside). The tie-up is part of the supplier’s aim to become the ladies fashion brand for the garden centre industry.

“We are absolutely delighted to now be trading in eight Klondyke centres, especially when you consider the first concession within the Klondyke group only opened 18 months ago,” said David Cohen, retail operations director at Klass. “Hopefully ladies fashion sales continue to flourish within the garden centre sector and there are further opportunities to expand into more Klondyke centres in the future.”

Caulders garden centre group will be hosting the Klass and Anna Rose concessions at its five centres in spring 2018.

Draper Tools has appointed Phil Rowley to the Board of Directors in the role of Sales Director.

Phil has worked for the company for over 20 years, most recently as Head of Sales.

He is well known and respected in the tool industry and is looking forward to meeting new and existing customers to drive the development of Draper Tools.

Judging by the sales reported in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Chart there are a host of garden product sales going missing at the moment – most notable is Poinsettia and Christmas Cactus Feed.

This week’s EPOS data reveals that only 1 in every 21 Poinsettia and Christmas Cactus plant sales last week generated a drip feeder sale too.

Highlights this week were:

• The Smart Eureka! Zone Multi-Light provided a welcome boost for garden lighting sales.
• Robins rocked up the chart.  Vivid Arts Plant Pals Robin On Stick moved up to No 2 and Smart Gardens Robbie Robin was a new entry at No 40.

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

As usual the second week of November signals a big drop in growing media sales as colder weather drives people indoors and thoughts turn to Christmas.

Where there were sales it’s clearly more committed gardeners that are still active with John Innes compost, Jack’s Magic and manure lines featuring in the Top 10.

Highlights were:

• Westland Jack’s Magic, 60 litres, moves up four places to No 2.
• Scotts Levington Essential Top Soil, 35 litres, is the highest chart climber, up 26 places to No 10.
• Westland GroSure Easy Container, 20 litre packs size, is a new entry at No 40 as people plant up Christmas containers.

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

A bumper week for Christmas sales sees the GTN Christmas Top 50 almost reach the heights of peak weeks, normally at the start of December, from the past 4 years.

With such high volumes of low cost personalised items and Christmas chocolates indications are that Christmas 2017 is being used as a “feel good” purchase opportuity to get away from the economic uncertainty.

• Steenland Milk Chocolate Coins 50g are the highest new entry at No 5.
• Jingles LED Colour Changing Santa Pillar Candle comes in at No 11.
• Festive’s Luxury Holographic Thick Tinsel 2m saw sales jump to re-enter this year at No 48.

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

Wow, what a week for plant sales compared to the same week last year –  up by 44.5%! And it was outside plants that shone – Cyclamen up by 55%, Pansies by 67% and Primula by 57%.

Obviously, the demand for instant colour in the garden is high.  We hope your plants team are making the most of it.

Another outside plant was the highest re-entry – Hosta sales rocketed to see them come back in at No 12.

Verbascum and Dahlias also saw big week on week increases to re-enter at Nos 19 and 20 respectively.

Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) were the big movers in houseplants, climbing 17 places to No 18.

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

SBM Life Science has introduced Baby Bio-branded Houseplant Care Packs and Orchid Gift Packs in a timely pre-Christmas launch.

The Baby Bio® Orchid Gift Pack includes Baby Bio Orchid Food with elegant glass mister and a free orchid care guide, ideal for displaying near the orchid bench or in the gifting area.

The Baby Bio Houseplant Care Pack contains Baby Bio Original plant food, Baby Bio® Leaf Shine and a free houseplant care guide, again ideal for houseplant or gifting displays.

Placing the value-add care pack near houseplants will drive up sales as consumers pick up a care pack as they buy a houseplant.  The perfect gift for houseplant lovers it can also be placed in the midst of the gifting area.

Christina Bouzala, group brand manager at SBM Life Science, said: “We are always looking for ways to help our garden centre partners increase sales, particularly during the important Christmas season. These two extensions to our well-known and loved Baby Bio range will do exactly that."

The HTA is encouraging its members to stock up on National Garden Gift Vouchers and National Garden Gift Cards ready for the Christmas season.

Free point of sale materials for vouchers and gift card are available to order, including Christmas promotional posters. HTA research has shown that greater use of POS materials drives voucher sales and subsequent footfall.

A series of new wallet and gift card designs is the result of the national photography competition supported by garden centres across this autumn and will be available to order early in the New Year. The winning designs can be viewed here https://hta.org.uk/news/photography-competition.html

National Garden Gifting Schemes will be used to promote gardening to the public in 2018, using inspirational garden content that members can share with the public via newsletters, social media and other channels.

In a new initiative showing support for the wider industry, consumers ordering gift vouchers online from thevouchergarden.co.uk are now able to make a voluntary donation of 50p to Greenfingers for every purchase made.

Find Free point of sale materials here - https://hta.org.uk/garden-gifts/point-of-sale.html

Stewart Garden has announced the launch of The Stewart Garden Schools Programme 2018.

The competition rewards the creativity and achievements of schools' gardening achievements and is open to schools all over the UK with students aged between six and eleven. Schools who wish to participate are invited to use a kit, provided by Stewart Garden, in a creative gardening project of their choice, and submit the results to judges. The winning school wins £1,000 in vouchers to spend at their local gardening centre to support them in their future projects. The three runner-up schools win vouchers for £100 each.

Andy Burns, managing director at Stewart Garden thoroughly enjoys seeing the efforts put in by schools each year. Burns said: "We are delighted to announce the opening of the competition, which we hope encourages young people to develop an interest in growing vegetables and gardening. The programme is now in its sixth year and is growing year on year. We were so impressed with the project created by last year's winners and look forward to seeing what the schools get up to in 2018."

Stewart Garden recently announced the winners of the 2017 Stewart Garden Schools Programme, the students of Victoria Road Primary School, of Northwich in Cheshire. With the use of their kit, they created bright planters from old wellies and bottle gardens on fences. Cutcombe Church of England First School, in Somerset, were victorious in 2016 with a project which judges loved because of its overlap with their curriculum - it incorporated elements of science experiments and showed a real enthusiasm for gardening on the part of the young people.

The Stewart Garden Schools Programme recognises that it is now more important than ever that children learn how to grow their own fruit and vegetables and aim to encourage this through the competition.

Schools who apply to take part will receive a kit to get them started. Last year this included flower pots, a scoop, watering cans, seed trays, an unheated propagator and a booklet of information to help them. This kit will be sent to the person identified as the point of contact at each school.

To enter, schools should apply now by emailing pr@redheadpr.co.uk.


The closing date for entries to the 2018 Stewart Garden Schools Programme is the end of December 2017.

Woof! Newshound here…back and straining at the leash. So what’s cooking? The boss says people who’ve have had their ears to the walls at Wyevale GCs HQ reckon there’s something interesting about to break.

Well, I know and you know there’s always something interesting going on down there but given that the walls at Fortress Wyevale are notoriously sound-proof, news doesn’t often leak out, does it…yet, what if there’s a mole…?

Anyway, let’s rewind for a mo. It’s more than five years now since Terra Firma bought the 126-centre Wyevale chain for £276m. At the time, the group (then trading as The Garden Centre Group) was being run by Nicholas Marshall. Six months later, Marshall resigned after four years as chief executive. He will have got to know Terra Firma’s chairman, Guy Hands, during the run-up to the acquisition.

Fast forward to 2016: Terra Firma joins the bidding as Tesco puts the rival 34-store Dobbies chain up for auction…but loses out to Midlothian Capital Partners/Hattington Capital. Had it been successful, Wyevale would have had enough critical mass to excite the wider investment market, possibly even with a flotation.

Eight months later, Dobbies recruits Marshall as chief executive. Within weeks, Marshall brings a string of trusted former Wyevale colleagues who had been ousted in Terra Firma’s purge into the Dobbies fold in key positions. So the team that knew the Wyevale group inside out is now running Dobbies. Interesting, no? Some of them will have friends who still work on the inside at Wyevale…

Meanwhile, Wyevale Garden Centres is having a torrid time, forced to negotiate £100m of re-financing following losses of £122m reported in its 2016 accounts.

From now on, we are told, Wyevale Garden Centres, under its new-look leadership team headed by Roger Mclaughlan, will adopt a new strategy…dedicating more time to serving and advising customers. Like successful independents do, then? “We need to make the company more customer focused than it has historically been,” Mclaughlan is reported as having said.

So these are surely clear signals that a re-structured, re-focused and re-financed WGC is being groomed for the market – and it’s fair to assume that Terra Firma will not want to wait too long to get the business off its Hands once the financials improve.

Hence the ears to the walls at WGC HQ as we wait for the For Sale sign to go up.

Dobbies’ backers will be aware of this. Could they be tempted to make a move on WGC, a business of which Marshall and his team have a uniquely intimate knowledge?

It would create a group with full national reach from Cornwall to Invernesshire, capitalisation to attract further investment – and a management that currently appears committed to retaining plants and gardening as its primary raison d’etre.

At the age of 67, Nicholas Marshall could well be up for one more special ‘David and Goliath’ challenge.

The payment gateway at Stewarts Garden Centres crashed as 10,000 customers tried to book a visit to Santa – forcing chairman Martin Stewart to issue an apology in the local press.

After failing to book online, people swamped the group’s switchboard, and many visited one of Stewarts three garden centres as a last resort.

 “What went wrong was completely out of our control,” Martin Stewart told the Bournemouth Echo. “ We increased capacity in our website but the payment gateway we use was unable to cope with the traffic.

“I know that many of you have had a really tough day,” the article continued. “We don’t host Father Christmas and work so hard to do something special for this to happen. Even if things went well we would be unable to satisfy everyone, we know demand outstrips supply.

 “Everyone here has had a tough day too because they have had to cope with many very frustrated people. As always the vast majority have been amazing, understanding that what happened was beyond our control.”

A retired couple spotted a lorry with a seemingly suggestive slogan on its side as they shopped for Christmas trees at Wyevale’s Barnett Hill garden centre near Stourbridge.

It said 'SEX GUARANTEED' in huge lettering, alongside drawings of two bunny rabbits…

Stunned by the innuendo, the couple, from Birmingham, captured the scene on camera.

"We were stunned to start as it was quite a shock, although we're open-minded, some people may get offended,” Clive, who declined to give his surname, told a reporter “The wife just said her first thoughts were ‘Is the driver advertising himself’?”

Because they could only to see the top half of the lorry, the couple did realise it was owned by Pets Corner and included an explanation for the suggestive slogan.

“Imagine driving down the motorway seeing this coming towards you,” Clive added.

On the Coventry Evening Telegraph website, a spokesperson for Pets Corner explained that they put the advert on their lorries as they believed they were the only pet store to guarantee the gender of their animals.

“We were acutely conscious of animals being sold in pairs, which for some species is important…only for owners to then find themselves with unwanted litters. Sexing young creatures can be difficult as you might imagine, so we embarked upon a training programme with all of the staff in stores that sell animals to teach them how to go about it," she said.

Check out the couple’s footage with this link 

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 newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2015 as well as 2016 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 Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Christmas 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.

Kadai were the stars at the central feature of the Taste of London Festive Event this weekend in Londons dockland.

With an expected audience of 32,000 over the weekend DJBBQ and Kadai were the stars inn the Dissaronno Fire Pit at the heart of the festival.

Celebrity chefs cooked in the Fire Pit throughout the weekend as well as Kadais own George Cavendish, pictured left with Polly from Kadai who was taking a break from their retail stand up in the Great Gallery.

"We've already sold several fire pits here today," Polly told GTN Xtra, and we know many visitors will be calling in at a local centre to make a purchase after being inspired here at the festival."

The mix of music, fire, wood smoke, and great food was a real attraction at the festival - what a great idea for garden centres to replicate during the Christmas Tree selling period!

Paul Hargreaves, chief executive at food wholesaler Cotswold Fayre, has noted four key trends he predicts will continue to grow next year – premium alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, meat-reducing diets and high protein products.

Premium alcoholic drinks Paul says: “Craft beers and ciders as well as premium spirits have seen tremendous growth during 2017 and this is set to continue in 2018.  More and more new brands are setting up small distilleries and breweries to enter the market as it is easier than ever to do so. Vodka is even said to be the new gin – although I don’t expect gin sales to slow anytime soon.”

Non-alcoholic drinks, fuelled by millennials Paul says: “Younger people, millennials, are drinking less than their Generation X fore-runners, so as well as the growth in premium alcohol, sales will continue to increase in premium non-alcoholic drinks. 

“There is even a non-alcoholic botanical gin yet it sits at the same price point as a bottle of craft gin with 40% alcohol and 60% duty!  One of Cotswold Fayre’s top selling products is currently an elderflower sparkling drink “masquerading as” champagne by Braes o Gowrie.”

Veganism and meat-reducing diets Paul says: “Meat-reducing diets and complete veganism are widely reported as being the largest current global trend in the world of food. There is still a need for vegetarian products replicating meat items, so we have vegetarian sausages and veggie-burgers.  More recently, however, plant-based diets are being celebrated for what they are – glorious vegetables! This means interesting and unusual fruits and vegetables, such as jack fruit and dragon fruit, are proving very popular on their own and as ingredients.

“Secondly, meat-reducing diets mean that consumers are eating meat less often and in turn buying less but spending more per gram on meat. Premium meat therefore comes into play because when consumers do want to consume meat, they are looking for high quality and ethically sourced products.”

High protein foods Paul says: “Foods that are high in protein, but not meat, are gathering huge momentum.  All sorts of products are being marketed as high protein, but particularly among the snacking category.  Similarly, plant-based proteins are predicted to fly in 2018 with the increased demand for high protein foods and rise in flexitarian diets.

“In fact, 2017 was set to be the year of the insect so we introduced an insect range to our portfolio at the beginning of the year but this did not really take-off with our customers.  Perhaps 2018 is too early still for edible insects to fly!”

With the sugar tax also coming into play in April 2018, Paul also comments on expectations for which areas may prove less popular in the year ahead.

He says: “Among soft drinks, I would expect full sugar drinks to decline and low calorie options to increase.  However, it remains to be seen whether other sugar-rich products will also come under pressure, such as cakes, biscuits and confectionery.”

In 2018, Cotswold Fayre will be introducing 35 new ambient suppliers to its range of fine food and a further 40 chilled new suppliers throughout 2018.

Retailers can see and taste the new product ranges as well as meet the people who make them at one of Cotswold Fayre’s six new product launch shows from January 16 – February 1 2018.

To find out more o now, visit the website  www.cotswold-fayre.co.uk.

The story of how sales and margins have improved at the first SPAR Market store, which has opened in Pwllheli in Wales in September, will interest all garden centres with an interest in food retailing.

You can read about it and view pictures in the Retail Design World newsletter by clicking this link