Wyevale Garden Centres today announced the sale of Worthing Ferring to Cobbins Nursery Ltd, who will continue to run the site as a garden centre.

George Lisher, CEO at Cobbins Nursery, said: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to expand our business through the acquisition of the neighbouring Worthing Ferring Wyevale Garden Centre. Cobbins Nursery is a fourth generation family run business specialising in the production of houseplants and pot bedding and we look forward to both businesses working together."

As the business has reduced in size over the course of the sales process, WGC also confirms today that it will cease delivering products through its Central Distribution Centre in Milton Keynes in the autumn, and will move to a predominantly direct to centre delivery model, for its remaining centres.

Anthony Jones, Chief Operating Officer at Wyevale Garden Centres said: "We are pleased to have agreed the sale of Worthing Ferring and wish our great colleagues all the best under new ownership. I'd also like to thank XPO and their colleagues at the Milton Keynes Central Distribution Centre for their high quality third party logistics service over the last 3 years as we now transition to a predominantly direct delivery model."

Hayes Garden World is a prestigious garden centre based in the beautiful Lake District town of Ambleside. The company has a gardening heritage stretching back over 200 years, having been run by five generations of the Hayes family.

It opened on its present site in 1921 when it was known as the Lake District Nurseries, developing to become a garden centre during the 1960s. Today’s garden centre, which attracts over a million visitors a year, also has a significant eCommerce presence, selling an extensive range of high-quality garden furniture.

In 2018 the management team at Hayes decided to upgrade their current EPoS and Retail management software. They evaluated several systems before choosing Corby & Fellas’ WinRetail system, which was installed in early 2019.

Since its installation the management team have been delighted with WinRetail’s performance, to the extent that two members of the team have written following testimonials.

The first of which is from Ian Hodgett, who is the Furniture & Barbecues Sales Team Leader:

“Since we installed WinRetail at the end of February 2019 we have been amazed at the difference between our old EPOS system and the new WinRetail system.

When we had our first meeting with the team at Corby & Fellas, at their offices, we discussed our, then current, cloud-based system. We discovered that most of the features that our old system lacked were already there and working in WinRetail. But, WinRetail did not include an order delivery scheduling module, which we needed; however, within a week C&F has produced mocked up version of this for evaluation, which we used to make sure they (C&F) had understood what we were looking for. In April 2019, two months after going live with WinRetail, this new module was released to us, and we have been happily using it since to schedule in all our customer orders for deliveries for both our store and our e-commerce sides of the business.

"As an addition to the WinRetail system being installed just before Easter we took delivery of two Dell tablets and two Wi-Fi Chip & Pin terminals for use by our furniture sales team, which they use to process sales orders when serving customers. Thanks to us having these, our furniture sales team can process customer sales much faster and more professionally than was possible with our old system. The tablets give us the ability to process multiple customers at the same time, something we struggled with in the past.

"To summarise: some may say that going from a cloud-based system back to a store-based system is a step backwards, but from what we have experienced from the WinRetail system so far, we can only say that we have taken a massive step forwards and the WinRetail system will streamline our business and save on costs from the get go.”

The second testimonial is from Lyndan Orvis, who is Hayes’ E-Commerce Manager:

 “I would just like to say that you and your guys are the amongst the very best and most efficient I have ever worked with. Your effort, efficiency and ability to delivery has left me with one hell of a lot of admiration for you and your team. Very rarely have I seen a partner exceed a fairy-tale promise!

"As I said I will document the whole of the system processes and the way we use the various features to help you market the module. Many thanks.”

Corby + Fellas Ltd.
East Coast House, Galahad Road, Beacon Park, Gorleston, NR31 7RU

01493 658800
www.corbyfellas.com

To find pout more about Hayes Garden World visit www.hayesgardenworld.co.uk

The new lawn fertiliser from SBM Life Science LTD, Solabiol® Top Lawn, is fling off the shelves. With a selection of strong point of sale materials, and bold packaging, Solabiol® Top Lawn is catching the consumers eye, with garden centres already having to re-order stock early in the season, making sure that they are well stocked, in anticipation of high demand this year.

“Top Lawn is an old favourite gardening brand that our customers still remember, so it is great to have this brand re-launched and back on our shelves. Early sales are encouraging, and we have already had to re-order” says Simon Whitehead of Hall’s Garden Centres in Sutton Coldfield.

Scott Williams, SBM’s National Salesforce Channel Manager adds “I am delighted with the sales and distribution that the Top Lawn brand has gained since being launched back in September 2018 at GLEE. It is exceptionally encouraging to hear such positive feedback from our retailers!”

Child and pet safe and with a long-lasting effect, Solabiol® Top Lawn feeds for twice as long (versus the natural brand leader), so consumers can enjoy the comfort of feeding their lawn less often. It is the only product in the UK to benefit from slow & fast release iron - which aids green up & lawn health. This unique formulation is used on lawns in professional sports, so consumers will be proud to have a lawn as green, thick and healthy as those seen on TV.  

• child and pet safe
• feeds for twice as long (versus the natural brand leader)
• with slow & fast release iron (aiding green up & lawn health)
• as used in Professional sports

Contact your local SBM sales representative today to ensure that you are fully stocked up and don’t miss out during the coming weeks!

As expected the start of May 2019 was down on 2018, but mainly due to the wet and cold weather. Up to Sunday before the Bank Holiday volume sales were 9.4% down on the same week last year, but year to date they are up by 11% and less than 1% down on 2017.

While the GTN team have been out and about this week we’ve heard that Bank Holiday Monday was better, and despite the downpours garden centre car parks were brimming.

With warmer weather forecast for the rest of the month garden centres are now hoping for a return to garden furniture sales and more peaks for plants and gardening sales.

Have you planned your Chelsea plant merchandising displays yet? There’s only two weeks to go and it’s a great opportunity not to be missed.  Follow this link to the plant list for the Greenfingers Charity Chelsea Garden

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 18)
Garden Products – static 0%
Growing Media – down 9%
Wild Bird Care – up 15%
Veg-2-Gro – up 55%
All Plants index – down 15%
All Items index – down 8%

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

With the growing season now well underway Vitavia is encouraging more gardeners to add a greenhouse to their plot, and has come up with a list of tips on which type to buy.

From the absolute beginner to accomplished professional, Vitavia has something to suit all requirements.

"As the grow your own philosophy continues to gather momentum, there has never been a better time to buy a greenhouse. With a wide range of quality products at affordable prices, suitable for every situation, Vitavia has become the first choice for gardeners when selecting their greenhouse," says the company.

"The greatest joy of owning a greenhouse is that feeling of stepping into your own private world, leaving the weather and your worries behind you.”

To read more about Vitavia's advice on buying a greenhouse visit https://www.vitavia.co.uk/2019/04/10/why-you-should-add-a-greenhouse-to-your-garden/

Vitavia also have a blog called May Day Motivation. It can be viewed here https://www.vitavia.co.uk/2019/05/01/may-day-motivation/

As the garden retail industry’s most beloved charity, Greenfingers’ inaugural presence at the forthcoming RHS Chelsea Flower Show is something we can all take great pride in. Here the charity reveals further details about its proposed planting scheme, something the charity is encouraging retailers to offer in-store to help consumers recreate the ‘Chelsea look’ within their own garden spaces. 

The Greenfingers Charity Garden, designed by Kate Gould for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will feature a soothing palette of green and white, with little explosions of yellow. Featuring trees, shrubs and beautiful flowering bulbs and plants, the garden will be a feast for all the senses, created to provide a sense of tranquillity, where life-limited children and their families can experience an uplifting and interactive garden experience.  

Featuring a dual-level design, over 2,000 plants will be used, made up of over 60 different species, including trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns, grasses, annuals and bulbs.

Linda Petrons, Greenfingers’ Director of Fundraising & Communications, said: “The Greenfingers Charity Garden on Main Avenue (336) is going to be truly stunning. It will be a true festival of textures and gorgeous soft whites and greens, beautifully accented by splashes of yellow that capture the eye. And what’s really great about the planting scheme is that it is incredibly easy to replicate aspects of it, making it easy to add a touch of Chelsea in your own garden.

“With this in mind, we are encouraging retailers to consider a new merchandising idea to support our RHS Chelsea debut, whilst also helping to drive sales within the plant area this festival season. By grouping these plants – or similar varieties together – and adding some simple merchandising support material, retailers can make it so easy for consumers to recreate their own corner of Chelsea.”

One of the most exciting stars of the show will be the Aspidistra elatior, commonly known as the Cast Iron Plant. More commonly known as an indoor plant, the Greenfingers garden will be breaking tradition and placing it outdoors, demonstrative of the relatively unknown hardiness of the plant, and how a new generation of gardeners are pushing the boundaries.

Additionally, the garden will be featuring a new plant Choisya ‘Greenfingers’;  a beautiful evergreen shrub that enjoys a blanket of delicate white flowers. Thanks to Peter Catt, a donation from every sale of Choisya ‘Greenfingers’ will go directly to the charity, enabling it to continue to build even more gardens at children’s hospices throughout the UK.

Other popular varieties on display at Greenfingers’ RHS Chelsea show garden will be David Austin’s Rosa 'Claire Austin', Iris ‘Benton Primrose’, Lupinus 'Gallery Yellow', Paeonia ‘White Emperor', Aquilegia chrysantha 'Yellow Queen’ and RHS Plant of the year 2011, Anemone ‘Wild Swan’. Look out for hardy tropicals, textured foliage and grasses such as Carex 'Ice Dance’, the neon green of Deschampsia 'Tatra Gold’, the ‘furry’ Stipa tenuifolia, plus the topiarised domes of Carpinus betulus and Taxus baccata.

To find out more about Greenfingers Charity, and how to get involved in a range of fundraising events please email Linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk.

You can also join in the conversation by joining Greenfingers on social media - https://www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity/, @GreenfingersCha on Twitter, and @Greenfingerscharity on Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Despite the first week of May being down week on week and vs last year for plant sales, half of the Top 10 Bestselling plant genus increased their sales. 

That stresses the importance of making sure your bestselling plants are in the right hot spots, even if the weather is not so good.

Highlights of the week were:

• Heuchera were the highest chart climber of the week moving up 23 places to No 8.
• Begonias increased sales volumes by almost 70% and moved up to No 4.
• Primula were the highest chart re-entry at No 26.

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

Popular TV gardener Katie Rushworth returns to Tong Garden Centre later this month to open her new look garden and outdoor living space.

The ITV Love Your Garden co-presenter will officially open the show garden that has been brought to life by Katie and Tong's team of gardening experts at 11am on Saturday, 18^th May.

Almost double the size of the original Katie Rushworth show garden that was opened in 2017, the tropical themed garden features planted areas, a dining area, an outside kitchen and a place to relax.  It has been designed to give new ideas for planting hot colours and lush foliage in creative combinations as well as inspiring ways to style an outdoor space.

Katie's delighted with the look and feel of the new garden: "I think we should decorate our gardens in exactly the same way we dress our homes, making them a wonderful, personal and homely space to enjoy whatever the occasion.

Colour comes from the plants I've chosen to decorate my latest show garden at Tong and, as always, I love to zone spaces so we can really get the most out of our plots! My outdoor dining area is so achievable but it's the kitchen island I really love. Set against a backdrop of herbs and other tasty edibles, this is a fantastic way to cook outdoors!"

Tong's Marketing Manager, Jo Dales is equally delighted: "Katie's garden has been a huge success and source of inspiration over the last two years. Customers often ask our knowledgeable team asked about plants, the design and the seasonality of the garden.

The new garden has been designed to reflect the way we are increasingly using our garden as an outside room and that we can plan this space and decorate and accessorise it just like we do the rooms in our home."

The garden and outdoor living area will be refreshed as the seasons change with touches that Katie knows people can achieve in their own gardens.

Throughout the year, Katie will also be on hand to lend her expertise for a series of videos and will be sharing the secrets of her success in a two hour gardening masterclass and book signing on 5^th September.

The eighth series of Love Your Garden, the programme that transforms the gardens of deserving people throughout the UK, is on air now.

Members of the Garden Industry Manufacturers’ Association are celebrating a spring sales bonanza, with suppliers fighting against the clock to meet demand from retailers. With garden centre sales up by 37% year-on-year in March alone, according to the Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade, GIMA members have smashed targets as Easter’s heatwave and strong spring trading saw sales go through the roof.

GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall, (pictured) said: “Manufacturers, suppliers and retailers have enjoyed an incredible spring. Given the level of uncertainty over Brexit, and economic headwinds that have caused carnage on the High Street, soaring sales at garden centres demonstrate the industry’s resilience in turbulent times. GIMA members have led the way with product innovation, driving growth in key categories and helping garden retailers to keep tills ringing.”

Meadow View Stone reported record sales results for the first quarter of 2019, breaking all previous trading history with a 90% sales increase for March and a further 64% increase for April, compared to 2018. Marketing Director, Sarah Hill, said: “We constantly monitor trends in hard landscaping and utilise Google trends to monitor searches for our two main product categories of decorative aggregates and paving. This showed a continual increase in customers searching for the colour grey, which strongly influenced the introduction of several new unique gravels, pebbles, cobbles and paving to meet this demand.”

Fertiliser, substrate and sundries supplier Growth Technology experienced significant growth during the first quarter of 2019. The company’s sales to UK garden centres grew by 60% and 45% during March and April respectively. According to Marketing Manager, Manos Kanellos, demand was driven by rising sales of houseplants at garden centres. He said: “An increased customer base, good weather and renewed interest in houseplants fuelled sales increases of Orchid Drip Feeders by 250% and Houseplant Focus Repotting Mix by 110%. The company is increasing its workforce and is investing in new production facilities to meet demand.”

Consumers seeking greener plant protection products have led to orders flooding in for Sipcam, the company behind the ecofective brand. Year-to-date sales of ecofective Bug + Mildew Control are up by 64%, ecofective Rose Defender is up by 24% while ecofective Houseplant Defender had staggering sales rises of 160% as houseplants soar in popularity. Head of Sales, Nigel Thompson, said: “We are seeing good increases in sales as consumers become more ‘eco conscious’ when buying products for their home and gardens. This is demonstrated in EPOS sales, which have shown fantastic increases over 2018.”

It was a similar success story for Primus, the handcrafted home and garden gifts division of A. Perry Ltd. General Manager, Steve Perry, said sales for the first quarter of 2019 were up by 150% on last year. He said: “We have surpassed expectations in the first quarter this year, experiencing our best month yet in March. We have high expectations for the rest of the season and have a target to more than double our revenue this year to £1.5 million on Primus alone.”

At Elho, Sales Manager for the UK & Ireland, David Nicholson, was similarly upbeat: “The year started well with strong sales in January, February and March. The Easter weekend saw a real uplift and, while we don’t have sales figures for the period yet, year-on-year growth is 10% up. Our strongest sales from garden centres are as a result of Elho’s strengthened partnership with Dobbies. Our new collections of outdoor planters, Greenville and Vibia, have accounted for 12% of the 10% growth. It’s interesting that Vibia is an upper mid-market product and Greenville is price-competitive, showing that increased sales are taking place across different price points.”

Leading supplier of garden pots, Woodlodge, reported a healthy order book as the trend for container gardening gathered pace. Woodlodge said its year-on-year sales were up by 24%, with all but January showing double-digit growth. Woodlodge’s Managing Director, Michael Wooldridge, said: “The container market has performed strongly this spring, driven by innovation that has brought unique new products to market. The launch of our William Morris Pottery Collection and expanded flagship Heritage Garden Pottery collection helped retailers to drive container sales.”

Taylors Bulbs, a fourth-generation family-owned business, witnessed an uplift in demand for one of its revamped products. Business Manager, Ian Clark, explained: “We have been amazed by the success of our re-branded Chili Fire Bucket Grow Kit. We had a Chili Grow Kit in our range which we decided to give a refresh and ‘spice it up’ by amending artwork and changing the planter to a bright red fire bucket. The results have been fantastic, with sales on fire, more than tripling during spring 2019 compared with 2018.”

In line with the switch towards peat-free growing media, Dalefoot Composts said it has experienced an “unprecedented 37% increase” in sales of its eco-friendly Seed Compost. Business & Development Co-ordinator, Lizzi Meth-Cohn, said: “Our new ‘no need to feed’ Tomato Compost has been flying off shelves. Sales of the compost are already 25% higher than projected, and that’s before the formal product launch at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019.”

Squire’s Garden Centres has donated £3,929 to Greenfingers Charity –  £3,347 was raised from the proceeds of the government 5p carrier bag tax, and £582 from Squire’s 'Create & Grow' planting event for children over the Mother's Day weekend.

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s commented, “We are delighted to be able to donate this money to Greenfingers. This is a wonderful charity, which creates inspiring gardens at hospices throughout the UK. These really are important spaces for children and their families.”

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Greenfingers added “This is the third year that Squire’s have donated the proceeds of the carrier bag tax to us, and we are extremely grateful to them for choosing to support us. With four more gardens planned for this year, this money will go towards ensuring that life-limited children can spend quality time outside with their families, friends and carers in a safe and protective environment.”

Leading garden centre group, Haskins Garden Centres, has announced the return of its Rose Festival at all four of its centres, from Thursday May 16 to Thursday July 25.

Haskins’ Rose Festival celebrates one of the UK’s favourite flowers, showcasing the vast amount of colours, varieties and versatility of roses. During the festival, there will be several exclusive campaigns, including:

• Limited availability of the exclusive rose ‘Simply Stunning’ – 120 roses (30 per centre) will be available on a first come first served basis.
• Pre-launch access to ‘Special Day’ from Saturday June 1, available for 2 weeks prior to being made available nationally.
• Limited availability of the national Rose of the Year, ‘Starlight Symphony.’

In addition to these exclusive ranges, Haskins will be offering more than 200 types of roses, including Peter Beales Roses and David Austin Roses. The new Timeless Roses range will also be available from Haskins, ideal for cut flower and flower arranging.

Previous winners of Haskins’ ‘Name the Rose’ competition will also be available, including Serenity, Raspberry Delight and Amelia. These are all roses named by members of the public, which were chosen as winners of the competition and went on sale to the public at Haskins’ centres.

Lisa Looker, brand director at Haskins Garden Centres, commented: “The rose is such a versatile flower and means so many different things to people. The rose has an interesting and rich history, and according to fossil evidence could be more than 30 million years old.

“Suiting any type of garden, the rose can be grown in vast amount of colours and varieties. They remain one of the most popular flowers today because so long as they have a deep soil and lots of food, they are relatively easy to grow. Many types are also wonderfully scented, making them a perfect addition to any garden or balcony garden.”

Haskins is located in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex. Visit www.haskins.co.uk for more information.

Glendoick Garden Centre has won the Retail Business of the Year Award at The Scottish SME Business Awards 2019. The awards ceremony welcomed over 200 guests to the Marriott Hotel Glasgow, on Wednesday, May 8 to reward thriving SME businesses and business owners that operate successfully in Scotland.

The black-tie ceremony was hosted by STV presenter, Josie Smith. She welcomed on stage hard working individuals who have shown amazing entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen which lies behind the Scottish SME industry that employs hundreds of people.

The 3rd Scottish SME Business Awards 2019 rewarded businesses that have made it their mission to provide excellent services to their customers and to meet their needs.

The winners are a true reflection of the professional standard that features in the country’s SME industry.

A spokesperson for the Scottish SME Business Awards 2019, said: “These awards are the leading celebration of the SME businesses that work tirelessly to offer services that are second to no-one.

“The event provided a platform to showcase new, online, unique and family run SME businesses that had an amazing performance over the past year and have seen growth, despite the negativity that exists in the business world.

“We really appreciate the response from the public who were so keen to get behind our nomination process and vote for some incredible businesses and individuals. The competition was fierce this year and therefore we would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their amazing achievements.

Ken Cox Managing Director of Glendoick Garden Centre said “he was thrilled to win this in Glendoick's Centenrary Anniversary Year."

Later this year (June 2nd) three members of the UK garden retail sector will be taking to the skies to raise £15,000 for the Greenfingers Charity. Here we catch up with MD of Evergreen Garden Care, Mark Portman, who will be one of the brave souls who will be wing walking for the charity. 

“Funnily enough I am neither a fan of heights nor roller coasters, so to face these fears I figured wing walking would be the perfect solution! There is no doubt that the wing walk is a terrifying prospect, but I am keen to face it head on to challenge myself and to get outside of my comfort zone.

“Having never done anything like this before I am relying on the generosity of the industry, and my family and friends to keep me focused as we head towards June 2nd. My team at Evergreen Garden Care have already dug deep with their generosity, but there is still some way to go until we reach our £15,000 target. As such, I am offering myself out as a one-time gardener to friends and neighbours, offering to mow lawns, and help with the weeding, all in return for some sponsorship!

“As for why I am doing this…beyond a personal challenge, I believe that Greenfingers is a wonderful charity, that does lots of positive work at a local level. It is this personal touch that I find so engaging about the charity, and why I am so proud to be able to support it. I hope that my efforts can go some way in assisting the Greenfingers Charity to continue their work both now, and long into the future.”

Anyone wanting to donate can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gima-wing-walkers

To find out more about Greenfingers Charity please visit www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk. You can also join in the conversation by joining Greenfingers on social media - https://www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity/, @GreenfingersCha on Twitter, and @Greenfingerscharity on Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Colleagues at Bents Garden & Home are celebrating the safe return of Billy the cat, who has been reunited with his owners after almost 12 months missing from home. 

Billy had become a regular visitor to Bents’ warehouse, where colleagues presumed he was just doing his daily rounds.  But Billy started to make himself at home, even going so far as to open and help himself to pet food supplies being stored for the Centre’s Pet Place.

As his visits became longer and Billy seemed to be settling into life in the warehouse, colleagues began to worry and asked the veterinary team from Bents’ Pet Place to scan him.  Results surprised everyone, as Billy the cat had been missing from home since June 2018!

A call was made to his owner, Joyce Daniels who came to collect Billy, and reunite him with his brother Bobby. 

Said Joyce:  “Billy had always been a wanderer so at first we weren’t worried when he went missing, but as so much time passed we came to terms with the fact that we might not see him again.  We were over the moon when Bents called to let us know where he was.  We only live around the corner and can’t believe he’s been so close all this time!”

Bethan Wylie, Supervisor at Bents’ Pet Place added:  “We were so shocked when we found out where Billy actually lived.  It would’ve been great to reunite him with his family sooner, but we’re delighted that he is back at home and with his brother.  It sounds like he’s a cat who likes to have adventures and will always be welcome back at Bents, but now we know where he lives we can make sure he always gets home.”

Billy has not only been reunited with his brother and owners, but two new members of the family who Joyce and her son Al Daniels recently got from the St Helen’s branch of the Cat Protection League, 10 week old sisters, Tilly and Tabatha.

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Pot feet were the biggest winners in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Chart for the first week of May 2019. 

Presumably the rain and wind prompted purchases to move all those new pots up out of the puddles on the patio.

Highlights were:

• Woodlodge Small Pot Feet climbed 25 places up the chart to No 18 to become the highest climber of the week.
• Woodlodge Pot Feet Large rose to No 9.
• Woodlodge Slate Pot Feet were the highest new entry at No 36.
• Smart Garden 14 inch Coco Basket Liner was the highest re-entry at No 21.

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

Whilst sales levels of Growing Media may have been down on last year for the first week of May they were on a par with the same week in 2017. 

Year to date volumes are now up 18% on 2018 and 4% on 2017 so that is great news for the amount of growing activity going on.

Highlights were:

• Westland The Gardener’s Soil Conditioner, 50 litres, was the highest climber of the week, up 23 places to No 27.
• Evergreen Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Compost, 56 litres, is the highest placed chart re-entry, back in at No 31.
• In the Top 10, Evergreen Garden Care Levington Tomorite Giant Planter with Seaweed jumps 3 places to No 4.

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

Veg plant sales were the star performers, despite the cold and wet weather, for the first week of May, up by 15% on the same week last year whereas all plant sales were 15% down.

Year to date, Veg-2-Gro sales are up 60% on last year thanks to the better weather in March but also over 6% up on 2017. 

Highlights were:

• Quantil’s Courgette plants top the GTN Bestsellers Chart, taking over at No 1 from Tomato Gardeners Delight.
• Quantil Tomato Riesling New 8.5cm is a new entry at No 40.
• Quantil Carrot Chantenay Strips climb 13 places to No 33.

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

Cooler, wetter weather drove Wild Bird Care sales up last week but they were still way behind 2017 levels.

Highlights were:

• Gardman No Mess Seed Mix 2kg is the highest climber, up 20 places to No 12.
• Jacobi Jayne Flutter Butter re-enters at No 29.
• Tom Chambers Luxury Fat Balls-6 Pack No Nets moves up 19 places to No 7.

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

The HTA has appointed James Clark as Director of Policy and Communications.

James, who joins the HTA in June, has held a number of public affairs roles – most recently as UK public affairs and advocacy lead at pharmaceutical company Sanofi. Prior to that he was senior manager – public affairs GB at Coca-Cola European Partners for seven years where his role included working on packaging and recycling policy and stakeholder engagement. Prior to that he was public affairs manager at Sainsbury’s, public affairs officer at the British Dental Association and worked as a researcher for Tim Loughton MP.

HTA President Adam Taylor comments, “We are delighted that James will be joining the HTA in this new role of Director of Policy and Communications. With so many key topics impacting the industry from plant health and growing media to sustainability and Brexit related considerations it is such an important time to ensure that the voice of the industry is heard. James’ appointment will strengthen our lobbying activity on behalf of members on these topics and many more.”

HTA Policy Executive Sally Cullimore and HTA Communication’s Manager Gill Ormrod will report to James.

James Clark comments, “I am delighted to be joining the HTA, working with a committed and expert team in delivering first class member communications and ensuring members' voices are heard by policymakers.  HTA members have a strong record in creating jobs, generating economic value and protecting and enhancing the environment. I'm looking forward to seeing and learning more about this exciting and innovative sector.”

As GTN Xtra went to press we could only find evidence of two UK garden centres making the "most" of World Naked Gardening Day which was Saturday 4th May.  Neil and Nicci Gow braved the cold Bank Holiday wind at Fresh@Burcot and the dinosaur plant tunnels provided the perfect location for a World Naked Gardening Facebook post for Brookfields Andy.

Neil Gow said: "As it is a bit nippy in the nursery area, while we are full of bedding plants and many wonderful shrubs and trees from local growers and specialist nurseries across the UK, as good horticulturists, we offer words of caution to customers buying bedding plants this early in the season of the risks of cold weather, so Nicci is keen to ‘fleece up’!

"Perhaps it is our responsible attitude to plant sales that sees out plant sales year to date to the end of April 49% up on last year and more importantly 12% up on our 5 year average and the overall business romping away at just shy of 25% up on last year and more than 9% ahead of our 5 year average."

The last week of April, the second of the Easter Fortnight, was the best week 17 for volume sales since 2011. It was up 18% on last year but that could only help overall April sales to just below last year and almost spot on the average for April over the past nine years.

April turnover will most likely be reported as up year on year and possibly a record by some as the substantial early sales of garden furniture will no doubt have swollen takings whilst not adding huge unit volumes.

Now that Easter and Mother’s Day are past the year to date position of up 13.0% can be reconciled as definitely being weather related. Against 2017 sales the GTN Bestsellers Index is on a par.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 17)

• Garden Products – up 14%
• Growing Media – up 30%
• Wild Bird Care – up 9%
• Veg-2-Gro – up 102%
• All Plants index – up 23%
• All Items index – up 18%

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

Delegates at last week’s sell-out Sustainability Matters conference organised by the HTA were left in no doubt about the challenges businesses face as climate change and environmental issues rise to the top of the agenda – but the day was also sprinkled with positive messages about the significant strides retailers and growers have already made.

HTA president-elect Boyd Douglas-Davies (Hillview garden centre group), who described the event as “the most exciting, intense, stimulating event I have ever been to”, said the conference not only reminded the industry what still needed to be done but had underlined a ‘can do’ attitude. “You can do it,” he said, summing up, urging the industry to take a lead and not wait for the government to impose “nonsense” solutions. “Let’s tell Defra how to do it…...We have a lot going for us. We are producing a great product that allows people to grow, pick and eat something with no food packaging….Let’s make sure the gardeners of the future are coming to us an industry of great British growers and independent retailers – people who know what we’re doing and have the future mapped out.”

The issue of the industry’s use of plastic was clearly going to be a major topic and was the subject of a lively panel debate. The refusal of most local authorities to accept plastic plant pots for kerbside re-cycling drew criticism. Other than pots containing the carbon black pigment, which cannot be detected by the scanners that sort waste, plant pots CAN be re-cycled but are ruled out because they require washing, among other reasons. Natalie Porter of Porters Fuchsias/Happy Plants felt councils should stop making excuses and change their advice to exclude only carbon-black pots to help reduce the UK’s estimated 500 million plastic pot mountain.

The HTA-backed initiative to encourage growers to supply plants in taupe-coloured plastic pots (which can be picked up by scanners), currently supplied by Modiform, was highlighted as a major step forward – but there was no consensus for industry-wide adoption of taupe as the standard in an independent retail sector that prides itself on points of difference.

For Porters, blue and green are the colours…as Natalie Porter explained, plants are now supplied in blue pots manufactured by Poppelman and pack bedding is supplied in clear green PET packs made from 100% recycled drinks bottles which can be returned to food grade packaging when themselves recycled, while Porters’ trays are made from recyclable paper pulp.

The drive towards meeting the government’s target for eliminating the use of peat in growing media was highlighted by Steve Harper, head of commercial and marketing at Bord na Mona, as an example of the horticultural industry’s progressive response to a challenge that was originally about biodiversity but is now about carbon emissions. By the end of the year, the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media will have produced a calculator that will allow suppliers to “score” their raw materials on a sustainability matrix. While it will be free for all to use, suppliers who sign up can access the proposed audit scheme, which will help to push the quality benchmark across the sector.

Mike Burks, MD of The Garden Group, stressed the importance of taking a positive approach when communicating with customers on environmental issues. He believed taking back packaging was one example of “the right thing to do”. His centres also engage with with their local communities in encouraging wildlife gardening and growing plants to attract pollinators.

These and other topics discussed on the day will be covered in greater depth in the June print issue of Garden Trade News.

Tong Garden Centre in Bradford has seen an impressive increase in water feature sales after making them a focal point in the store with help from AMES UK and Kelkay's Easy Fountain range.

“Our water feature sales have increased in value by 24% year on year. In the same period last year we had sold 66 water features. This year we have sold 92,” said Sharon McNair at Tong.

Presented with the opportunity to make water features a focal point in the centre, the Kelkay team designed and built a unique octagonal island that provides discreet themed areas demonstrating three very different garden styles.

The commitment Tong Garden Centre made to range and stock levels allowed Kelkay, in partnership with the store, to create this unique merchandising concept.

Sharon added: “We felt that there was an opportunity to make a high impact display the real focal point for the entrance to the centre. Kelkay have been instrumental in driving the total category growth with the widest range of styles and price points.

“They also have the merchandising expertise and point of sale material to make the category work really hard for us.”

Tong’s top five sellers by volume are:

• Como Springs (pictured right)
• Azure Columns
• Woodland Twist
• Otters Element
• Otter Pools

“As regards trends we do tend to find our customers are quite traditional and some of the more contemporary pieces can be slower,” said Sharon.

““Como Springs has been Tong’s best seller for the last three years and this is echoed across the market, where naturally styled products still lead the pack. With shoppers always on the look out for something new and contemporary garden trends increasingly influencing garden décor, furniture and outdoor living categories, Kelkay are keen to demonstrate they’re moving with the times.”

“Customers really like the display and the depth of range that we have. The display at the entrance tends to stop people as they walk in and gets people thinking about a water feature as an addition to their garden even if they hadn’t come in specifically with that in mind.

 “We are really pleased with how sales are performing. Kelkay have given us a lot of support with stands and point of sale and in return we have given the product a great location near the entrance to the store.

“We have a member of the team who is also very passionate about the product and great with customers which also helps massively as well.”

If you are interested in the Kelkay Easy Fountain display opportunities from AMES UK email salesenquiries@kelkay.co.uk, call 01405 869333 or visit www.kelkay.com

Here's a Garden Centre Tour from Boston USA.  Peter Seabrook received these photos from Farid Khalil, plant buyer for the Mahoney chain of garden centres in the Boston area and thought we should share them via a GTN Xtra Photo Tour.  "They show the kind of dahlias they are selling in Boston mid April. When I was in Boston mid March they still had snow on the ground!," Peter said.

Farid reports that they are extremely busy buying and growing many spring products to meet their customers demand.  "The season started so early this year because of the good weather we are having, officially the big selling time would be in the beginning of May but we’ve been busy since the start of April. We are doing wonderful with moving lots of Tropicals still and there’s no slowing with this category."

See Farids photos below and watch out for more GTN Xtra Garden Centre Photo Tours over the coming weeks.

GTN Xtra had the pleasure of visiting Notcutts Norwich last week.

As you'd expect with a Notcutts centre the planteria is particularly strong with great linked sales and plenty of recycled plastic pots in evidence that were selling very well.

We loved the colour themed room sets in garden furniture and the star of the show we thought was the excellent houseplant area.  Norwich is the best performing for houseplant sales in the Notcutts group and we believe it is in the Top 10 of all garden centres in the UK.

Enjoy our photo tour of the centre below.

Alan Roper welcomed staff and suppliers to an evening event on Monday 15th April at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre to celebrate the completion of the refurbishment from a Wyevale Garden Centre that they bought last summer to a Blue Diamond Centre that is ready and raring for Easter 2019.

"Welcome to Bicester. The new Bicester. The best manifestation of Bicester in its history since it was built, I think you'll agree. We've been refurbishing many of the ex-Wyevales:  Cadbury has been going through some refurbishment, Nailsworth, my old centre has been completely finished and Endsleigh in Devon is being done currently.  It's about to start at Weybridge with a new restaurant and at Melbicks. We're working on all the ex Wyevales to get them to a standard."

See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the refurbished centre below

What would you expect from a Hillier centre? Authoritative ranges of products and plants, crisp merchandising, and expert staff. That’s exactly the delivery at Botley plus there’s the Rosemary and Thyme restaurant concept that is now being rolled out across the Hiller estate of centres. This classy, counter ordered but table served concept will be a huge benefit when the Wyevale centres just purchased get an upgrade from their current Garden Kitchens.

Out in the Planteria the customer care extends to trees where the team retain the use of their Christmas tree netting equipment to net all trees purchased to help customers get their valuable trees home safely.

In garden care they were selling plenty of grow houses with displays that included the Veg Trug wooden version at £99. At Botley they were still to sell one of the Veg Trug versions when we visited at the start of April - it’s a spot on Hillier customer product but time will tell to see if people want a more expensive wooden framed grow house.

See GTN Xtra's Photo Tour taken at the start of April 2019

Having completed the purchase of their second garden centre at Hilgay on the A10 near Downham Market the Baytree family team held their Grand Opening Event this weekend.

Baytree MD, Jutta Whitworth Biehler, told GTN Xtra: "I’ve never spent so much time cleaning as we have over the past six weeks. Getting a five star inspection this week was a brilliant result for everyone’s hard efforts."

The garden centre and farm shop has been fully stocked with all the immediately useable retail space spruced up and Baytree merchandised. Sales have been growing every week and early furniture an BBQ’s are above expectations.

The 260 seat Oak framed Barn table service restaurant is a wonderful asset - it’s fully booked every Sunday- that will enable Baytree to pull good footfall and develop increase product and plant sales.

The car park has already been resurfaced and extended, a new Entrance is being constructed off site to add some theatre at the front door. With other buildings that can be used for retail along with a coppice and grass paddock on the 10 acre site Hilgay could quickly become another destination venue for the Baytree team.

See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the centre taken on Friday afternoon as the team completed their set up work for the Grand Opening Weekend.

Billed as "Farnhams Favourite Garden Centre", Forest Lodge has loads of competitors around them so it’s no surprise they are giving themselves an edge by stocking wide ranges of products - really deep gardening ranges and plants with the extra dimension of Garden Style plants where large specimens can be bought by gardeners and landscapers alike.

In garden furniture Forest Lodge report good early sales, particularly the small corner weave sets and the metal framed lower couch style furniture from Life “it’s appealing to the younger audience looking for some style on their patio”

The extended Forest Lodge restaurant has a wonderful conservatory feel overlooking the extensive Planteria. With friendly staff and a great menu no wonder this is a favourite destination for many.

See GTN Xtra's Photo Tour, taken at the start of April 2019.

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 2016 as well as 2017 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 Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird Care chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro 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.

Get the GTN Bestsellers charts in full every week in the GTN Bestsellers newsletters for only £145.00.

GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnover in excess of £120m.

Use the weekly Garden Products and Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes charts to plan your hotspot and other promotions and ensure you have the right products in stock to satisfy the needs of your customers.

For further information contact karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call 01733 775700.

Buy your subscription today and start receiving the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.

Garden centres cafes and restaurants continue to be a draw on a year-round basis contributing on average 15-20% of a garden centre’s turnover. Consumer trends are shaping menu’s though with customers looking for ‘naughty’ treats along with ‘nice’ healthy options.

Over half of people who have visited a garden centre restaurant in the last 3 months, say they like to treat themselves to food that’s not good for them. Foresight Factory’s trend ‘The Indulgence Equation’ says consumers are more aware than ever about costs of indulgence to their health, finances and appearance; and so are balancing periods of moderation with the reward of a treat.

There is also a desire for healthy eating with two thirds of people of people who have visited a garden centre agreeing that they are eating more healthily than in the past. There is a shift towards an ‘anti-diet’ culture with more of a focus on ‘eating clean’. So healthier menu choices are definitely something that visitors are looking for.

Menu planning is just one of the topics up for discussion at the HTA Catering Conference – A Slice of the Pie, sponsored by Frobishers, which takes place on Wednesday 3 July at Horticulture House in Oxfordshire,

This one-day event is packed full of top tips and practical advice for those looking to take the next steps to grow their catering outlet, develop a pop up or embark on introducing catering for the first time.

• Horticultural business consultant Neville Stein will host the day and will set the scene by looking at the benefits that a catering outlet can bring to your wider business whether a permanent café or a seasonal offer.
• Paul Pleydell from Pleydell Smithyman will then outline what you need to consider in designing your service area and café space looking at topics including maximising space, layout and flow.
• Caroline Benjamin from Food Allergy Aware will look at how best to consider customer’s diets from allergies and intolerances to lifestyle choices like vegetarianism and veganism.
• Helen Joyce from Thirsk Garden Centre will speak about how they go about running their coffee shop in a rather different way – using high quality tea, coffee and cake and investing in high quality equipment that enables them to deliver simple quality food super-fast.
• James Debbage from Green Pastures Garden Centre will look at considerations around menu planning and how to make the best of what you offer.
• Sarah Willis, Restaurant Manager of Woodys at Thurrock Garden Centre will speak about how they linked their ‘A Summer of Fun’ campaign into their catering offer.

There will also be a coffee related panel session featuring representatives from Beanworks, Illy and Rounton Coffee looking at all the aspects you should consider before serving it in your garden centre.

Book your place at www.hta.org.uk/cateringconference where you can also download a free catering report.