Santa’s arrival for grotto duty at numerous garden centres across the UK has helped maintain the smiles on garden centre owners faces as well as thousands of excited children. The GTN Bestsellers All Products Epos index is up 16% on the same week last year meaning that there is a very good chance volume sales, as measured by GTN Bestsellers, will end the year at least 15% up on 2011.
Our prediction, top right, assumes we don’t get any downpours of snow – the only thing we believe could stop continued year on year growth – and leaves room for further increases. In 2012 week 49 was actually the biggest of the year in sales volume terms. Our prediuction has week 49 as the second highest week for 2013, behind the bumper week 22 at the Whitsun Bank Holiday.
Santa’s magnetic appeal shows no sign of slowing. As The Bearded One arrived at Ruxley manor last Saturday, only a handful of booking slots during November were still available out of a capacity of more than 30,000 this season. No wonder they’ve just opened a new food hall to maximise on every possible sales opportunity from all those families visiting during the next six weeks.
See GTN Xtra at the weekend for photos of the new Ruxley Manor GC Food Hall.
Check out the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...
Santa’s arrival for grotto duty at numerous garden centres across the UK has helped maintain the smiles on garden centre owners faces as well as thousands of excited children. The GTN Bestsellers All Products Epos index is up 16% on the same week last year meaning that there is a very good chance volume sales, as measured by GTN Bestsellers, will end the year at least 15% up on 2011.
