If you have ever wondered whether joining a marketing group was right for you, now is a good time to explore the opportunity offered by long-established Choice Marketing.

Choice has grown steadily since its foundation in 2002 and today has 28 members representing 33 outlets from Scotland to the South Coast with a combined turnover of more than £75m. Individual turnovers range from around £1.5m to £6.5m, making it an organisation clearly valued by independent garden centres of all shapes and sizes.

Current chairman Sam Bosworth (Bosworths Garden Centre, left) says the group made a conscious decision to grow slowly, to ensure it could deliver solid and sustainable benefits to members. But the group now believes the time is right for a modest expansion so that the value to members of its products and services can be developed even further.

The group’s primary objective is to ensure the continuing health and prosperity of the UK’s independent garden centres by:

* helping with profitability through enhanced terms and rebates

* providing cost effective professional marketing solutions

* creating a platform for friendship and networking between members

* working together to create buying power generally only enjoyed by multiple retailers, with all the associated benefits, particularly in current difficult trading times.

Choice accepts that some owners fear that their businesses will lose their own carefully-nurtured identity and independence by working under a group umbrella –  but is quick to dispel this as a myth. “Members retain full control of their businesses, just as they have always done,” Sam Bosworth says. “But Choice works in the background on the key tasks of buying and marketing, leaving members more time and energy for running their centres.”

The other often cited reason for “going it alone” is the desire to keep control over the stocking decisions. “The key to success as a Choice member is commitment,” Sam says. “We know this can be daunting at first but as many have proved over the years, once members begin to enjoy the benefits of our tried and tested co-operative approach to buying and marketing, they never look back.”

Choice stress that decisions are made by the membership and the board, not by any individual. Choice is a not-for-profit limited company in which all members are equal shareholders.