GTN Xtra has learned today that the Home & Garden Group, which own nine garden centres, has gone into administration. The news came from several sources...
Rutland Garden Centre is part of the Home & Garden Group.
GTN Xtra has learned today that the Home & Garden Group, which own nine garden centres, has gone into administration. The news came from several sources.
The Home & Garden Group consists of the following centres:
Rutland Garden Centre, Oakham
Leighton Buzzard Garden Centre, Bedfordshire
Willington Home and Garden
Ise Garden Centre, Kettering
Stansted Park Garden Centre, Rowlands Castle
David's Nurseries, Worcester
Shopwhyke Garden Centre, Chichester
Plowmans Garden Centre, Bournemouth
Floralands Garden Centre, Nottingham
GTN Xtra will update you with further information when it becomes available.
Gardman is reactivating its site at King's Lynn and 25 former staff are being re-employed as the company recovers from the devastating fire at its new distribution centre in Daventry on March 12...
Gardman is reactivating its site at King's Lynn and 25 former staff are being re-employed as the company recovers from the devastating fire at its new distribution centre in Daventry on March 12.
Here is the full statement from Gardman:
Following the fire at our distribution centre in Daventry on 12th March, we evaluated several different options but quickly made the decision to reactivate our site at King's Lynn.
We’re very pleased that more than 25 previous Gardman employees are returning to join our team of over 50 staff at King's Lynn. Their years of expertise will really help us get the operation up and running quickly.
We have already diverted stock from UK ports and the stock arriving from overseas to King's Lynn. We have also received the first delivery of Wild Bird Care from our UK supplier.
Customers should expect Gardman sales representatives to make contact early w/c 26th March to advise them on stock availability and ordering. Customers can also download an order form from the trade section of our website.
In the meantime, we continue to liaise with Northamptonshire Police and the other emergency services and remain thankful that there were no injuries.
We have received many expressions of support from our customers and suppliers and we would like to thank you all for your patience during this difficult period as we put our recovery plan into action.
We will continue to update you as we progress via our website
Blue Diamond opened their 20th garden centre on Thursday 22nd March at East Bridgford, Nottingham. The design, described by MD Alan Roper as "Redfields Plus" was an instant hit with customers resulting in packed car parks, busy cafe, thousands of Diamond Club sign ups and plenty of full trolleys going through the tills...
Blue Diamond opened their 20th garden centre on Thursday 22nd March at East Bridgford, Nottingham. The design, described by MD Alan Roper as "Redfields Plus" was an instant hit with customers resulting in packed car parks, busy cafe, thousands of Diamond Club sign ups and plenty of full trolleys going through the tills.
Below you can view our full picture tour of the new centre, taken on Friday 23rd March, when the car park and cafe was being tested to it's limits despite their marketing campaign not kicking in until the weekend.
MD Alan Roper told GTN Xtra last night after Saturdays trading: "A tidal wave of people came to East Bridgford today. I was helping in the pot wash and marshalling cars in the car park along with the rest of the team to manage the situation. This is going to be bigger than we anticipated. We've already put signs up at the tills to recruit more staff. It's really pleasing for the team who have worked so hard to get the centre open and looking so great. Thank you to them all."
East Bridgford marks the start of a busy year for Blue Diamond with redevelopments in the pipeline for Fermoys and Harlow centres plus new sites in negotiations in East Anglia, the North East, Yorkshire and the South of England.
One supplier at the centre on Friday described the new centre as Redfields on steroids. Take a look at our picture gallery below and judge for yourself and watch out for more coverage of the store in future issues of GTN Xtra and GTN.
Following the success of the relaunch in September 2017, Garden Pride have taken on several new lines of hanging baskets, coco liners, jute liners and pre lined troughs...
Following the success of the relaunch in September 2017, Garden Pride have taken on several new lines of hanging baskets, coco liners, jute liners and pre lined troughs.
Maxine Vincent from Garden Pride has said: “We have always stocked large ranges of standard and premium hanging baskets however over the last couple of years we have begun to dabble in a lot more pre lined products and replacement liners.
"The success of those items has led us into investing in a much larger range for 2018 which is now all in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
"We have introduced the Hens Mesh range, this consists of 7 products all of the same style ranging from hanging baskets, to herb planters and wall planters.
"Having an array such as this allows garden centres to stock our whole range whilst still having a variety and for customers to be able to continue a theme throughout their gardens. We also have a new ‘Gothic’ range which is more contemporary featuring 3 hanging baskets. A round, square and tear drop style basket.
"Focusing on the more traditional garden essentials we have 3 new trough planters, all coming pre lined and with replacement liners available to buy separately.
"After speaking to customers, we have determined the 3 most used sizes are 24”, 30” and 36”.
"We also have a pre lined wrought iron hanging basket which comes in 12”,14”,16”,18” again with replacement liners available. All of our individual liners come separately labelled and many have merchandisers for ease of displaying them."
Order fast for delivery before Easter.
Sales Office: 01903 761222 Luke Finnegan (Sales Manager): 07764 225870
Just when we thought gardeners would be getting active the ‘Beast from the East 2’ delivered another cruel blow to garden centres by arriving right at the weekend...
Just when we thought gardeners would be getting active the ‘Beast from the East 2’ delivered another cruel blow to garden centres by arriving right at the weekend.
As GTN Bestsellers goes to press the Met Office are forecasting: “The Easter weekend is too far away to be confident with any details. The most likely scenario currently is a spell of colder than average weather, with increased likelihood of overnight frosts, and a greater than normal chance of snow showers, especially in the North.”
Looking back to 2013 sales analysis we had a cold Easter at the end of March/start of April too after a relatively poor March.
The good news is that April, May and June sales that year included peak weeks that set records, only broken during 2016 and 2017. Let’s hope for more record breaking during those months this year.
GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 11) Garden Products - down 41% Growing Media - down 66% Veg-2-Gro - down 55% Wild Bird Care - down 33% All Plants Index - down 53% All Items Index - down 45%
Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford has announced its highest sales week (March 12 until 18, 2018) in the company’s history, beating its previous record breaking sales week, which was in 2008 by 17%...
Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford has announced its highest sales week (March 12 until 18, 2018) in the company’s history, beating its previous record breaking sales week, which was in 2008 by 17%.
Adam Dunnett, Sales and Marketing Director at Wyevale Nurseries, said: “We are over the moon with our recent sales figures. It’s fantastic news. Overall sales have been incredibly strong for the last few months, driven by the amenity landscape and domestic landscape markets where year-on-year, for our financial year August to August, we are 18% up.
“We’ve seen a very strong demand for our trees and transplants. In particular, where our British sown, British grown message appears to be getting good traction with many of our customers.
“A truly British grown tree for the Amenity market is only available from a few nurseries and we would be the largest of them and possibly the only one who can offer the complete plant solution for a landscape scheme.
“Chris Mason, our Trees Director, is one of the most experienced tree growers in the industry, producing an exceptional quality tree across a wide range of genus, consistently. Delivering the very highest quality tree to correct specification is something we pride ourselves on.”
The product selection available from Wyevale Nurseries is envied across the industry and the talented team regularly introduces new, award-winning plant varieties.
Westland's new TV Ad for Resolva Pro goes on air from 23rd April to 30th May (the trailer for the ad is above) and GTN Xtra has been behind the scenes to see how the ad was created.
Featuring the Dandy weed character the new advert for Reslova Pro starts off in a well-established way with the gardener getting frustrated at the appearance of weeds in his beautifully kept garden. The trailer asks us to get ready for something ground-breaking, but we have a sneak peak of what that is, the underground Resolva Pro laboratories where they have been testing new formulations for 7 years. Before launching Resolva Pro, a next generation weedkiller.
The full ad is on air 23rd April - 30th May and will also be in newspapers & digital adverts as part of a £2 million campaign that will be seen by 11 million people in the UK.
See our sneek preview gallery of pictures from the ad shoot and let us know if you will be taking the ideas and creating a display to drive sales when the TV Ad goes on air: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
Resolva Pro contains glyphosate. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use.
Home improvement and garden retailer Bunnings Warehouse has opened two more stores – Walton-on-Thames and Norwich Sprowston – amid ongoing fears that its Australian owners Wesfarmers will pull the plug on the UK operation...
Home improvement and garden retailer Bunnings Warehouse has opened two more stores – Walton-on-Thames and Norwich Sprowston – amid ongoing fears that its Australian owners Wesfarmers will pull the plug on the UK operation.
After disappointing financial figures Wesfarmers announced “a review of Bunnings UK and Ireland has commenced to identify the actions required to improve shareholder returns.”
That review is thought to be still proceeding amid calls for the Australian company to stick it out and make the UK business work.
Wesfarmers bought DIY chain Homebase for a reported £340 million just over two years ago and has been slowly rebranding stores under the Bunnings Warehouse banner.
The new Walton-on-Thames store is the 21st Bunnings Warehouse to be opened in the UK. It’s located on the site of the former Homebase on New Zealand Avenue, is 34,000 square feet and offers customers a wide range of global market-leading brands.
The 22nd store in the portfolio – Norwich Sprowston – has just opened.
Walton-on-Thames Complex Manager, Roy Tripp, said: “All our team members have worked really hard to get the store ready for opening and have undertaken many hours of training to make sure we have the expertise to help customers with home or garden projects.”
To celebrate the opening, Kelly Smith, former England Footballer joined a welcome breakfast for team members.
Kelly said: “I’ve had a great time opening Bunnings Warehouse Walton-on-Thames. Just like football, success is built on strong teamwork and it’s evident that everyone here is committed to making the store a hit.”
The store is hosting a number of events this weekend, including the famous Bunnings Sausage Sizzle, face-painting, balloon modelling and even join Chase & Skye for a Story Time session.
Plantaria managers and growers did not need the second blast of cold weather last week. With sales down vs last year for the fifth successive week, and last week they were down by 53% to the level as at the end of February, plant benches are crammed with stock that needs to be moved on...
Plantaria managers and growers did not need the second blast of cold weather last week. With sales down vs last year for the fifth successive week, and last week they were down by 53% to the level as at the end of February, plant benches are crammed with stock that needs to be moved on.
Primula remain on top, but sales volumes were down 40% on the same week last year.
Sales of young tomato plants increased by 124% as they became available and moved up to No 6.
Wallflowers, Erysimum, moved up 25 places to No 17, but volume sales were down by 70%.
All Plants volume sales change: Week on week DOWN 17.3%. Year to date DOWN 15.8% on 2017.
Wyevale Garden Centres have come up with a money-saving way of enticing customers back into their stores after the recent cold snap…a £5 voucher to spend this weekend...
Wyevale Garden Centres have come up with a money-saving way of enticing customers back into their stores after the recent cold snap…a £5 voucher to spend this weekend.
Members of the chain’s Garden Club were this week sent an e-shot with a download link to the money-off voucher.
In the e-shot Wyevales Garden Centres said:
"The weather hasn't been great for gardening recently, so to cheer you up and get you back in the garden, here's an exclusive springtime bonus – £5 to spend as you like in centre this weekend.
"All you have to do is print or show the voucher on your phone when you pop in. There's no catch - so enjoy!"
The voucher is only valid with a Garden Club card.
Squire’s Garden Centres took part in a 12-hour 'Plantathon' on Garden Re-Leaf Day to raise money for Greenfingers...
Squire’s Garden Centres took part in a 12-hour 'Plantathon' on Garden Re-Leaf Day to raise money for Greenfingers, a charity who create magical gardens for children in hospices to enjoy.
A team from Squire’s planted up spring pots at their newly re-opened garden centre in Woking.
Celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock joined in the fun too at Squire’s last weekend by planting up pots to raise money for the charity.
Customers can buy the planted spring containers at Squire’s in Woking for £6.99 each, or two pots for £12, with all the proceeds going to Greenfingers.
Sarah Squire, deputy chairman at Squire’s commented: “The Plantathon was a really fun day. It started early at 7am and our team worked until 7pm planting up beautiful pots, each containing Narcissi in the centre and four colourful Polyanthus around the outside.
"I encourage people to come to Squire’s in Woking and buy one of these pots, which would brighten up any patio or front garden. All proceeds will be donated to Greenfingers, which will help them create amazing gardens at children’s hospices throughout the country.”
Leading decorative aggregates, landscaping and birdbox supplier Deco-Pak has announced three new additions to its creative team to aid both sales support and new product development...
Leading decorative aggregates, landscaping and birdbox supplier Deco-Pak has announced three new additions to its creative team to aid both sales support and new product development.
The explanded in-house creative team now consists of lead graphic designer Sami Jackson, Marketing Assistant Adele Wynn, and digital creative Stephanie Swann.
Heading up the team, Deco-Pak’s Marketing Director Craig Hall said: “We’ve had consistent success in recent years, launching award winning new products.
"In addition, our 3-5 day turnaround on orders allows us to deliver to retailers expectations whatever the season.
"In order to remain leaders in our highly competitive industry however, we know we need to remain at the top of our game, especially when it comes to our creative team driving sales support and new product development.”
Visit www.deco-pak.co.uk, connect via twitter @deco_pak, or call the sales office on 01422 204394.
Kelkay Ltd has been selected as one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing companies at a business awards event organised by leading law firm, Ward Hadaway...
Pictured: Antony Harker, Chief Executive, and Bob Hewitt, Non-Executive Director of Kelkay Ltd.
Kelkay Ltd has been selected as one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing companies at a business awards event organised by leading law firm, Ward Hadaway.
Backed by The Yorkshire Post, the list highlights and celebrates the achievements of the profitable, privately-owned companies in the region which have grown their turnover by the largest amount in recent years.
The list includes businesses from a wide range of sectors which represent the growth drivers of the Yorkshire economy. The 2018 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 was compiled and verified using publicly available information from Companies House.
Antony Harker, Kelkay Ltd Chief Executive, commented: “It’s such an honour for our business to be recognised as one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing businesses. This accolade is thanks largely to the dedication, skills and sheer hard work of my fantastic team together with the support from our loyal garden market customers.”
Kelkay was recently acquired by Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF), a US public company with approximately USD$2billion in annual revenue and is now part of The AMES Companies, Inc.
Pictured: Antony Harker, Chief Executive and Bob Hewitt, Non-Executive Director of Kelkay Ltd.
The UK’s leading grass seed brand, Johnsons Lawn Seed has seen an encouraging start to 2018, thanks to the increasing sales of VivaGreen MossOff - added to the company’s distribution portfolio in late 2017...
The UK’s leading grass seed brand, Johnsons Lawn Seed has seen an encouraging start to 2018, thanks to the increasing sales of VivaGreen MossOff - added to the company’s distribution portfolio in late 2017.
The latest figures have proved positive with both the Multi-Surface and Lawn versions of MossOff successfully launched into hundreds of garden centres throughout the UK over the last six months.
Sales of MossOff have taken off in leading Scandinavian retailers with the product paving the way in chemical-free garden treatment in a marketplace where stricter regulation on potentially harmful chemicals is in force.
The last 12 months saw Johnsons’ parent company, DLF Seeds Ltd announce a new partnership with VivaGreen Group which sees them provide even more innovative lawn solutions to the garden centre customer.
MossOff uses a unique technology which is chemical free and completely safe for children, pets, plants, fish and pond life. It has an official derogation from the Chemicals Regulation Directorate and is made of natural ingredients. When diluted with water, MossOff offers a new and totally unique biocide-free way of killing and preventing moss and algae by suffocating the plants in a biofilm, rather than the use of harsh chemicals that attack the plant’s cell structure. Interest was strong for MossOff and other Johnsons Lawn Seed products at the recent Garden Press Event in London. Throughout the show, MossOff was praised by visiting media and bloggers for its environmentally sensitive, state-of-art way to treat moss and algae in the garden.
Johnsons’ latest innovation Lawn Thickener also attracted attention from editors the show. Impressed with the developments in state-of-the-art seed production technology, editors agreed that Lawn Thickener, which guarantees 30% more grass than uncoated grass seed and faster germination thanks to the Seedbooster®, will be a key staple in the UK’s summer gardens.
It has also been an exciting start to 2018 for UK’s largest grass seed producer as it is set to enjoy a visit from a range of garden and home editors at their headquarters in Inkberrow and trials plots in Tewkesbury in the near future.
Consumer Manager, Guy Jenkins said: “Johnsons has enjoyed an encouraging start to its new relationship with VivaGreen and the sales of MossOff have been very positive as we head into the new gardening season. MossOff is a great product that Johnsons has a great synergy with in terms of product innovation and our own company ethos and it sits nicely within our existing range. We continue to see strong demand for Johnsons’ cutting-edge lawn products which all feature our unique Green Lawn Technology and are the result of over a hundred years of research and development, with Lawn Thickener being one of our most advanced yet. Our highly differentiated market positioning and competitive strategy, combined with our intensive R&D programme make for an exciting outlook and we remain confident in our ability to deliver further growth in the gardening sector.”
A Scottish Horticultural Action Plan, highlighting the contribution of parks and gardens to the wider Scottish economy, has been launched...
A Scottish Horticultural Action Plan, highlighting the contribution of parks and gardens to the wider Scottish economy, has been launched.
The Plan, which sets out 10 asks of Scottish Government and pledges to support them in achieving these asks. The Plan focuses on 5 key areas where horticulture has a significant role to play. These are Education, Health/ Well-Being, Environment, Economy and Tourism.
‘‘It has been such a long journey but finally today after years of discussions, debates and changes the Scottish Horticulture Action Plan has now been launched ‘’ said Neil Cummings, Business Manager for the HTA and Chairman of the horticulture panel which represents 28 organisations and businesses across Scotland.
Neil presented the first copies of the newly printed document to David Knott, Curator of Living Collections, at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
David said, “This Horticultural Action Plan highlights the significant contribution parks and gardens make to the wider Scottish economy and also recognises the wider benefits of plants to the environment and our education, health and wellbeing in Scotland.”
Today, Tuesday 20 March, a copy of the action plan is being hand delivered to each of the 129 MSPs at Holyrood. On Thursday 29 March there will be a gathering of many of the organisations involved in the panel, at Holyrood to present the document during a drop in session to MSPs.
Neil Cummings said “It has been incredibly hard work to bring such diverse organisations together to deliver a document that promotes all areas of Horticulture, but it is one we are all very proud of. However, the real work starts here. The panel will now go forward to work in partnership with Scottish Government to deliver the many asks and pledges. Together we will help to move Horticulture to the forefront.”
The organisers of Glee have confirmed that 2018 is set to mark an exciting year of development for pet products at the show, with several exciting enhancements being added to a dedicated pet sector – ‘Pets at Glee’.
With almost 50% of the UK now owning a pet - and this number set to increase in the coming years - the additional revenue potential that pet products can offer garden retailers is unrivalled by any other product category.
Recognising this the organisers of Glee – the UK’s leading annual exhibition for the garden retail industry - have confirmed that 2018 is set to mark an exciting year of development for pet products at the show, with several exciting enhancements being added to Glee’s dedicated pet sector – ‘Pets at Glee’.
Bigger and better than ever before, this thriving section of Glee will make it even easier for garden centre pet buyers to directly source 2019 ranges, whilst also benefitting from unrivalled networking and educational content.
A new ‘Pets at Glee’ entrance will drive retailers right into the heart of the pet area, whilst a special pet care seminar stage will also be making its debut at the show. Marking a significant investment for this new era of Pets at Glee, the seminar stage will offer grooming demonstrations and interactive content that can be implemented instore to boost pet care within the garden retail environment.
The new look ‘Pets at Glee’ will also be a hub of information, innovative new products and business advice that will enable those 70% of garden retailers who currently offer pet products to boost their business in the year ahead, helping them to take a slice of the £5billion** spent on pet products, food and accessories annually in the UK.
PetQuip – the leading international trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of pet care goods and services - has also confirmed that it will be continuing its support for the PetQuip Business Village.
The garden centre market offers great potential growth for pet suppliers. Garden centres usually have a larger footprint than most High Street independents, which aids effective product displays, and also being able to supply a wider range of products instore. Customer loyalty and repeat visitors is also the cornerstone of garden centre business, and pet ranges – especially pet food – are a proven way of achieving this, offering profitability for both the retailer and the supplier.
Pet suppliers exhibiting in the PetQuip Business Village at Glee will benefit from a variety of unique opportunities. Firstly, the brand exposure to a captive audience of garden retailers. Secondly, they can tap into PetQuip’s expertise which provides a wealth of information and support to help develop their businesses.
Matthew Mein, Glee Event Director, said: “Pet care suppliers who exhibit at Glee are in a unique position. Not only can they communicate with pet retailers who visit the show, but they can access a world of cross-over selling opportunities with garden centre buyers from the UK and abroad. The fact that Glee captures an audience across all UK garden centres and garden centre buying groups, including 98% of all GCA members – not to mention top name multiple, high street and on-line retailers – means that pet care suppliers can have direct access to the key decision makers that could help take their business to the next level.
“The enhancements we are putting in place for the 2018 show will help pets to take centre stage, and we know that the industry will get behind these changes to help to make the 2018 exhibition an extremely profitable proposition.”
Find out more
Glee is the UK’s leading garden retail show, focussing on building year-round profits for buyers and suppliers within the core gardening and outdoor leisure product categories. To keep up-to-date on the latest Glee news visit www.gleebirmingham.com. To enquire about exhibiting at Glee 2018 call 020 3033 2160.
Elephants, cyclists, golfers and even prancing Ferrari horses all feature in Allensmore Nurseries 2018 topiary range...
Elephants, cyclists, golfers and even prancing Ferrari horses all feature in Allensmore Nurseries 2018 topiary range.
These playful but high consumer appeal new products extend the Allensmore high quality topiary range to well over 50 products, including the ever-popular Cupressocyparis spirals, balls and pom-poms, Bays and Ilex.
Allensmore’s range of Italian premium specimen plants are grown in Pistoia, Tuscany in Northern Italy by highly specialised growers with whom Allensmore have a long-standing and trusted relationship. All plants are grown to Allensmore’s exacting quality standards and crops are regularly inspected by them throughout the growing and dispatch processes. A wide range of Bamboos, Climbers, Architectural plants and Core shrubs from 5 to 100 litres complete the extensive Italian collections.
To meet the increased demand for their Italian collections, Allensmore are extending their external holding areas at their Madley, Herefordshire site, including installing a new docking bay to more efficiently load and unload trucks, and have refurbished their 1 acre indoor holding and order assembly facilities.
Commenting on their new ranges, Allensmore MD, Mark Taylor, said: “Consumers still require structural and decorative plants for their gardens and we are able to fulfil this demand with our Italian Specimen Plant collections."
Allensmore know their retailer customers are always seeking to inspire their customers with great planting ideas through outstanding, enticing in-store displays. Their Italian plant collections are supplied with free large inspiring correx boards and matching labels, all designed by their marketing expert Rick McKeever, their Showpiece Shrubs make a spectacular display in any garden centre.
Due to high demand, Allensmore have decided to extend their customer open days until the end of March. This is an opportunity for retailers to visit their nurseries, view their ranges for themselves and even select the exact plants they want. Customers can book the day and time for a visit to suit them by contacting their sales office or their local Allensmore Sales Manager.
Chris Pateman has left his post as Chairman of the HTA due to family reasons...
Chris Pateman has left his post as Chairman of the HTA due to family reasons.
Chris said: “I find a number of family issues are now requiring my attention and the long commute had made it harder than anticipated.
"As a result, I no longer feel able to contribute to the HTA as I would have wished.
"In my short tenure with the HTA, it has been both a privilege and a pleasure to have witnessed the enthusiasm of the HTA teams.”
Adam Taylor, President of the HTA, said: “We are sorry to see Chris go but we understand his situation and wish him all the best for the future.
"Naturally, we identified the distance between Horticulture House and Chris’ home in Kent and had discussed it but it has had a greater impact on Chris than was first thought.
"The Board will be discussing the vacancy in the near future.”
The cold weather may have sent less keen gardeners back into hibernation but serious ones have been active buying tools and products ready for when the weather warms up. Burgon & Ball’s Micro Secateurs move up to No 1 and No 2 in the GTN Bestsellers chart...
The cold weather may have sent less keen gardeners back into hibernation but serious ones have been active buying tools and products ready for when the weather warms up.
For the first time ever a pair of gardening secateurs has made it to the top of the GTN Garden Products chart – Burgon & Ball’s Micro Secateurs move up to No 1 and No 2.
Other highlights were:
As gardeners seek to protect their pots, Woodlodge Pot Feet Large were the highest re-entry.
Westland Organic Chicken Manure Pellets, 2.25kg pack size, is the highest new entry at No 44.
Briers All Seasons Gardener Gloves in Purple, medium size, are the highest chart climber, moving up 18 places to No 10.
The mini ‘Beast from the East’ certainly dented hopes of the expected mid-March upturn in growing media sales with volumes falling back from the previous week. The cold blast did bring a benefit for mulches to protect young plants, however...
The mini ‘Beast from the East’ certainly dented hopes of the expected mid-March upturn in growing media sales with volumes falling back from the previous week.
The cold blast did bring a benefit for mulches to protect young plants. Strulch Organic Straw Mulch, 100 litre bales, increased sales by 438%.
Other highlights were:
Bord na Mona Growise Peat Free Multi Purpose + John Innes, 50 litres is the highest new entry this week at No 33.
Westland Ericaceous plus John Innes, 30 litres, re-enters at No 26.
Scotts Miracle-Gro All Purpose Compost, 56 litres climbs 31 places up the chart to No 13.
The second blast of cold weather didn’t have any positive impact on the sale of Wild Bird Care products with the Top 50 GTN Bestsellers volumes dropping by 21%...
The second blast of cold weather didn’t have any positive impact on the sale of Wild Bird Care products with the Top 50 GTN Bestsellers volumes dropping by 21%.
In the post Gardman fire period it’s difficult to know how much of this decline is due to lack of availability against the lack of desire to buy Wild Bird Care lines. Gardman’s Fat Snax, tubs of 50, remain at No 1 with static sales but their Seed Mix, 2kg, dropped in volume by 40%.
Here are some highlights:
Westland Peckish Complete Energy Balls, 6+6 free, are the highest chart climber, up 39 places to No 7.
Gardman’s Squirrel Proof Seed Feeder is the highest re-entry at No 8.
Westland Peckish Winter Warmer 1.7kg grew sales by 400% to re-enter at No 30.
Mark Higgins has taken over the position as Head of Horticulture for Bord Na Móna.
Mark Higgins has recently taken over the position as Head of Horticulture for Bord Na Móna.
Mark joins Bord Na Móna Horticulture with a strong strategic commercial and operational background which he has gained within the FMCG sector, with considerable experience in growing market share in very competitive environments. He has spent much of his career to date in Ireland and the UK and has extensive experience in delivering business performance targets.
Mark joining Bord Na Móna Horticulture is well timed for the organisation’s horticulture business, which is the leading Irish supplier of growing media and barks in Ireland and the UK and has an expanding footprint in international market. It is the fastest growing player in the garden centre trade in the UK and holds a significant market share in both the private label and professional sectors. Its Bord Na Mona Growise branded range for home gardeners was launched in 2010 and has won a number of awards since, including the Which? Best Buy compost award for seven years, this brand Mark says presents a substantial growth opportunity.
Says Mark of his appointment, “The opportunity to grow the horticulture business is considerable. The turnover for Bord Na Móna Horticulture in the UK retail sector has grown by 70% over the last two years and we have ambitious plans to continue to grow strongly. Our brand heritage and quality of our product is exceptional and there is no doubt in my mind that Bord Na Móna Horticulture and our Bord Na Móna Growise brand has substantial growth potential in the UK & Ireland and selected international markets.”
Mark joins Bord Na Móna Horticulture from Hovis Limited where he was General Manager for Hovis Ireland and led a turnaround plan to re-establish the business as the leading supplier of both branded and private label bread products to the retail sector in Ireland. In addition to this he has held senior management and leadership roles in a number of leading international organisations including The 2Sisters Food Group, Ornua and Glanbia Plc.
Throughout his career Mark has served as Non-Executive Director on various boards including The British Cheese Board Limited, Council Member Of The Provisions Trade Federation (UK) and The English Butter Marketing Company Limited.
Mark replaced Gerry O’Hagan who has been appointed to a new role in Bord Na Móna - Head of Strategic Projects.
GIMA’s Knowledge Exchange Programme is set to return in April, this time presenting two special one-day sessions focussing on Sales Territory Planning and New Product Development – open to both GIMA members and non-members...
GIMA’s Knowledge Exchange Programme is set to return in April, this time presenting two special one-day sessions focussing on Sales Territory Planning and New Product Development – open to both GIMA members and non-members.
Created in association with Cedar Associates, the first workshop (11th April) entitled ‘Sales Territory Planning’ will help participants to make better use of sales territory plans to generate more effective sales results. The session will arm sales personnel with advice and top tips on how to implement new techniques that will enable them to prioritise tasks and better plan their time, both on the road and in the office. A ‘consultative sales’ approach will also be explained, demonstrating to participants the ways that they can develop relationships with existing and potential customers, whilst also increasing link, cross and up-sale opportunities.
The second workshop (19th April) will focus solely on new product development and how junior and middle managers can improve their chances of developing a product that beats the odds to become a successful and viable commercial entity. Led by Jane Lawler – who brings with her over 30 years’ experience working in large corporations, investor funded enterprises and family businesses from junior management up to main board director – the full days schedule will combine presentations, video and working group tasks as well as debate and networking activities and will provide attendees with the know-how and inspiration to confidently attack their NPD plans.
Both GIMA Knowledge Exchange Workshops will take place Horticulture House, Didcot, OX11 0RN.
Vicky Nuttall, GIMA director said: “We’re so pleased that both Cedar Associates and Jane Lawler are able to join us for these two workshop sessions. In such a competitive marketplace, and one that is awash with a significantly broad product offering, it is vital that suppliers look at ways to differentiate themselves, whilst also ensuring absolute efficiencies. The two latest Knowledge Exchange Workshops are designed to provide those that attend with tangible and realistic advice that can be quickly implemented. We look forward to welcoming both GIMA member and non-members on the day.”
Further information about Knowledge Exchange workshops can be found at www.gima.org.uk. Open to both members and non-members, GIMA is urging interested parties to secure their place now as space is limited. Bookings can be made for individual workshops (GIMA Members: £195 + VAT / Non-members: £225 + VAT) or as a suite of two or more workshops (GIMA Members: £175 + VAT / Non-members: £205 + VAT).
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After the devastating fire that caused the loss of over £20m of stock and the complete Daventry warehouse last week, Gardman are planning first shipments for week commencing 26th March...
After the devastating fire that caused the loss of over £20m of stock and the complete Daventry warehouse last week, Gardman are planning first shipments for week commencing 26th March. In a statement issued to GTN Xtra this morning Gardman say:
"Following the fire at our warehouse in Daventry on 12th March, we can confirm that we will use our warehouse at Kings Lynn to supply customers until a permanent warehousing solution has been identified. Through next week, we will divert our stock sat at UK ports and stock arriving from overseas to the Kings Lynn site. We are also planning to supply an essential range of Wild Bird Care products from our UK and European suppliers, again through our Kings Lynn facility. We estimate it will take us five days to get our operation up and running. Therefore, we are planning first shipments w/c 26th March. We will confirm the exact details of the range next week."
"In the meantime, we continue to liaise with Northamptonshire Police and the other emergency services and remain thankful that there were no injuries."
"We have received many expressions of support from our customers and suppliers and we would like to thank you all for your patience during this difficult period as we put our recovery plan into action."
"We will continue to update you as we progress via our website www.gardman.co.uk"
A Gardman spokesman added: "We're going to work through the detail of orders tomorrow and through the week. We'll communicate daily to ensure we're giving our customers the most up to date information. Sorry we can't be more specific until we regroup tomorrow."
GTN Xtra Comment
We send our sincere support to the team at Gardman as they work through their business recovery plans. When we met with the Gardman team in February they told us they had £21million of stock in their 414,000 sq foot warehouse at the time, £5m more than usual to allow for the change in warehousing. The building which cost an estimated £30 million had spaces for 75,000 pallets and there were 25 vehicles arriving every day with deliveries from the UK and Europe and containers from the Far East.
Looking through the gallery of photos we took that day (see some below) it's easy to see how the fire spread once it took hold as just the stocks of bamboo canes, rolls of screening and bird tables alone would create an inferno, let alone the thousands of cardboard boxes full of products.
There is no way the rest of the industry can make up for over £20million of stock lost in the fire just like that so there will undoubtedly be some shortages of products until stocks and supplies are re-plenished.
Fortunately garden centres are great at selling plants, coffee, cake, gifts, clothing and much more, creating wonderful retail experiences, so we’re sure there will be plenty of creative thinking going on to make sure sales opportunities are still maximised and customers satisfied.
On behalf of all at Garden Trade News and the whole UK garden retailing industry we wish the Gardman team well.
A sunny day, you'd almost think it was spring, greeted nearly 100 Greenfingers Charity supporters at Wyevale Worlds End on Friday for the fourth annual Garden Re-Leaf Day sponsored walk and first ever Garden Re-Leaf Day sponsored cycle ride...
A sunny day, you'd almost think it was spring, greeted nearly 100 Greenfingers Charity supporters at Wyevale Worlds End on Friday for the fourth annual Garden Re-Leaf Day sponsored walk and first ever sponsored cycle ride.
This year 70 people took part in The Great Garden Re-Leaf Day event, some taking the 10 mile walking route, some the 20 mile route and a group of cyclists completed up to 100 miles on the day riding a 25 mile lap.
Wyevale Worlds End Garden Centre hosted this years event providing food and drinks for the walkers, riders and supporters during the day. Huge thanks to all of the Wyevale team for making the day so enjoyable.
As you'll see from our gallery of photos below the walkers had to endure very muddy conditions along the Chiltern footpaths but all arrived back safely and in good spirits on their way to the day raising an expected £75,000 for Greenfingers.
By the evening as the last walkers and riders were returning the planteria staff at Worlds End were fleecing up their plant benches ahead of the expected weather we've ahd to endure again this weekend.
Thank goodness the sun shone once again on Garden Re-Leaf Day.
Following the success of the relaunch in September 2017, Garden Pride have taken on several new lines of hanging baskets, coco liners, jute liners and pre lined troughs...
Following the success of the relaunch in September 2017, Garden Pride have taken on several new lines of hanging baskets, coco liners, jute liners and pre lined troughs.
Maxine Vincent from Garden Pride has said: “We have always stocked large ranges of standard and premium hanging baskets however over the last couple of years we have begun to dabble in a lot more pre lined products and replacement liners.
"The success of those items has led us into investing in a much larger range for 2018 which is now all in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
"We have introduced the Hens Mesh range, this consists of 7 products all of the same style ranging from hanging baskets, to herb planters and wall planters.
"Having an array such as this allows garden centres to stock our whole range whilst still having a variety and for customers to be able to continue a theme throughout their gardens. We also have a new ‘Gothic’ range which is more contemporary featuring 3 hanging baskets. A round, square and tear drop style basket.
"Focusing on the more traditional garden essentials we have 3 new trough planters, all coming pre lined and with replacement liners available to buy separately.
"After speaking to customers, we have determined the 3 most used sizes are 24”, 30” and 36”.
"We also have a pre lined wrought iron hanging basket which comes in 12”,14”,16”,18” again with replacement liners available. All of our individual liners come separately labelled and many have merchandisers for ease of displaying them."
Order fast for delivery before Easter.
Sales Office: 01903 761222 Luke Finnegan (Sales Manager): 07764 225870
Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts...
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.
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.
Celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock joined in the fun too at Squire’s last weekend by planting up pots to raise money for the charity.
Johnsons’ latest innovation Lawn Thickener also attracted attention from editors the show. Impressed with the developments in state-of-the-art seed production technology, editors agreed that Lawn Thickener, which guarantees 30% more grass than uncoated grass seed and faster germination thanks to the Seedbooster®, will be a key staple in the UK’s summer gardens.
