If Benjamin Franklin had been around, he may have wanted to amend his assertion that in this world nothing could be said to be certain except death and taxes. In my book, ongoing change in the garden industry is as safe a bet as you can find – the only uncertainty being the rate at which it happens.

It has speeded up in recent years, that’s for sure, as the big money takes a keener interest in the sector’s little adventures ...and the wealth they have created for a band of talented and creative entrepreneurs. While the industry’s pioneers, mainly family businesses, “did it for themselves”, these days, serious brains are imported from the wider commercial world to help polish the diamonds embedded there.

Needless to say, the bigger the business, the greater the need to bolt on specialised skills, as Wyevale Garden Centres has amply demonstrated in previous years.

In 2015, though, there have clear signs of a leaner and meaner approach by WGC in what is widely seen as prepping the business for Terra Firma’s exit. With the acquisition of Sidmouth GC, the number of centres broke through the 150 barrier and more acquisitions are expected in the New Year, providing the evidence of growth that potential buyers will no doubt demand.

Another clue was the surprise departure of WGC’s food and beverage director Jason Danziger, which suggested that, following the successful development of the Coffee Grounds and Botanic Kitchen concepts, his work there was done.

Earlier in the year, many began to wonder if WGC’s estate might end the year closer to 200 outlets as rumours abounded that it was in the final stages of negotiations with Tesco to buy the Dobbies chain of 35 centres.

Two remarks fuelled the speculation. Chief executive Kevin Bradshaw told a suppliers’ meeting that WGC was in talks with “a chain of over 30 centres”. Who else, but Dobbies? Then, at Chelsea, when Terra Firma boss Guy Hands was asked about Dobbies, he replied “Well I can’t say anything about that, but I’d love to," adding, “I don’t know when anything will happen, it’s all up to Tesco’s.”

Enough said. But that was more or less the last we heard of that thread.

The plot thickened somewhat when the scale of Tesco’s woes became apparent: 40 stores would be closed and divestment of ancillary businesses was mooted. Was a garden centre chain a distraction Drastic Dave (Lewis, CEO) could do without, we asked (and not for the first time).

 The £83m write-down (in goodwill and other impairments) on the value of Dobbies announced in April’s preliminary results was followed by the news in December’s results that the group had reduced the book value of its properties by £46.4m to £191m following the latest review. But Dobbies said it was happy with its full year’s trading, which showed like-for-like sales growth and profit and cash generation that were well ahead of expectations.

So we’ve still got a guessing game.

Of course, it’s not all about Wyevale and Dobbies. All the other groups are either buying or investing in redevelopment, or both. Blue Diamond were the first of 2015 to announce an acquisition (Newbridge), Notcutts and Klondyke say acquisition is on the agenda, Squires would like more and Home & Garden are quietly building up numbers (now eight).

In the background, Waitrose has done a good job milking its affluent footfall for add-on garden sales. It rated its 167 gardening pods as one of the sales highlights of the year.

Garden Centre catering has been booming for many seasons but in 2015 everybody wanted some of the action, as burgeoning attendance at the HTA’s excellent catering conference testified.

On the supplier front, key core gardening specialists Sinclair Horticulture provided the shock headline of the year. The business was known to be financially challenged after spending £25m on its new Ellesmere Port facility – and the ‘for sale’ notice had been up for some time – but it still came as a shock when it suspended its share dealings on the AIM after running out of a cash (following an earlier warning from chairman Rupert King). When no emergency funding could be found, the company called in the administrators – and rival supplier Westland promptly stepped in to buy the business. Within days, Westland said it had decided to remove all green waste from Sinclair’s peat-free media in the interests of product consistency.

There were a number of key to-ings and fro-ings in garden industry boardrooms. In January Sheila Hill replaced Martin Breddy at Scotts Miracle-Gro, embarked on a tour of 50 garden centres to gather feedback, and in May announced that the company was divesting all the Solus brands acquired in 2014 except Chapelwood, which was targeting bird care market leadership within three years.

At Gardman, CEO Stewart Hainsworth left in April to return to the drinks industry but it was November before chairman Jonathan Halford appointed a successor (Pete Utting of Whitworths).

Notcutts appointed former Hobbs and M&S executive Nicky Dulieu as non-executive chairman - and she was later to announce Nick Burrows (ex-Thames Club and First Sports Group) as the group’s new CEO.

Two garden retail stalwarts announced their retirements – Bob Hewitt, CE of Klondyke group (end of January) and Dennis Espley, MD of Squires group (end of April).

As ever, Carol Paris’s team of beavers at the HTA lobbed reminders to ministers about the pressures the living wage would impose on the industry and the iniquities of our Sunday Trading laws. The latter are to be relaxed to allow local councils to set policy - result!

Farewell to a trio of characters we shall miss...
    

Left to right: Charles Notcutt (81), Dave Stafford (71) and John Pearson (87)

Martin Stewart, MD, Stewarts Garden Centres

The sadness of sofas...

Next year will see a steady continuation of what has been going on. The characterless multiple will steadily grow, the opportunities for the fun and dynamic independent will continue to increase.

The irritation of online will carry on getting worse with the tragedy that it is debatable how much profit is being generated in that sector. I don’t think we as a company have ever felt more optimistic that our skills place us in a very strong position.

If I had one wish it would be that concessions with no relation to the main core product should be banned from being inside the front door of a garden centre. How sad I felt recently to be inside what used to be one of the best garden centres in the country to walk by ‘Sofas’. My daughter said: ‘Dad, I feel ill!!’.

Such short term chasing of profit will do long-term lasting damage not only to that garden centre but also to the wider reputation of garden centres in the future.

The future of our business depends on our visitors and potential customers seeing us as genuine, focused, people and plant-based, professional organisations. Not ones that are after any buck they can get.

Alan Roper, CE, Blue Diamond Group

Samey concessions trend will burn out, click-and-collect will keep on  growing...and supplier innovation will continue

I don’t see any major shake up in 2016 unless Terra Firma sell off Wyevale, which will of course happen at some point.  

Innovation is unlikely in 2016. The industry (or part of it) at the moment seems to be driven towards diluting the identity of garden centres with an endless procession of high street concessions appearing in garden centres, independents, groups – even one well- respected plant-based group. They are all putting in concessions and what’s more, they are all the same concession companies! 

One of the key hallmarks of retailing success is to have a point of difference. This trend delivers the opposite and at some point will burn out unless more imaginative concession partners are sited within the garden centre. As a customer, in some areas, I can go to several garden centres and find the same book, shoe and clothing concessions in differently- owned centres.

I don’t see a surge in e-commerce. To date online growth in furniture and barbecues has been significant; however volumes in other categories have been modest. If you read between the lines (and look at their turnover) e-commerce sites are frustrated at their lack of growth in other key gardening categories.

The exception is click-and-collect, which will continue to grow and improve customer service levels at physical stores. The online plant market transferred from mail order and continues to offer keen gardeners a valuable service. It sits alongside garden centres quite comfortably. Our plant sales continue to grow significantly from a high base, which underlines this point.

Product innovation is so important and in the past year or two suppliers have made good strides in pots and garden features, including solar lighting. I see this continuing in 2016.

One thing I would change? Garden centres I would love to have in Blue Diamond are currently operated by A.N.Other!

Family-run Read Garden Centre near Burnley re-opened for business this week following severe damage by floods on Boxing Day.

Owners Sue and Gary Procter bought the business just two years ago, only to see the unprecedented flooding wash away their hard work. They estimate stock losses at around £50,000. The site is close to the River Calder. 

The couple run the centre with their sons Dane (24) and Steven (20).

The local community helped to get the business back up and running after family friend Jackie Laxton stepped in to organise a clean-up campaign. “This is a small family business and because of that people have really wanted to help us,” she told the Clitheroe Today website. “Gary and Sue felt like they had lost everything but the response from the community has been fantastic to help us to start to re-build and I have to take my hat off to the people who have come to our aid.”

It was the first time the centre had been flooded for 50 years.

The floods washed away glasshouses, including the centre’s café, as well as plants, bird seed and logs.

The couple were this week asking for donations of materials like plaster board, skirting boards and other building products to help re-build the centre. Sue Procter told GTN Xtra: “We are in the process of getting the place up and running it's been amazing how everyone has helped us out with our needs.

You can direct offers of help to Sue on 07734 955747 or Jackie Laxton on 07729 634764.

Show organiser Simon Anslow comments: “Christmas & Gift goes from strength to strength. As the word spreads about its success we have more new companies jumping on board. Visitor numbers have increased dramatically over the last four years and it is now a leading event for retailers and buyers seeking not only festive products, but home and garden gift ranges for the entire year.”

For anyone in the Christmas business, this show has always been an important date for the diary, but in the last few years the show has grown beyond expectations.

Significantly, whilst the festive season remains the focus of the entire event, the diversity of ranges displayed encompass occasions for the whole year round. Amongst the Christmas trees, tinsel and baubles, visitors will be presented with thousands of products for the home and garden from gifts and ornaments, furniture and pictures, right through to floral displays, garden furniture, lights and barbeques.

Hall A includes new exhibitors Global Journey – bringing an exciting range of music and jewellery; and Lemax Europe – a worldwide leader in collectable village miniatures. Another new exhibitor in Hall B is Koopman of Holland with a huge and diverse catalogue of products for all occasions.

Premier Decorations will be taking Hall H in its entirety, launching new ranges from its Christmas, Outdoor Living and Halloween collections. Also, with lots of new products on offer, Heaven Sends and RJB Stone have both significantly increased their stand sizes.

Simon Anslow adds: “Harrogate Christmas & Gift is now considered the number one trade show for garden centre and visitor attraction buyers as well as department stores and independent gift retailers. With so many new exhibitors joining the show, we can expect another bumper event in 2016.”

Visit www.harrogatefair.com to register to attend – and if you have new colleagues in the industry, don’t forget to forward this link so that they can register too.

Harrogate Christmas & Gift are sponsors of The Greatest Christmas Awards which will be presented in the Majestic Hotel tomorrow (Sunday) evening.   To book tickets follow this link

Sainsburys has emerged as a potential rival to former Wyevale chief executive Nicholas Marshall in his reported interest in making a bid for the Homebase business.

The grocery chain said this week it had made an offer in November (later rejected) for the Home Retail Group, owners of Homebase and Argos. This was interpreted as a bid to pre-empt a move by Amazon on the UK grocery sector. Amazon launched a UK grocery delivery service at the end of the year.

Sainsbury’s, which, ironically, sold Homebase in 2000, is believed to be primarily interested in the Argos business, following the announcement in October of the UK high street’s first same-day home delivery service.

After its cash and shares approach to Home Retail was rejected because, the owners said, it undervalued the business and its long-term prospects, Sainsbury’s is now considering its position. Under UK takeover rules, it will need to make a formal approach by 5pm on 2 February or walk away.

Marshall (above) told the Financial Times last month that he was in discussions with private equity groups about a possible bid for Homebase. He was not available for comment as this issue was being prepared.

Sainsburys said a tie-up would create an attractively located network of stores with a strong presence in food and grocery, clothing, homewares, toys, stationery, electricals, furniture and other general merchandise, but a formal offer was “not a certainty”.

Squire’s Garden Centres have joined forces with the Royal Horticultural Society to create a programme to change perceptions about a career in horticulture.

The “Secondary School Challenge” scheme was launched in September, and to date more than 70 children aged 12-15 have taken part from schools across Surrey, Middlesex and Greater London. 

With a choice of  two projects – ‘Creating a School Garden’ or ‘Growing Your Community Garden’ – the teams were allocated a mentor from either Squire’s or RHS Wisley to help them plan, develop and design their ideas.

Each team presented their ideas at a final assessment day in December at RHS Wisley.  Prizes were awarded for:

• Best Teamwork - Surbiton High School
• Most Innovative - Notre Dame School, Lingfield
• Pupil’s Choice - Sir William Perkins School, Chertsey
• Best Overall Project - Bishop David Brown School, Woking

The four winning schools were awarded a Raspberry Pi time-lapse photography kit and gardening vouchers, whilst the children received a selection of carnivorous and cactus plants to take home.

Kay Clark, RHS Community Outreach Manager, said: “The RHS does a huge amount of work to ensure primary school children have access to the educational and wellbeing benefits of horticulture. We are committed to school children, whatever their age, having access to horticulture, and that is why we launched the Secondary School Challenge.

 “The Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for children to work with the RHS, which has some of the best horticulturists in the world, and gain invaluable insight into the diversity and importance of the horticulture industry.”

"We chose to partner with Squire’s Garden Centres as they are passionate about plants and about introducing horticulture to young people – Squire’s staff have really helped ignite the children’s passion for gardening.”

Sarah Squire, Squire’s deputy chairman, said the programme had been so successful that the RHS were considering launching similar versions in other parts of the country.  “We want to encourage more secondary school children to become aware of how great the horticultural industry really is, and to realise that there are fantastic and very diverse career opportunities at companies like Squire’s Garden Centres.” 

On Sunday evening the 7^th annual Greatest Christmas Awards will be presented at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate.

This year 117 garden centres were nominated in The Greatest Christmas Awards 2015 which means our expert judges made visits to over 250 teams and travelled the length and breadth of the country.  From Inverness to Guernsey, from Belfast to Norfolk, the results are now only days away.

As one of our judges said:  “I am amazed by the excellence of Christmas in Garden Centres and the dedication from the teams who design, construct and maintain the displays over such a long period. Our Industry should be proud of itself!”

On Sunday night we will be presenting Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards to 27 different garden centres, with a further 13 winning a regional award.  Another 40 will receive finalists certificates which means that 79 centres will receive recognition for their excellence in Christmas trading.  Here is the full list of the finalists across all 10 Garden Centre Christmas Team categories:

• Almondsbury Garden Centre
• Arcadia Garden Centre
• Aylett Nurseries
• Barton Grange Garden Centre
• Baytree Garden Centre
• Bents Garden & Home
• Birkacre Garden Centre
• Blackbrooks Garden Centre
• Brigg Garden Centre
• Brookside Garden Centre
• Burford Garden Company
• Burleydam Garden Centre
• Burston Garden Centre
• Busy Bee Garden Centre
• Caerphilly Garden Centre
• Castle Gardens
• Chaplins Superstore
• Cherry Hill Garden & Landscape Centre
• Chessington Garden Centre
• Cowells Garden Centre
• Creative Gardens Donaghadee
• Dunbar Garden Centre
• Fairways Ashbourne
• Fresh @ Burcot Garden Centre
• Fron Goch Garden Centre
• Frosts Brampton
• Frosts Woburn Sands
• Gordale Garden & Home Centre
• Gouldings Garden Centre
• Grosvenor Garden Centre
• Haskins Roundstone
• Haskins Snowhill
• Haskins West End
• Hetland Garden Centre
• Hillmount Garden Centre
• Hillside Garden Centre
• Hilltop Garden Store
• Houghton Hall Garden Centre
• Jacksons Boutique Garden Centre
• Jacksons Nurseries & Tea Room
• Keelham Farm Shop Thornton
• Langlands Leeds
• Langlands Sheffield
• Langlands Shiptonthorpe
• Le Friquet Garden Centre
• Little Heath Garden Store
• Mains of Drum Garden Centre
• Mere Park Garden Centre
• Millbrook Gravesend
• Munros Nurseries
• Newbank Halifax
• Newbank Radcliffe
• Pennells Lincoln
• Perrywood Garden Centre
• Planters, Tamworth
• Pughs Radyr
• Raemoir Garden Centre
• Ruxley Manor Garden Centre
• Scotsdales Cambridge
• Scotsdales Fordham
• Silica Lodge Garden Centre
• Silverbirch Garden Centre
• Simpsons Garden Centre
• Snowdonia Garden Centre
• Spring Garden Centre
• Squires Badshot Lea
• St Peters Garden Centre, Worcester
• Sunshine Garden Centre
• The Old Railway Line Garden Centre
• Torwood Garden Centre
• Van Hage Great Amwell
• Van Hage Peterborough
• Waresley Park Garden Centre
• Whitehall Lacock
• Woodbank Garden Centre
• Wyevale Fairoak
• Wyevale Gosforth
• Wyevale Swansea
• Wyevale Worlds End

The Greatest Awards were conceived by the teams at Garden Trade News and Garden Radio as a way of rewarding and celebrating excellence of the teamwork in UK garden centres.  Teamwork that sets garden centres apart from other retailers and provides truly great customer experiences day after day.

It is at Christmas when that teamwork comes through in even more abundance with staff working cross departments to deliver magical experiences for young and old and peaks of trading for garden centre businesses.

You can join us at The Greatest Christmas Party on Sunday night by using this link to book tickets

Business weather intelligence specialists Planalytics are holding free seminars in London and Leeds later this month to help companies learn about strategies they can take to more effectively plan for changes in the weather.

Many retailers and consumer-focused businesses have just endured a challenging shopping season due to unfavourable weather.  The extended period of warmth throughout the UK delayed the typical transition to a "winter mindset" amongst consumers, significantly slowing demand for coats, knitwear, warming foods, and many other seasonal products and services.  Extremely wet weather in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Northwest of England impacted store footfall and shopping patterns. 

The never-ending volatility of weather will continue to present both opportunities and risks to companies. Planalytics is inviting retailers to attend its Leeds Lunch Seminar (26 January) or London Breakfast Seminar (27 January), to hear how they can determine exactly how changes in the weather affect their business. (Picture: courtesy telegraph.co.uk)

The topics include:

Measuring and managing weather-driven demand: quantifying weather’s impact by category, by market and by time period and applying it in demand forecasting, allocation/replenishment, operations, pricing, sales analysis, etc.

Weather volatility and planning:  companies often find their plans and inventories are not aligned with consumer demand when LY sales are used as a basis for planning and weather’s volatility is left unadjusted. You will learn how planning from a weather-neutral (deweatherised) sales baseline significantly reduces forecast error.

Client case study examples: hear how companies have benefited by “weatherising” their business and using weather-driven demand insights for planning and in-season decisions.

Weather impact highlights: A review of weather-driven opportunities and risks during the current winter shopping season.

There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.

Visit the website to learn more.

Ornamentals growers from Canada, China, UK and USA are among the finalists in the finished plants and trees category of the International Grower of the Year Awards 2016

Organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers in partnership with FloraHolland and FloraCulture International, the awards celebrate the world’s best ornamentals growers at a gala dinner – to beheld this year on Thursday 28 January during the increasingly popular IPM Essen trade show in Germany.

Flying the UK flag in the finals will be Hertfordshire nursery Majestic Trees, which has enjoyed resounding success in unlocking the market potential for direct supply of mature trees. With trees from 12-14cm up to 1.1 metre girth, 3 to 13 metres tall and 50 to 5,000-litre AirPots, the company grows, supplies and plants nationwide with its own fleet of heavy transport and custom equipment.

From Canada, Dutchmaster Nurseries is a leading wholesale producer in Ontario, shipping throughout Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States. It looks for ways to set itself apart.

Dashun International Flower Co. Ltd. is the largest pot plant grower in China supplying 10,000,000 finished plants to the market. Dashun focuses on the production of plants with colourful flowers, leaves and fruits for the home and office. Its award winning product range, recognised for its best new varieties and high quality, includes Anthurium, Medinilla magnifica, Bromeliaceae, Marantaceae, Rieger Begonia and Kalanchoe.

Costa Farms is one of North America’s largest growers of ornamental plants regularly introducing new plants on an international scale. It is one of the largest indoor plant growers in the world and one of the largest growers of annual bedding plants and perennials in the US.

The awards event commences at 6pm with a drinks reception followed by a four course dinner and ceremony. Chris Beytes, Editor of GrowerTalks and Green Profit magazine, is to be the master of ceremonies and after the awards there will be an evening of celebration with live entertainment and international networking.

Hartley Botanic and New Zealand winery Cloudy Bay are among the first of 2016 to release details of their display gardens for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

After almost 60 years of exhibiting beautifully planted trade stands at the show, Hartley Botanic is to sponsor a Main Avenue show garden for the first time. Designed by Catherine MacDonald from Landform UK, the garden takes its inspiration from a design by Thomas Heatherwick, one of Britain's most gifted and imaginative designers. The feature glasshouse, attached to what would be a walled garden, will appear to be emerging from a pool.

The plan is to deliver a garden that celebrates the best of British engineering innovation and in particular the British engineered glasshouse structures for which Hartley Botanic is renowned the world over.

The likely owner might be a large garden-owning gentleman who wants a glasshouse as a retreat and a home for an assortment of tropical, aquatic ands carnivorous plants, and from which views of surrounding woodland could be appreciated.

The scene will evoke a rural garden in southern England and the view from the greenhouse and surrounding water will depict woodland type planting. There will also be a mixture of flowering perennials and vegetables on the other side of the wall.

The Cloudy Bay Garden, created by young, talented landscape designer Sam Ovens, explores the notion of escape in its fourth Chelsea project. 

The design is a secluded retreat in which to escape, a serene space that evokes memories as one breathes and savours the experience of the garden.

The primary material is western red cedar timber, which is used in the construction of a deck, boardwalks and cabin, a waterside retreat.

A large reflective pool adds a sensory element, with connotations of setting sail and drifting away, or even escaping. The cabin and boardwalk elements have a pontoon-like quality.

The architectural structure of Cloudy Bay signature wines, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, are alluded to throughout the garden’s structure and planting. The Marlborough terroir with its micro-climates and diverse soil types that deliver the intricacies of flavour and aroma are represented through the planting palette which is made up primarily of heathers, pines and grasses, punctuated with ‘jewel like’ exotic heath spotted orchids, agapanthus and Potentilla x Tonguei

 Maria Ines Pina, senior brand manager at Cloudy Bay, said: “Sam has perfectly captured the essence of Cloudy Bay in this design. This garden is a perfect representation of natural luxury, with Sam's clean lines, serene water and planting providing a place to escape with a glass of wine in hand.”

New recruits at Forest Garden will strengthen the sales force and the company’s approach to new product development.

David Bodley (right) comes in as key account manager for the northern region.  He brings a wealth of experience across many channels, including builders’ merchants and DIY, having worked for Egger and Kronospan in the decorative panels and flooring markets.

Stephen Gough (left) has been promoted to key account manager for the southern region, following 18 successful months managing sales of Forest products in the south-west. David and Stephen will be supported by a network of regional sales executives.

David Sweetland (below) takes over the south-west region. His experience at Sinclair has given him a strong understanding of the garden centre market.

Forest’s sales and marketing director John Gomersall says the expansion could not have come at a better time and gives Forest national sales coverage at all levels ahead of the spring sales peak.

Guy Jackson takes on the new role of group product manager, which has been created with the specific aim of driving more new product development. Guy’s experience includes 14-years at Stanley Black & Decker and more recently at Scotts Miracle Gro. 

John Gomersall said Forest had diversified in recent years into many new areas, including GYO and more recently garden furniture.  “Guy’s appointment will help to drive this need for further innovation, enabling us to plug any gaps and ultimately creating a range of products that not only deliver quality and choice for retailers, but also provides consumers with a range of options to help them make the most of their outside spaces in a variety of ways.”

Click here to visit the Forestr Garden website.

Gardman’s range for Christmas 2016 includes a brand collection of realistic artificial Christmas trees.

Comprising 50 SKUs, the collection has been sourced from a single factory, enabling Gardman to offer retailers the option to create a mixed container in any combination.

Packaged in eye-catching full colour boxes, the range includes a vast variety of shapes and sizes, from mini 45cm (18in) trees, right through to 249cm (8ft) trees  that come in either natural, frosted, tipped with pine cones or pre-lit with LEDs. 

Boasting more than 250 lines, Gardman’s Christmas Emporium is a one-stop for Christmas department buyers. Included are:

• Pre-lit LED decorations in a choice of four festive themes – Rustic Rattan, Sparkling Silver, Berry Red and Novelty
• Indoor and outdoor lighting
• Flameless LED candles and candle lanterns
• Festive wreaths
• Christmas themed doormats and doorstop
• Pre-lit LED wall art and canvases
• Topiary and artificial plants
• Artificial trees, garlands and tree stands. 

Category management director Tim Goff says sales figures show that Gardman’s evolving Christmas portfolio is helping to grow the category year-on-year. “As a result, we shall have an expanded presence at Harrogate, where buyers can see for themselves just how committed we are to helping garden centres to create the perfect Christmas offering.”

Christmas-themed packaging and POS material includes their premium home décor brands; Garden & Home Co and Cole & Bright.

Gardman are exhibiting at Harrogate Christmas and Gift (10-13 Jan, stand QS20) and International Spring Fair at the NEC Birmingham (7-11 February 2016, stand 2G50-H51). 

Wildlife conservation product specialists Wildlife World will announce a number of new products at next month’s Spring Fair (NEC Birmingham, 7-11 Feb)

Focus is expected to centre on three launches in particular: the Archway Ground Feeder, an attractive bird feeder with a long clear arch to keep bird food dry, a nine-room Insect Hotel and the Vincent Pro Bat Box, the design of which has been tried and tested in conjunction with the Vincent Wildlife Trust which has been pioneering mammal conservation for 40 years. 

The new products join Wildlife World’s highly regarded portfolio of habitats for a host of species, from bees, butterflies and ladybirds to dormice, frogs and hedgehogs.  The company’s award winning biomes will also be on display, including its popular Bee & Bug biome for over-wintering.  All of these include a laminated species guide plus a pack of native wildflower seeds to enable the creation of a species-specific wildlife area.

The innovative Urban Range of bird boxes and feeders designed for city living won the European Consumer Choice award in 2015, while the colourful New England Bird Nest Box was voted by the Daily Telegraph as one of the best ‘Garden Buys’ at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show last summer.

The company’s Supersize products, launched last year, will make their Spring Fair debut.  Standing 1.5 metres tall, there is a Giant Bee and Bug Biome, a Giant Solitary Bee Hive and a Giant Pyramid Insect Hotel, all designed to act as a focal point feature at retail stores and garden centres.

Wildlife World’s most popular product is the Hedgehog Igloo, a safe haven with a small entrance to protect hedgehogs from predators and encourage breeding.

All Wildlife World products are tested in-house to ensure that they are sustainable and safe for wildlife to use. The environmentally-friendly materials used include FSC certified timber, recycled plastics and wildlife-friendly water-based paints.

Information 01666 505333 or the website

The fifth Garden Retail Experience staged by the TuinZaken trade journal, takes place on 18-19 February in the Plantariumgebouw in Boskoop, Netherlands.

The heart of the event is the Experience shop, in which about 100 partners get the opportunity to present unique and innovative retail concepts from the nursery sector.

The event recognises that consumers are now more empowered and more  knowledgeable – and thanks to smartphones and tablets are becoming ‘hypermobile’. They seek entertainment, hospitality and experience, they will be able to shop 24/7 and they expect the widest range at the best prices.

How can we translate these developments into the shopping environment and sell more? How can we innovate by adopting successful formulas from other sectors and how can we develop further? How does the retailer deal with the new consumer? Together with their think thank Garden Retail Experience 3.0, the organisers have identified the opportunities and developed the best ideas across three inspiration zones: Experience, Imagine, Create and Explore.

The Garden Retail Experience (TRE) is designed to offer inspiration and answers and help with the transition to a new store model. There are power-sessions, workshops, master classes with top speakers and expert tours, aAll this with one common goal –  to generate more sales. The event will benefit all retail staff, not just business leaders.

 ‘Embrace Green Hospitality’ is the key theme. Speakers, workshops, expert tours and demonstrations will be offered in Dutch and English and, where necessary, translated and/or subtitled. Admission is free.

The organisers expects more than 1,500 trade visitors every day, from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Eastern Europe, Italy, Switzerland, France and England.

More information on the website 

Bents Garden & Home MD Matthew Bent has been shortlisted for two awards in this year’s North West Institute of Director Awards, recognising the region’s top business owners and leaders.

Matthew has been shortlisted for the titles of Young Director of the Year and Family Business of the Year, with Bents competing against companies including Seamark plc and construction company Pochin for the latter of the two titles.

Bents Garden & Home was established in 1937 by Alfred and Margaret Bent and remains a family-owned and run business, now in its third generation. The centre is located just metres away from where the business originally began and has evolved from a small rose growing operation to a company which now employs more than 300 people.

Matthew will learn whether he has been successful in winning the titles at a black tie event which is due to take place at the end of February. He says: “To be shortlisted in such prestigious business awards is already a major achievement and one which I will always be very proud of.”

The North West Institute of Directors awards cover a wide geographical area with entries from across the region including Cheshire, Manchester, Cumbria, Merseyside and Lancashire. The awards cover an extensive range of sectors from the digital and creative industries to property, pharmaceutical, retail and social enterprise.

Phill Blundell, CEO of Eagle Eye, and retailer panellists from Willowbrook and Ruskin and Belton Garden Centres are the latest speakers to join the programme for the HTA’s forthcoming technology conference.

Theme of the cross-industry conference, which takes place on Wednesday 24 February at Cranmore Park, Solihull, is ‘Using technology to grow’.

Phill Blundell, CEO of Eagle Eye (left), will offer insights into how the company’s digital marketing platform, Eagle Eye Air, securely validates and redeems digital promotions in real-time for retail, grocery and hospitality industries, replacing paper-based methods. His current customer base includes Marks & Spencer, Asda, Greggs, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Pizza Express.

Willowbrook Garden Centre and Ruskin and Belton Garden Centres will take part in panel session, offering their experiences of EPoS, , including the successes and challenges.

Other conference speakers include:

David Denny, HTA Market information manager, previewing the launch of the Garden Centre Sales Benchmarking System

Naomi Langford-Wood – Entrepreneur and businesswoman

Terri Jones – Joy of Plants Founder

Grant Davis – Independent consultant

2 Circles - Complete business solutions

Edwin Meijer - Garden Connect, Apps and EPoS

Barclaycard – flexible payment options

The one-day conference is sponsored by headline partner CSY Retail and conference partner Swan Retail. 

For more information, please contact: events@the-hta.org.uk

The HTA have confirmed that its seventh National Plant Show will take place on 21 and 22 June 2016 at its usual venue, Stoneleigh Park near Coventry.

The association says the show’s ‘back to basics’ approach aims to ensure the spotlight shines purely on the plants at the best time of year to help visitors plan their ranges. More than 120 stands have already been booked.

New features for 2016 include the Inspirational Retail Zone, The Greenhouse Café, HTA Village and the Hortipak Hub. New catering options have been added and the show will open at the earlier time of 9am, with visitors able to take advantage of an improved shuttle bus service stopping at Birmingham Airport, Coventry and Warwick Parkway.

The new-look New Plant Awards section which will include a session in the seminar area highlighting the category winners and supreme winner, with feedback from the judges.

The  £29.99 (SRP) stainless steel digging spade from Crest Garden brand Kent & Stowe has been awarded a ‘Best Buy’ by BBC Gardeners’ World magazine in independent tests on 12 branded garden spades.

The test score criteria addressed handling, digging efficiency, robustness and value for money.

The Kent & Stowe product came out on top with 19 points out of 20, against competition priced at up to £64.

Marketing manager Natalie Searle said: ”The Kent and Stowe brand was new to the market just 18 months ago and to receive this accolade from Gardeners World by scoring more highly than other established brands they tested is extremely exciting for us. We have always been confident in our products and now the consumer can be assured of the quality of Kent & Stowe.”

All Kent & Stowe products have been designed in the UK with quality and unique points of difference at the forefront; offering strength, reliability, functionality, cosmetic appeal and comfort. They are based on traditional designs ensuring they are as close to original versions as possible, yet constructed using current and more advanced techniques to improve both strength and quality. All the tools come with full guarantees, supporting the brand positioning ‘Built on tradition, crafted for life’.

Consumer advertising for Kent & Stowe garden tools commences this month. Full details of the range are available from your local Crest Garden sales agent and product and POS is available for immediate delivery.

GIMA has introduced HR and employment mentoring services from Kidwells Law Solicitors.

This new 24 hour, 365-day resource will help guide members through the latest changes to employment legislation as well as day-to-day and specialist areas of employment law.  Bespoke solutions will also be possible.

The service will also offer members a free of charge full legal health check for their businesses, including a review of contracts, policies and procedures to ensure full compliance.

Additional free services include access to legal seminars and interactive workshops, a confidential HR forum and subscription to a digital newsletter.

GIMA and Kidwells, in association with Maryanne Stokes Ltd, have worked together to develop a flexible pricing structure, reflecting the level of support that may be required. Price options include pay-as-you-go, monthly retainer fee, annual retainer fee, start-up packages and a gold support package.

Vicky Nuttall, Director of GIMA said: “HR and Employment Law is an ever-changing minefield, so we’ve no doubt that the ongoing support of Kidwells will provide much needed advice and ultimately peace of mind for our members.