July 2018 was a sparkling month for garden centre group Blue Diamond.  The month started with Silver-Gilt Medals for Fryers Roses at RHS Hampton Court and Tatton Park Flower Shows, then they secured the acquisition of eight garden centres from Wyevale Garden Centres and at the end of the month their East Bridgford centre won seven awards in the GCA Midlands Region including Midlands Garden Centre of the Year.

GTN Xtra caught up with the Blue Diamond senior team on Friday as they completed a week long tour of all eight centres bought from Wyevale for around £36m.  The transition to Blue Diamond takes place on Friday 17th August, so this was the start of the integration process for Wyevale staff and the Blue Diamond teams who have to get tills and their own stock systems in place within the next two weeks.

Managing Director, Alan Roper, met with staff at the centres and where the sites are leasehold the landlords too.  Wyevale Garden Centres central and regional management staff also joined the tour to help with the smooth transition of the businesses.

"We've now got plans already drawn up for each of the centres as to how we will use the space and all of my "head office" team have been a part of that process," Alan told GTN Xtra.  "The first centre to be upgraded to our Redfields/East Bridgford model will be Bicester Avenue."

Squire's has announced the purchase of Frensham Garden Centre from Wheelhouse Warehousing Ltd. The deal was completed on 1 August 2018.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed in early July, Squire’s will take over all the assets and business of the Garden Centre, and the Frensham team will become part of Squire’s. Financial terms of the transaction were not announced.

Frensham Garden Centre is a well-known and successful garden centre located in Frensham, to the south of Farnham.

Commenting on the purchase, Sarah Squire, Deputy Chairman of Squire’s, said: “We are delighted to see Frensham Garden Centre and its excellent team joining the Squire’s group.  We have great respect for what has been achieved over the years at Frensham and look forward to welcoming the Frensham as they become part of the Squire’s family business."

David Wheelhouse, owner of Wheelhouse, commented: “I am happy to see the business that I have built up over many years, and the hard-working and loyal team members, become part of Squire’s. I have known the Squire family for many years and am confident that they will build on the firm foundations that we have created at Frensham Garden Centre."

Photo shows from left to right: Martin Breddy Managing Director Squire's, Sarah Squire Deputy Chairman Squire's, David Wheelhouse owner of Wheelhouse, Colin Squire Chairman Squire's, Brian Phillips, Frensham Garden Centre Manager.

Has the heatwave switched custiomer buying away from gifts and home and more into the garden?  That’s a conclusion that can be drawn from July’s GTN Bestsellers analysis.  Overall garden centre volume sales for the month were down by 11% while plants and other gardening lines were up on last year.

In this year of extremes, the last week of July recorded the lowest July weeks sales volumes since at least 2011.  That’s not a disaster as sales volumes during the holiday period are lower anyway, but centres will be working hard to encourage footfall, especially in areas where staycations are being taken.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 30

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 6%
• Growing Media Top 50 – static 0%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 25%
• Wild Bird Care Products Top 50 – down 32%
• All Plants index – up 14%
• All Items index – down 15%

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

Blue Diamond's new East Bridgford centre near Nottingham  (above) and Webbs of Wychbold (below) won the Midlands GCA Garden Centres of the Year awards announced last week at Brookfields Garden Centre in Nottingham.

East Bridgford won seven of the area awards in the Garden Centre category (categories are based on the previous years' trading) and Webbs Wychbold won three in the Destination Garden Centre catgory.

Roger Crookes presented a tour of the areas centre highlights with area Chariman, Will Blake on hand to present the awards.

Midlands GCA 2018 full results

Garden Centre of the Year

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Fairways Ashbourne
3. Planters Bretby

 Destination Garden Centre of the Year

1. Webbs Wychbold
2. Planters Tamworth
3. St Peters

 Customer Service

1. Webbs Wychbold
2. Fairways Ashbourne
3. Planters Tamworth

 Ruxley Rose Finalists

Pacific Nurseries

Planters Bretby

Best Garden Products Retailer – GIMA Award

Garden Centres

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Fairways Ashbourne
3. Webbs West Hagley

Destination Garden Centres

1. Planters Tamworth
2. Webbs Wychbold
3. Baytree

 Best Outdoor Living Retailer

Garden Centres

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford

2=   Webbs Wychbold

2=   Fairways Ashbourne

2=   Wyevale Percy Throwers

Destination Garden Centres

1. Webbs Wychbold
2. Planters Tamworth

3=   Wyevale Woodlands

3=   Van Hage Peterborough

Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer

Garden Centres

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Fairways Ashbourne
3. Stratford

Destination Garden Centres

1. Blue Diamond Derby
2. Webbs Wychbold
3. Pennells Lincoln

Best Garden Centre Restaurant – The ifse Award for Catering Excellence

Garden Centres

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Byrkley Park Klondyke

3=   Stratford

3=   Pacific Nurseries

Destination Garden Centres

1.  Planters Tamworth

2=   Wyevale Woodlands

2=  Webbs Wychbold

2=  St Peters

2=  Pennells Lincoln

Environment and Community Award

1. Planters Tamworth

2=   Byrkley Park Klondyke

2=   St Peters

Commercial Innovation and Creativity – The Barton Grange Trophy

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Fairways Ashbourne
3. Planters Tamworth

Most Improved Centre – The Dick Allen Award

1. Blue Diamond East Bridgford
2. Wyevale Percy Throwers
3. St Peters

For the fifteenth week in succession the GTN Bestsellers All Plants sales volume index is up on last year which make plant sales on the verge of breaking through the 10% up threshold. 

Notable plant movers in the last week of July were Cyclamen, up to No 7, Ericaceae was a re-entry at No 24 and Helianthus where sales volumes grew by 116% to re-enter at No 40.

The Old Railway Line (above) and Monkton Elm (below) won the Garden Centres of the Year Awards in the GCA's Wales & West region which were presented at Whitehall Whitchurch Garden Centre last month following the 2018 inspections.

Retiring GCA Inspector Roger Crookes took GCA Members on a highlights tour of the regions centres and announced the winners.  GCA Chairman, Mike Lind, presented the awards.

Wales & West GCA 2018 full results

Garden Centre of the Year

1. The Old Railway Line
2. Whitehall Whitchurch
3. RHS Rosemoor 

Destination Garden Centre of the Year

1. Monkton Elm
2. Wyevale Endsleigh
3. Wyevale Cadbury

Customer Service

1. The Old Railway Line
2. Monkton Elm
3. Bernaville Nurseries 

Ruxley Rose Finalists

The Old Railway Line

Best Garden Products Retailer – GIMA Award

Garden Centres

1. The Old Railway Line
2. Whitehall Whitchurch
3. Plymouth

Destination Garden Centres

1. Monkton Elm
2. Wyevale Endsleigh
3. Whitehall Lacock 

Best Outdoor Living Retailer

Garden Centres

1. Whitehall Whitchurch
2. The Old Railway Line
3. Wyevale Raglan

Destination Garden Centres

1= Whitehall Lacock

1= Wyevale Cadbury

2. Trelawney

Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer

Garden Centres

1. The Old Railway Line
2. RHS Rosemoor
3. Whitehall Whitchurch

Destination Garden Centres

1. Wyevale Cadbury
2. Wyevale Endsleigh
3. Bearnaville

Best Garden Centre Restaurant – The ifse Award for Catering Excellence

Garden Centres

1. RHS Rosemoor
2. The Old Railway Line
3. Wyevale Raglan

Destination Garden Centres

1. Whitehall Lacock
2. Wyevale Sanders Garden World
3. Monkton Elm

Environment and Community Award

1. The Old Railway Line
2. Monkton Elm
3. Brimsmore Gardens

Commercial Innovation and Creativity – The Barton Grange Trophy

1. The Old Railway Line
2. Wyevale Cadbury
3. Wyevale Endsleigh

Most Improved Centre – The Dick Allen Award

1. RHS Rosemoor
2. Orchard Park
3. Whitehall Whitcurch

Online sales of gardening products have grown by almost 25% over the past year, says a new retail report.

The Capgemini IMRG eRetail Sales Index for the first half of 2018 showed that shoppers have been spending more on average online than ever before, with gardening the strongest growth category.

Online retail experienced 16.8% growth – the highest year-on-year rise for eight years –  defying extreme weather (from Beast of the East to the heatwave) and national events like the Royal Wedding and World Cup. Interestingly, online sales on smartphones were up 39%, an indication of the change in shopping habits. Average basket value was £94, the highest half-year figure since 2014.

Gardeming appeared to particularly benefit from the unpredictable weather, enjoying year-on-year growth of 24.9% overall, its strongest first half since 2014, with a 33.7% growth in the warm months of April to June. The category  was ahead of clothing (+17.1%), health & beauty ( +17.7%) (YoY).

Despite the impressive growth of online retail, the report says, conversion rates for online retailers actually decreased overall every month other than May. This could be accredited to the continued trend of online shopping via smartphone devices, which are accounting for a larger share of total online sales but feature lower (albeit increasing) conversion rates.

Andy Mulcahy, strategy and insight director, IMRG said: “The performance for online sales in the first half of the year has been a lot stronger than anticipated. There are a number of factors that may be influencing that – the extreme weather events (both hot and cold), the Royal Wedding, World Cup etc – and it might be possible that the feel good elements associated with some of those events has encouraged people to spend a bit beyond their means.

“This could mean that we see a pinch on shopper spend as we move through Q3 – though the weather in July has been incredibly hot – which may lead to an imbalance in online retail growth between the first and second halves of the year.”

Bhavesh Unadkat, principal consultant in retail customer engagement at Capgemini, added: “The year started with a lot of doom and gloom and uncertainty around retail.  What has been encouraging is how well online retail has performed, particularly in seasonal categories like clothing and Garden.  These two sectors have delivered higher basket values (+38.0% and + 19.6% respectively), with consumers becoming impulsive in their purchases as they refreshed summer wardrobes and prepared for more time spent outside.

“Despite that, online-only retailers outperformed multichannel retailers during most of the half year, with average growth at +18.6% and +14.7% respectively, multichannel actually closed the gap on last year’s YOY growth. Basket value growth was also stronger for multichannel retailers, with a +4% (YoY) increase in average basket value to £100.77, compared to only +2% (YoY) for online only retailers at £87.77.  It demonstrates the continued importance of an omnichannel presence for retailers – a focus on connected retail will help ensure that the ecommerce sales performance outlasts the good weather.”

Homebase gardening buyers face redundancy this month when new owners Hilco Capital close the horticulture office at Swindon, according to reports from some of the chain’s suppliers who contacted GTN Xtra last week.

More than 300 head office staff have already been made redundant by Hilco, who plan to close 40 stores.

Hilco paid former owners Wesfarmers £1 in May for the business the Australians paid £340m for just two years ago.

Work has begun on the expected rebranding of the 24 Bunnings stores back to Homebase following the sale of the chain.

First to revert were both outlets at St. Albans (pictured), to be followed shortly by Hemel Hempstead. A spokesperson told Insight DIY that all stores would be completely rebranded by the end of August.

At this stage, the rebranding is purely a cosmetic exercise to remove all evidence of the Bunnings name, as part of the sale contract with former owners Wesfarmers. Ranging and displays have not changed as yet. A similar clause in the sale contract is believed to require Homebase to sell off and remove all Wesfarmers exclusive brands (including Ozito, Kit & Kaboodle etc.) within six months of the date of the sale, but this remains unconfirmed.

A visit last Friday to the Milton Keynes store showed the preparations for their conversion were well under way, with the removal of all the price entry products that had previously cluttered the aisles.

Bunnings branded umbrellas, beanies and other assorted merchandise is being sold off at prices as low as 75p.

The only mention of Bunnings to be found at the St.Albans Grifftiths Way store was the plaque in the entrance commemorating the opening on 2 February 2017, barely 18 months ago.

The Homebase team has told Insight DIY that the stores in Bradford, London Acton, Exeter and Croydon Purley Way would close on 21 September.

Source: Insight DIY Team

Managing Director of the newly expanded Blue Diamond Group, Alan Roper, features on the programme for Cultivating Retail, the new industry conference and dinner, hosted by HTA and GIMA, taking place at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on Tuesday 13 November.

Alan will be sharing his thoughts on innovative and experiential retail. With the company slogan of Style, Emotion and Innovation for the Home and Garden Alan will use examples from his sites, including the East Bridgford store and no doubt be talking further about the recent acquisitions that the group has made. There will be the opportunity to go along and see the Christmas experience at East Bridgford the next day – which is just 15 miles away from the venue.

The action-packed programme, which is of appeal to both retailers, growers and suppliers, will be hosted by Channel 4 news presenter by Cathy Newman. Keynote speaker consumer and shopping behaviourist Ken Hughes will be asking ‘Is your supply chain millennial ready?’ The programme features two panel sessions focussing on the issue of plastics in horticulture and also supply chain with industry representatives all having their say. There will also be plenty of opportunity for delegates to join in both in the sessions and the wider networking opportunities around the conference and the dinner.

This ‘must attend’ event of the year will be packed full of compelling content, inspiration and networking opportunities, bringing together retailers, suppliers and growers from across the industry.  A great forum for discussion and debate, in an accessible location with good transport networks, this event represents amazing value and provides a great opportunity to bring along other team members.

We are delighted to welcome the following sponsors on board: Ascential Events, Corby and Fella’s, Dura-ID, Evergreen Garden Care, MorePeople, Stihl, Smart Garden Products and Swan Retail.

For further information and to book your place now at www.hta.org.uk/cultivatingretail

The event represents great value with the HTA and GIMA member rate only £295 + VAT for the conference, dinner and accommodation.

For information about sponsorship opportunities at the event please contact Tim Bell, HTA Commercial Manager on 07808 775177 or email tim.bell@hta.org.ukor Vicky Nuttall, GIMA Director on 07766 135060 or vicky.nuttall@gima.org.uk

The Sun newspaper has announced the results of its Prettiest Rose Competition run through garden centres across the country.

• First Prize (£1,000) went to Maggie Philippson, who won a First Prize at Ayletts Nurseries, St. Albans, Herts
• Second Prize (£500) was won by Sarah Mansfield, who won her First Prize at Scotsdales, Cambridge.
• Third Prize winner  (£250) was Rowena Beckwith , who won a First Prize at Bambridge Garden Centre, Hants.

There were also three Highly Commended entries, each winning £100:

• Elizabeth Aubury at Fresh @ Burcot Garden Centre, Bromsgrove
• Tom Youells at Millbrook Gravesend, Kent.
• Stephanie Backley at St. Peter’s Garden Centre, Jersey

If you are looking for visual plant inspiration and you are able to get to RHS Garden Hyde Hall this summer then a visit to the Thompson & Morgan Floral Fantasia garden is well worth the effort.

This is the first year T&M have staged the garden and judging by the response from garden visitors its likely to be the first of many.  GTN Xtra attended their annual Press Day at the garden and our gallery of photos can be seen below.

The assembled throng of gardening journalists chose SunBelievable(tm) (abbove) as their favourite with the most 'votes'.  Beet Morello and Petunia 'Tickled Purple' (below) came joint second. Beet Morello will be available from September (£2.69 for 150 seeds), whilst Petunia 'Tickled Purple' will be launched in the T&M Spring 2019 catalogue. 

The Garden Centre Association (GCA) held a successful Plant Area Forum at Ball Colegrave at the end of July.

The event was the GCA’s third and was attended by more than 50 delegates, including plant area managers, buyers and supervisors and was facilitated by GCA inspector, Roger Crookes with assistance from Michael Cole.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “Our third annual Plant Area Forum was a huge success and I would like to thank everyone who helped Roger and Michael with the content and presentations and, of course, the delegates from busy garden centres who attended. The day would not have been the success it was without their contributions.

“I would also like to thank our hosts Ball Colegrave, whose glorious grounds made the event that much more special.”

The forum looked at current trends, challenges and future opportunity for outdoor plant departments.

Roger explained: “This feels like an exciting time to be retailing plants, with the upturn in houseplant sales and some very encouraging late spring outdoor plant sales, we have been re-assured that an expanding number of the British public are experimenting with plants as a healthy feel-good hobby.

“There are of course some major challenges, not least the problem of finding and retaining the right staff – this is something we need to continue to work together on as a trade. What struck me again, during this year’s forum, was how open we are to discuss real issues with each other – I think this is a unique strength of our trade, getting alongside competitors and suppliers and sharing our plans and pains!

“We have some exciting future plans for the Plant Area Forum including a two-day study tour of some great plant areas, which will be announced soon.”

Roger was also assisted by GCA inspector, Michael Cole, who brought his knowledge of commercial plant retailing to the forum.  There were also presentations from David Denny of the HTA, Adam Dunnett of Wyevale Nurseries and Trevor Pfeiffer from GTN Bestsellers.

Michael said: “Inspired by the magnificent showcase gardens of Ball Colegrave, the marquee, which accommodated the Plant Forum was buzzing with conversation about how, as an industry, we can continue to develop our plant retailing.

“Ideas were discussed as to how we can present plants in even more inspirational ways to encourage our existing customers to come back more frequently, and how we can introduce new Millennial customers to buying outdoor plants as well as the houseplants, which we have already seen an increasing number of Millennials buying.”

See pictures from the Forum below and GTN Xtra's full picture tour of the spectacular Ball Colegrave Summer Showcase.

spoga+gafa are offering GTN Xtra readers the chance to win a VIP ticket to the international trade exhibition.

The VIP Prize

• Free admission to the trade fair on all days
• Entry to the VIP Lounge for two people
• Free use of the cloakroom
• Free catalogue
• Use of public transport system for free

Experience the entire garden world at spoga+gafa, taking place in Cologne, Germany, on September 2-4. spoga+gafa is the number one event worldwide among the garden fairs.

About 2,100 exhibitors from all over the world show their trends and trigger off the decisive developments of the coming season. Thanks to the clear structure you receive an overview of the entire industry.

The segment Garden Living, comprising of garden furniture and decorations, is traditionally the largest section of spoga+gafa. International exhibitors present their products and services across eight halls. The Outdoor Furniture segment is rounded off by the garden unique platform which offers premium brands.

In the Garden Creation & Care segment everything revolves around plants, their cultivation and of course their care. In addition to the appropriate machines, tools, garden equipment and the necessary accessories, everything on the theme of living green can be found here - right through to biochemistry and soils. Specialised dealers can particularly look forward to the repeated participation of Landgard.

The Grill and BBQ industry presents its Garden BBQ segment in a depth that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. This is where world-famous and exciting new brands from all over the world show what is and what is going to become important on the barbecue scene. The new format Outdoor Kitchen World was introduced in 2017.

The special events programme enriches the trade fair experience. Here trend themes such as smart gardening, battery techniques, plant growth and the design of the POS areas become an experience. The events are accompanied by lectures and guided tours.

Further information is available at www.spogagafa.com

How to enter:

To stand a chance of winning one of the 10 VIP spoga+gafa tickets on offer all you have to do is answer the following questions, emailing them to trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

To give you a clue, all the answers can be found above.
Question 1: In which German city is spoga+gafa held?
Question 2: Name the segment of the show which features BBQs.
Question 3: Which segment revolves around plants?

Closing date for entries is mid-day on Friday 10th August 2018.  

Wyevale Nurseries sales and marketing director Adam Dunnett left on Friday to take up a new post as amenity sales director at Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire.

Thanking him for his contribution to the company during the past four and a half years, Wyevale Nurseries MD Andy Johnson said:  “He joined us at a time of significant change as we restructured the company and he contributed in helping us with rebranding and repositioning the business within both the amenity and retail sectors. 

 “Adam has helped build-up a really strong, capable team and we are completely confident that they will pick-up his workload in the short-term while we continue to take the business forward and appoint a successor.

 “We have built great momentum in developing our product range and service in the amenity and retail sectors and this process will continue in the year ahead.”

Adam said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wyevale Nurseries and we’ve seen lots of positive developments throughout the business. I feel now is the right time to move on to a new challenge. I leave knowing that the team will continue to go from strength-to-strength. There are exciting times ahead.”

Andy Johnson added: “We would like to wish Adam the best of luck for the future. He has been an asset to our company and a dedicated member of our team, and on a personal note, he will be missed.”

A hot summer spent in the garden resulted in a small increase in garden products sales for July, up by 3% on 2017.  The last week of July saw the lowest Top 50 sales total for July in GTN Bestsellers history.  Let’s hope that improves through August.

• Smart Solar’s Radiance Stake Light was the highest chart climber, up 24 places to No 13 last week.
• Fito’s Cacti Drip Feeder re-entered at No 18.
• STV’s International Big Head Fly Swat was the highest placed new entry at No 22.

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

July proved a better month for Veg 2 Gro sales, up 5.5% on last year, but overall sales this year to date remain down by over 20% as the missed sales from earlier in the year haven’t been made up.

• Autumn planting seed potatoes for Christmas got going last week as the brief spell of wet weather spurred people into action. Taylors Autumn Planting Seed Potatoes Maris Peer move dup one place to take the No 1 Bestsellers spot.
• Unwins Runner Bean White Lady was the highest new entry at No 11, one of seven Unwins Seeds lines in the Top 50 this week.

WBC chart footnote

July 2018 saw a 23% drop year on year in Wild Bird Care sales volumes according to the GTN Bestsellers Wild Bird Care Top 50 chart.  That means the sector is running at 22% down year to date.   

• Gardman’s Cast Iron Daffodil Dish Bird Feeder was the highest re-entry last week, back in at No 9.
• Jacobi Jayne Rowena's Hedgehog Mix 500g climed the most places up the chart to No 22.
• Tom Chambers Mini Nyger Seed Feeder was the highest Top 50 chart new entry at No 40.

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

On the back of the continued year on year sales increases of plants, growing media sales show an increase on last year for July, up by 5%.

• Westland The Gardener's Multipurpose Compost, 50 litres moved up 16 places to No 4.
• Evergreen Levington Essential Top Soil, 35 litres, was the highest climber, up 30 places to No 30.
• Kelkay RHS Horticultural Potting Grit moved up to No 12 after a 9% sales increase.

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

Sales at garden centres across the country continued to soar in June (2018) thanks to the sunny weather according to the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade (BoT) report.

Outdoor plant sales were up 26.94% compared to the same month last year (2017) and sales in houseplants were close behind at 24.1% up.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “It’s hard to believe that earlier in the year we had such terrible weather, including heavy snowfall, which really affected sales, but recently we’ve enjoyed heat waves across the country.

“After a big boost in sales in May thanks to the weather and the Bank Holidays, it was great to see the good weather continue into June and it has done wonders for our member garden centres.”

Seed and bulb sales were also up at 18.52%, garden sundries sales were up 21.17% and furniture and barbecue sales were up 19.82% compared to the same month last year.

Sales were also up in pets and aquatics at 5.31%, gifts at 3.97% and hard landscaping at 13.11%. Non-traditional categories also did well, with food hall and farm shop sales up 7.05%, clothing up 18.53% and catering up 5.84%.

Overall sales for the month were up 22.84% with a year to date change of 1.12%.

Sarah Squire, Deputy Chairman at Squires Garden Centres, said: “After a challenging spring in terms of weather delaying the start of the gardening season, May 2018 was our best-ever month and, although we had some concern over how well the season would extend into June, the sunshine encouraged people to get outdoors and enjoy summer.

“We had a very solid performance in June, the penultimate month of our financial year, with sales up 24% year on year, driven by demand across all plants and our extensive outdoor living range.”

The GCA BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.

Matthew Bent, Managing Director at Bents Garden & Home, said: “Sales in both outdoor plants and houseplants are up year to date, however it has been a tough month particularly for outdoor plants. The warm weather has definitely had an impact on footfall…it has almost been too hot! People are choosing to stay at home and enjoy their garden, rather than getting out and about to buy plants.

“However, this has actually had a positive impact in other areas of Outdoor Living as people are choosing to invest in the garden in other ways. Sales of garden furniture, barbecues, lighting and garden decoration are all up at a time of year when they can sometimes be quite slow.”

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.

For further information, please call 01244 952170. Alternatively, please visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.

Kelkay Ltd has announced today the acquisition of Anchor Fast, marking a further exciting step in the development of AMES UK under the leadership of Managing Director Antony Harker.

Anchor Fast, an outdoor wooden furniture and garden structures company, has a 34,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility based in Doncaster and employs more than 20 people. The business is dedicated to crafting its range of FSC certified products for both retail and commercial markets.

“To say that it’s been a busy year for us would be an understatement. We’ve been working with the team at Anchor Fast for some time now and I’m pleased that we’ve reached a deal that mutually benefits Kelkay, Anchor Fast and importantly the customers who trade with us," " said Antony.

"We’ve been developing the details on this deal in harmony with our integration of the AMES UK organisation, so this acquisition represents another important step in our long-term category expansion plans.”

Anchor Fast and Kelkay are based close to each other, which will further support the business integration plan, and the intention is to distribute Kelkay and Anchor Fast products together as soon as this can be practically arranged. This means that retail customers will soon be able to combine their aggregate, paving, water feature and wooden outdoor product requirements into one order – simplifying the supply chain and in turn, cross-category deliveries.

“We plan to bring the Kelkay garden centre service approach to the sales, marketing and distribution of the wooden products category. A key attraction was the high level of manufacturing experience and design expertise in the team at Anchor Fast, all of who will be remaining with the business.

"The sales and marketing teams are already working collaboratively on plans for GLEE, where customers will be able to see our new wooden furniture and garden structures offer. Likewise, we’ll be showcasing the growing Kelkay and La Hacienda ranges, so we’re very optimistic about our customer’s reaction.”

Ongoing orders will remain unaffected and Kelkay have advised that until further notice orders can continue be placed with Anchor Fast as normal or contact your Kelkay Representative.

www.anchorfastproducts.co.uk

Blue Diamond CEO Alan Roper say almost 20,000 positive comments were posted on social media less than 24 hours after the group had announced its acquisition of eight large destination sites from Wyevale Garden Centres. 

Blue Diamond group managing director Alan Roper said the comments were from a mixture of potential customers and Wyevale staff, “some of whom were asking us to please buy their centres”.

Blue Diamond posted the news that they would be acquiring Bicester, Cadbury, Cardiff, Endsleigh, Melbicks, Percy Throwers, Sanders and Weybridge at 5pm Wednesday. By 1pm on Thursday, around 20,000 comments had been received. “Money can’t buy this,” Roper told GTN Xtra.

The Wyevale set takes Blue Diamond’s portfolio to 29 centres. Together with five planned new-build centres in the pipeline, they are expected to help grow the group’s turnover by £120m, taking the group past its ambitious £200m target.

Peter Gibbons, who manages Blue Diamond’s social media strategy using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, said: “Makes you feel proud knowing that so many people hold us in such high regard!”

Dobbies has promoted chief operating officer Graeme Jenkins to chief executive officer following the departure of Nicholas Marshall...

Jenkins joined Dobbies as chief financial officer in 2016 after Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital acquired the group from Tesco.

Dobbies chairman Andrew Bracey said: “The Board is delighted to appoint Graeme as our CEO, having worked closely with him over the last two years. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Nicholas Marshall for his support and leadership during his time as CEO. The Board wish him well for the future.”

The new CEO said: “Dobbies is a great business with an incredibly talented team, and I am very pleased to be appointed as chief executive.  We have had a strong start to 2018 and I am confident that we will be able to grow the business successfully over the coming years.”

Thieves smashed their way into QD Group’s Cherry Lane garden centre at Bradmore near Nottingham last Monday, using a stolen forklift truck to enter the office and steal the safe containing three days’ takings.

The raiders, who also used a small stolen 4X4 vehicle, caused £30,000 of damage to the building. CCTV footage (pictured) caught three masked men breaking into the centre at around 4.30am.

Andy Jeremy, head of commercial operations for the garden centre, told the Nottingham Post: "They bulldozed their way through and that has caused damage to the wall and the roof in the office. They have driven the vehicle into the building to remove the safe. They came in, attacked that part of the building, and left." He said the safe contained "thousands of pounds". The thieves used chains to try to remove the safe and when that failed, they drove the forklift truck into the office.

The centre and its cafe, restaurant and children's play area, has now reopened.

Police said the raiders stole the forklift truck and 4X4 vehicle (both since recovered) from a building next to the garden centre.

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 Veg-2-Gro chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird Care 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.

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Loch Fyne have reached a deal with Dobbies to install their seafood counters in the group’s garden centres across the UK.

Following the partnership agreement, the first counter has been opened at the Dobbies Livingston in West Lothian. More are planned over the next few months. Staff specially trained at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and delicatessen in Argyll will sell fresh seafood and offer advice to customers.

Loch Fyne Oysters MD Cameron Brown said: “Dobbies customers can now go home with smoked salmon or fresh oysters knowing that exactly the same products are being served to diners in the finest hotels in the world.

 “Our responsible farming practices also complement Dobbies’ environmentally friendly approach to gardening by sourcing all their plants from the UK.”

Dobbies head of food Archie Stewart said bringing Loch Fyne seafood into the Livingston food hall builds on the high quality produce offering that Dobbies’ customers know and love. “We’re excited to be taking this first step and look forward to introducing Loch Fyne to more of our stores across the UK in the near future.”

Greggs, Caffè Nero, KFC, Tortilla, GAIL's Bakery & Pod are among the big who have confirmed speakers for the lunch! trade show in September.

Caffè Nero's head of food & beverage Hannah McKay, Greggs' head of category David Ross, KFC's innovation director for the UK and Ireland Jack Hinchcliffe, GAIL's Bakery's marketing director Romy Miller, Tortilla's head of food Martyn Clover, and Pod's head of food Aggie Morrell, are the latest high-profile additions to this year's free keynote line-up.

Representing some of the UK's biggest lunchtime operators, they'll be appearing alongside other big names from itsu, Pret, LEON, EAT, Tossed, and more, over 20-21 September at London ExCeL.  For this year's visitors, it's a rare opportunity to hear from some of the UK's most inspirational and influential food-to-go professionals (all speaking at the show for the first time) sharing their expertise and insights into the opportunities, challenges and big trends ahead.

Speaker highlights also include an exclusive keynote by John Upton, chairman of healthy restaurant chain The Naked Deli and street food brand Mother Clucker. Up until recently he was the MD of LEON and, prior to that, a senior director at McDonald's UK.  Drawing on his experience from his time at the top, as well as the exciting new brands he's currently working with, he'll be discussing practical strategies for delivering sustainable growth (from 12.45pm, in Keynote Theatre 1 on 20 September).

"lunch! combines both the future, and the practicalities of winning today, into one great tasty mouthful," says Upton, "It's punchy, practical, and good for profit."

From exclusive keynotes and interviews, to research updates and panel discussions - each session at lunch! has been tailored specifically to address the business needs of food-to-go operators and retailers (including coffee shops, cafés, food-to-go multiples, supermarkets, convenience stores, contract caterers, wholesalers and distributors).  The initial keynote schedule will be available on the show's website early next month.

Previously confirmed speakers include:

· Julian Metcalfe OBE, founder of itsu and co-founder of Pret A Manger - appearing in a rare live interview talking about his incredible career and his passion for fast, fresh food on the move.

·  Clare Clough, food & coffee director at Pret A Manger - arrive early on day two for this exclusive interview, as Clare shares insights from Pret's journey so far and talks about what's next for this much-loved high street brand.

· Shereen Ritchie, operations director at LEON - discusses how to lead by example and create results that can exceed expectations.

· Arnaud Kaziewicz, head of food at EAT - for him 'attention to detail' is a key ingredient to success in the food-to-go market.  He'll be speaking about this and more in the show's first ever 'Head of Food panel', with Tortilla's Martyn Clover and Pod's Aggie Morrell.

· Angelina Harrisson, food & commercial director at Tossed - explores what's next for technology in quick service food-to-go, including how to embrace new and existing tech to drive sales and efficiency.

· Richard Morris, MD of Tortilla - shares his thoughts on staying 'authentic' in this hugely competitive market, covering everything from innovative sourcing and customer choice to pricing and delivery opportunities.

· Mark McCulloch, founder & CEO of WE ARE Spectacular - takes in-depth look at brands at the top of their game and how to replicate their success.  He's also hosting the first ever live recording of the popular Spectacular Marketing Podcast at the show (22 Sept), featuring, among others, Romy Miller from GAIL's Bakery's.

· Beth Taubner, founder of Mercurylab - outlines strategies for UK brands looking to expand into the US, including expert analysis into selling and marketing over 'the pond'.

· Simon Stenning, strategic advisor at MCA - hosting two MCA Briefings for 2018, focusing on food-to-go trends and opportunities within the UK Sandwich Market (20 Sept) and the Coffee Shop Market (21 Sept).

· Gavin Rothwell, head of food-to-go & retail safaris at IGD - shares the latest research on the top trends and innovators to watch globally.

· Cyril Lavenant, executive director of foodservice UK at The NPD Group - looks back at lessons learnt from the 2008-2009 recession, and outlines the keys to survive in challenging trading times.

To register for a free trade ticket, please use this link.