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Get on board with Fiskars £2.3m Weed Puller campaign
2012 PROMOTION WILL TARGET 11.8M CONSUMERS AT PEAK SEASON
A new £2.3m campaign from Fiskars, including TV advertising, creates a golden opportunity for retailers to build on the astounding success of the 2011 star launch of the Weed Puller...
2012 PROMOTION WILL TARGET 11.8M CONSUMERS AT PEAK SEASON
A new £2.3m campaign from Fiskars, including TV advertising, creates a golden opportunity for retailers to build on the astounding success of the 2011 star launch of the Weed Puller.
The versatile Weed Puller is designed to eliminate the tedious work of pulling up weeds by hand. The TV campaign will run through the gardening peak season from April to June, targeting 11.8m consumers and reaching 49m viewers in all.
The Weed Puller is the must have garden tool of the season and the campaign will drive further Weed Puller volume sales growth for retailers, as proved by the 2011 marketing push. 
Fiskars commitment to marketing continues this year with press events, trade shows, consumers shows, a blog, website and competitions – all in place to drive traffic to Fiskars’ retailers. The TV campaign will provide big promotional muscle, supported by in-store guides and POS, like the new merchandising units (right)
FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Step–Pull–Eject: Eco-conscious weeding from Fiskars:
Help your customers keep a perfectly manicured lawn without the need for harmful pesticides or strenuous bending with the Fiskars Weed Puller.
Remove weeds effortlessly and without the use of chemicals:
Accomplish all of the main requirements of weeding, with minimal effort.
Remove weeds along with their roots, without having to pull up every weed by hand.
Key features
- Deep-reaching stainless steel claws grab the root from multiple directions.
- Aluminium composite keeps the tool lightweight, yet sturdy.
- Ejection system easily releases weed from tool when extracted from the ground.
- Allows weeding of the whole lawn without straining the back.
- Lightweight, slim design means it is easily manoeuvrable, so can even be used around the edges of flowerbeds.
Useful facts
- Awarded the Red Dot design award.
- RRP £39.99 inc VAT.
- 2011 GIMA Award winner
Contacting Fiskars:
To take advantage of this unique campaign and grow your sales, contact your local sales representative, who will tell you more about the merchandising solutions:
Julie Lownes (West, South West) 07970 696844
Alan Lorenzo (East and North East) 07768 350025
Bryan Cooper (North West, Wales & Shropshire) 07799 764403
Norman Dare (London & South East) 07799 641488
Stuart Floyd (national garden centre groups manager) 07917 420944 or stuart.floyd@fiskars.com
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Garden Tools: Reinvented – new key products in the Fiskars portfolio
Fiskars believes that all things, even the simplest, can be made better and smarter so that work in the garden becomes easier, lighter, more efficient and simply more pleasurable – which is ultimately what gardening should be all about. Here we look at some of the key products recently launched by Fiskars.
Fiskars believes that all things, even the simplest, can be made better and smarter so that work in the garden becomes easier, lighter, more efficient and simply more pleasurable – which is ultimately what gardening should be all about. Here we look at some of the key products recently launched by Fiskars.
HOLE IN ONE WITH QUIKDRILL™
Fiskars has had a long heritage of reinvention. Continuing its ‘Garden Tools: Reinvented’ theme, Fiskars has a host of new products for 2012 including QuikDrill™, a manual drill reinvented for a host of garden tasks. It’s a long handled tool with three choices of blade, so holes can be drilled standing up without putting pressure on the back. It’s perfect for bulb planting, creating holes for large plants and even drilling holes for fence posts. A versatile tool that combines clever thinking, ergonomics and great design.
CLEARING SNOW IN ONE
 The recent cold winters have left some consumers unprepared for snow. Bringing its wealth of knowledge of the white stuff to the UK, Fiskars has top quality snow tools designed to last a lifetime.
To clear larger surfaces like pavements or driveways, Fiskars’ lightweight Snow Sledge simply makes life a little easier. The sharp profile cuts into the snow, while the broad handle with a calculated angle for comfort ensures easy manoeuvring without causing extra muscle strain. The wide scoop of 720mm enables most paths to be cleared in one go, which allows for extra time to give the kids a spin on the sledge for fun.
KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM™
This June is the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and with extra bank holidays, it will be the year for garden parties. Nothing looks better than a perfectly mown lawn.
The innovative design of Fiskars Momentum™ makes it easy to push, reduces the risk of jamming, secures more cutting power and a greater cutting range, allows mowing three times closer to edges. The ergonomic height-adjustable grip with padded handle adds comfort and control. A quick and easy one-touch cut height adjustment system allows the handle to conveniently pivot the mower when turning.
Fiskars Momentum™ reel mower takes care of your lawn, your health and the environment. The innovative design of Fiskars Momentum™ makes it easy to push, reduces the risk of jamming, and delivers a greater cut.
The RRP for Momentum™ is £199.99. Fiskars has added a new Momentum™ grass catcher, which has a capacity of 18 litres and an RRP of £39.99.
HAND TOOLS. REINVENTED WITH QUIKFIT™
Fiskars QuikFit™ is a noteworthy example of the company’s aspiration to reinvent the gardening experience.
The QuikFit™ multi-head range is the most comprehensive on the market with 50 different head options and six shafts and handles, which can be easily changed with the sound of a click. The QuikFit™ locking mechanism ensures effortless switch over of heads as the integral slider enables you to unlock and eject in one fast continuous movement. This adapter can also use heads from other ranges. Fiskars QuikFit™ was awarded a 2010 red dot design award – a renowned design competition, which only recognizes innovative, creative and quality products.
A fruit picker, paving brush and medium telescopic are three great additions to Fiskars QuikFit™ range. The premium fruit picker swiftly harvests without bruising delicate fruit. When combined with the lightweight medium telescopic shaft, reach is extended up to 6 metres, so even the highest fruit tree is easy to reach from the safety of the ground. An easy to clean washable pouch offers ultimate convenience for fruit pickers, harvest after harvest.
Using toughened steel wire bristles to make light work of removing moss, weeds and debris from between the cracks, the Fiskars QuikFit™ paving brush allows gardeners to work from a comfortable standing position. A slab blade ensures efficient removal of more stubborn deeply routed weeds.
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Research and Design at Fiskars
At its best, a garden is the product of a creative mind, careful planning, considerable experience and years of dedication. It is this pursuit of perfection, which is reflected in the way Fiskars designs and manufactures its tools...
At its best, a garden is the product of a creative mind, careful planning, considerable experience and years of dedication. It is this pursuit of perfection, which is reflected in the way Fiskars designs and manufactures its tools. Fiskars uses advanced materials and engineering to produce tools that act like an extension of the body, boost power output, improve control and reduce strain.
Besides their streamlined looks, Fiskars garden tools are renowned for their functionality and superior quality. Fiskars is strongly committed to the new in terms of product development and optimised manufacturing processes.
Throughout the brand’s history, a select team strives to bring Fiskars design credo to life by creating tools that are durable, lightweight, intuitive and ergonomically sound. Every new tool leaving the workshop is conceived with the consumer and his or her daily gardening challenges in mind. Most importantly, Fiskars R&D team approaches existing solutions with fresh eyes to create solutions that increase efficiency and delight in their ingenuity.
All things, even the simplest, can be made better
At Fiskars new products emerge from the designer’s sketch pad through 3D design, hand-carved wooden prototypes and three dimensionally printed objects, which are used to explore new forms and principles, and ultimately more refined tools. At the heart of this process is the belief that absolutely everything – no matter how simple – can be made better and smarter.
The axe - reinvented
When developing the Next Generation axes, the biggest challenge facing the R&D team was to improve a product that was already great. Fiskars existing axe with FiberComp™ shaft and integrated blade design (inspired by the native American Indians’ tomahawk) was considered a big innovation 20 years ago.
The goal was to optimise performance and increase the pleasure of work, being careful to ensure true added value and purposeful functionality of all new features. The study demanded detailed knowledge and experience in materials and manufacturing: in forging, grinding and insert moulding The combined result was truly an evolution of craftsmanship and was quickly recognized as Best of the Best by the red dot design committee in 2010.
Credentials…
Fiskars Research & Development team has over the time registered abundant patents for their ideas and innovations. This includes PowerGear™and Servo-System™, all special gear mechanisms that help boost the hand’s cutting power, as well as FiberComp™ a special material composite that ensure lightweight durable tools.
The unique design of the Fiskars garden tools has earned the brand numerous international design awards, such as the Good Design Award, several iF-Design Prizes and numerous Red Dot awards.
In 2011, Fiskars received two red dot design awards for the creation of their SingleStep™ range of pruners and range of cultivator tools, Fiskars Premium Planters.
In 2010, Fiskars Next Generation Axes reaped the red dot Best of the Best award, while the QuikFit™ (mechanism to attach interchangeable heads to a shaft) and ErgoPlus™+ (stick tools) ranges each collected a red dot design award.
Fiskars PowerStep™ mechanism was granted the prestigious red dot design award in 2009. The PowerStep™ mechanism autonomously selects (according to the thickness of the branch) whether to perform the cut in one snip, or to go for the gradual option cutting in 2 or 3 steps to reduce the force needed per stroke.
Awards won by Fiskars PowerGear™ hedge shears include the gardening products Good Design 2002 Award by Chicago Athenaeum, and the shears were named iF-Design Prize winner in 2001 by the Industrie Forum Design.
The innovative Fiskars Weed Puller received the 2004 red dot design award.
At Fiskars, good design…
- ...is part of a holistic experience including the delight of ingenious functionality, the comfort of user-friendly practicality, the reassurance of durability and the pleasure of iconic aesthetics.
- ...starts with consumer insights determining real needs and translates into an optimised manufacturing process
- ...is true to the superior quality and streamlined functionality of all Fiskars products.
- ...enriches people’s lives by reinventing the overall gardening experience.
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 Last year marked the 45th Anniversary of Fiskars orange-handled scissors; a token of Finnish industrial design and a must-have in households worldwide. Pioneering a revolutionary manufacturing process, the scissors were the first of their kind when Fiskars introduced the now-famous orange handles to the world in 1967.
With over 900 million units manufactured by today, the scissors are one of Fiskars most famous products in Finland and throughout the world.
“The product’s success is due to the comfortable, ergonomic handles, its high-quality stainless steel blades that cut all the way to the tip and the possibility for the connoisseur to adjust the blade tension by the screw joint,” explains Roberto Bonfiglio, European Marketing Director Garden Business Area. “The scissors history highlights how innovation and new product development play a key role in our strategy to always be a step ahead of the market,” Roberto concludes.
Founded in the small village of Fiskars, Finland 1649, the company has grown into a large multinational corporation, celebrated for a history of products accommodating the strict Finnish standards for quality and design. Following its tradition to drive innovation of tools that reduce the effort, fatigue and strains so often associated with gardening, Fiskars ergonomic, high performance cutting and landscaping tools are designed to do the hard work.
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Gardening trends for 2012
Fiskars has a look at what’s going on in the gardening world and trends for 2012*. Gardens are an increasing focal point for socializing and overall, the interest in green spaces as places to both grow and connect shows no sign of stopping.
Fiskars has a look at what’s going on in the gardening world and trends for 2012*. Gardens are an increasing focal point for socializing and overall, the interest in green spaces as places to both grow and connect shows no sign of stopping.
Be water-wise
Anybody lucky enough to have a garden will nevertheless recognise how water-thirsty they can be. In 2012 and beyond, it pays to use water wisely, conserving and recycling as much as possible. Even in more temperate regions, the water-wise are catching rainwater in water butts as well as cleaning or recycling waste water.
The trend towards less formal Mediterranean gardens, which have long incorporated the philosophy of water conservation, is on the up too along with the use of low-growing, drought-tolerant plants, hedges, trees and shrubs. Water-thirsty lawns too are starting to make way for more natural spaces that encourage local flora and fauna. While water features continue to be popular, the emphasis is now on keeping them small and low maintenance.
Choose native plants
Restricted finances for many in 2012 mean that more and more consumers are shopping around garden centres for low-risk, high-value plants with a tried-and-tested reputation. Low risk means hardy plants that fit the climate and are resistant to pest and disease so investments can be enjoyed in the longer term.
In temperate climates, plants that retain their appeal throughout the winters will be popular in 2012. The use of ornamental grasses helps maintain visual interest while evergreen shrubs and plants with winter berries not only provide welcome colour but also nutrition to attract local birdlife. Choosing trees with barks of different colours and textures or deciduous trees and shrubs with dramatic forms also helps to maintain visual appeal through the grey winter months.
Grow in
Whatever the season, a kitchen garden is probably the most widespread trend nowadays reflecting the continuing interest in the use of fresh ingredients for home cuisine. Practically everyone has enough space in their kitchen to grow such herbs as chives, basil or parsley or cultivate a chilli plant or two. Fresh herbs and spices liven up your cooking adding both visual appeal and flavour to a home cooked meal. Growing these useful plants indoors using a basic quality toolkit of planters and a pruner also make a great home project for green-thumbed children to share with their parents.
City gardening
For those with limited garden spaces in urban areas, vertical gardening is also taking off reflecting a similar trend in interior decorating for smaller apartments. Planting gardens straight off the ground on trellises, arbours, balconies and walls offers new and innovative ways to capitalise on your outdoor space, however limited in size.
On a broader city level, green roofs are also taking off as a way to reclaim nature from the concrete jungle, capitalize on unused urban space and bring the supply of food closer to demand. The use of advanced cultivation techniques also means that this is a cost effective approach to feeding urban populations of the future.
As in earlier years, the emphasis on organic produce avoiding pesticides and other chemicals continues. Increasingly city dwellers are creating their own organic container gardens on balconies as a green alternative ensuring a cost-effective and healthy means to putting food on the table. Collecting biodegradable material for composting that would otherwise go to landfills cuts waste and also ensures a continuous supply of a natural organic fertiliser for these urban green trendsetters.
*source Icangarden.com
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Contact Fiskars and grow your sales
To take advantage of this unique campaign and grow your sales, contact your local sales representative, who will tell you more about the merchandising solutions: - Julie Lownes (West, South West) 07970 696844
- Alan Lorenzo (East and North East) 07768 350025
- Bryan Cooper (North West, Wales & Shropshire) 07799 764403
- Norman Dare (London & South East) 07799 641488
- Stuart Floyd (national garden centre groups manager) 07917 420944
or email: stuart.floyd@fiskars.com
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Fiskars products look set to be regulars in the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers for 2012. Riding on the great brand awareness achieved through the success of the Weedpuller there has been a Fiskars product in the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 chart every week in 2012. - Fiskars Garden Knife has been in all 7 weeks charts, reaching as high as No 2 overall for 2 weeks in January.
- Fiskars Stainless Steel Long Handle Fork has made 5 apperances to date with a highest chart position of 13.
- Fiskars Medium and Large Bypass Pruners have reached highs of no 24 and No 8 respectively already this year.
Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts. 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 printed newsletter and on the GTN website www.gardentradenews.co.uk. Access is by subscription only. For £120.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most upto date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales. To subscribe call 01733 775700, or subscribe on-line here, or e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk Highlights of the GTN Garden Products 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 Bestsellers chart for this week are here WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts can seriously improve your business. Only subscribe if you want to invest 15 minutes each week in improving your turnover and customer satisfaction. See our FREE Bestsellers Consultancy offer here - It runs out on February 29th so take advantage NOW!
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There may be months to go until high summer but there are already warnings from the Environment Agency that Britain is facing a severe drought in 2012 after the driest winter on record.
Reservoirs were already low at the beginning of last year and 2011 was the driest year in England and Wales for 90 years. Without heavy rainfall over the rest of winter and spring, extreme water shortages could hit many parts of the country – meaning hosepipe bans and parched gardens.
The advice is act now to save your garden from suffering this summer. Sankey, leading UK manufacturer of garden and horticultural products, has a range of water butts that capture the rain when it does fall, so your gardens continue to blossom and bloom without running the reservoirs dry.
By the peak summer months as much as 70% of household water supply is used in the garden and this is usually when water companies are least able to meet demand. Water butts are the perfect solution. Easily connected to a downpipe with a diverter, Sankey Water Butts provide gardens with on demand rainwater. With less mineral salts and deposits than mains supply, rainwater is the finest option for plants. In reducing water usage and ensuring a supply of pure rainwater, gardeners can protect both pockets and precious plants.
Sankey offers a range of Water Butts that accommodate individual style, space and preference. Whether your garden is a traditional or contemporary, bijou or immense, there is a water butt perfect for that space.
Click here for more on Sankey's range of water butts:
http://www.rsankey.com/index_trade.php
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Fiskars has had a long heritage of reinvention. Continuing its ‘Garden Tools: Reinvented’ theme, Fiskars has a host of new products for 2012 including QuikDrill™, a manual drill reinvented for a host of garden tasks. It’s a long handled tool with three choices of blade, so holes can be drilled standing up without putting pressure on the back. It’s perfect for bulb planting, creating holes for large plants and even drilling holes for fence posts. A versatile tool that combines clever thinking, ergonomics and great design.
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The recent cold winters have left some consumers unprepared for snow. Bringing its wealth of knowledge of the white stuff to the UK, Fiskars has top quality snow tools designed to last a lifetime.
To clear larger surfaces like pavements or driveways, Fiskars’ lightweight Snow Sledge simply makes life a little easier. The sharp profile cuts into the snow, while the broad handle with a calculated angle for comfort ensures easy manoeuvring without causing extra muscle strain. The wide scoop of 720mm enables most paths to be cleared in one go, which allows for extra time to give the kids a spin on the sledge for fun.
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This June is the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and with extra bank holidays, it will be the year for garden parties. Nothing looks better than a perfectly mown lawn.
The innovative design of Fiskars Momentum™ makes it easy to push, reduces the risk of jamming, secures more cutting power and a greater cutting range, allows mowing three times closer to edges. The ergonomic height-adjustable grip with padded handle adds comfort and control. A quick and easy one-touch cut height adjustment system allows the handle to conveniently pivot the mower when turning.
Fiskars Momentum™ reel mower takes care of your lawn, your health and the environment. The innovative design of Fiskars Momentum™ makes it easy to push, reduces the risk of jamming, and delivers a greater cut.
The RRP for Momentum™ is £199.99. Fiskars has added a new Momentum™ grass catcher, which has a capacity of 18 litres and an RRP of £39.99.
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Fiskars QuikFit™ is a noteworthy example of the company’s aspiration to reinvent the gardening experience.
The QuikFit™ multi-head range is the most comprehensive on the market with 50 different head options and six shafts and handles, which can be easily changed with the sound of a click. The QuikFit™ locking mechanism ensures effortless switch over of heads as the integral slider enables you to unlock and eject in one fast continuous movement. This adapter can also use heads from other ranges. Fiskars QuikFit™ was awarded a 2010 red dot design award – a renowned design competition, which only recognizes innovative, creative and quality products. A fruit picker, paving brush and medium telescopic are three great additions to Fiskars QuikFit™ range. The premium fruit picker swiftly harvests without bruising delicate fruit. When combined with the lightweight medium telescopic shaft, reach is extended up to 6 metres, so even the highest fruit tree is easy to reach from the safety of the ground. An easy to clean washable pouch offers ultimate convenience for fruit pickers, harvest after harvest.
Using toughened steel wire bristles to make light work of removing moss, weeds and debris from between the cracks, the Fiskars QuikFit™ paving brush allows gardeners to work from a comfortable standing position. A slab blade ensures efficient removal of more stubborn deeply routed weeds.
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