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The departure of home and garden buyer Andrew West from The Garden Centre Group is believed to be the start of a series of top managers leaving the company.
The Garden Centre Group said it did not comment on HR matters within its business but GTN Xtra has not been able to get confirmation from any existing TGCG regional managers that have been offered or accepted new roles as part of the re-organisation.
Andrew West joined TGCG in 2009 from Wickes where he had been a senior category manager for nearly five years. He was among recruitsfrom ex-TGCG chief executive Nicholas Marshall's Country Gardens chain, when Marshall resumed control of the former Wyevale in 2009. Marshall left TGCG last year to be replaced by Kevin Bradshaw.
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Notcutts has completed the sale of its Cambridge site to family-owned garden centre chain, Scotsdales. Scotsdales took over ownership of the site from midnight on Monday 30th September and are planning to invest-in and develop the centre over the coming months. “The sale of our Cambridge centre will be of mutual benefit for both staff and customers alike, as Scotsdales is dedicated to making the investment needed to develop the site and really maximise its full potential,” said Andrew Staff, Interim CEO at Notcutts.
“I’d like to take the time to thank all of the dedicated members of staff who have worked alongside us at the centre, some of whom have been with us for the past ten years since we took over ownership in 2003.
"Your hard work and loyalty has enabled us to provide outstanding service to customers in and around Horningsea and we wish you all the very best of luck for the future.” Caroline Owen, Managing Director of Scotsdales, said: “We are very excited to be taking over at the Cambridge site in Horningsea and indeed to be inheriting such a bright and talented team of gardening experts into the Scotsdales family.
"We will work on integrating the Scotsdales branding into the centre over the coming months and look forward to building relationships with a brand new client base in and around the area.”
Meanwhile building works are well progressed at Notcutts Tunbridge Wells where a completely new, double the size, garden centre will open next spring. The company are currently trading from a temporary structure which was built, stocked and merchandised in just over 2 weeks with sales impressively ahead of expectations. With further store redevelopments planned the size of the group may be on the up too.
Acting Notcutts CEO Andrew Staff told GTN Xtra: "We have been very open about acquisition being a key objective for the business at Notcutts this year. We currently have several conversations ongoing with regards to the acquisition of new centres and all being well, we hope to introduce new sites into the family by the end of the year."
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Devon garden centre Fermoy’s could be taken over by a new owner just weeks after plans were revealed for a multi-million pound redevelopment at the site.
It’s believed the 90 staff were told of the news when the centre hosted food, ale and music festival Abbfest late last month. A Fermoy’s spokesman said the firm are unable to comment on any takeover, however after the story broke in local newspapers the talk locally is of the Blue Diamond Group being the prospective purchaser. The centre has currently applied for planning permission to transform and redevelop the site and create 30 new jobs. The planning application says the existing garden centre has grown to its current shape and size over the past 40 years. In the design statement in the application, it says over the years the centre has grown but on an ‘ad hoc basis’. It also says the internal layout of the garden centre is inefficient and is ‘not suited to modern day retailing’. The current car park design can be difficult for customers to navigate, with a lack of disabled and coach spaces and drop off spaces. The new centre would also incorporate a food hall to house the current butcher and a delicatessen. A new restaurant is also included.
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As the weather turned back to the Indian Summer we'd all been hoping for, the GTN Bestsellers charts show that the biggest sales increases were Veg-2-Gro.
The GTN Veg-2-Gro chart is now showing a cumulative increase year on year of 11% (also up 14% on 2011) and talk at the Fleuroselect Home Garden Conference this week was of plenty more GYO growth. At the Tozer seeds trial ground, many new varieties were on show, including some that are already being grown commercially and sold through supermarkets. Flower sprouts are likely to be big in M&S this winter, giving us the ideal ready-made marketing platform for the seeds. Andrew Tokely from Thompson & Morgan is expecting several new varieties to be new bestsellers in 2014. British Basil is a hot tip – this new variety has a robust leaf and is more weather tolerant for outdoor growing. T&M will also be selling a pack of mixed beetroot seeds in 2014. Given the perennial success of Beetroot Boltardy it will be interesting to see how a pack of 5 different varieties performs. We know everyone is up to their ears in Christmas displays right now, but spare a thought about your GYO areas for next year now, while sales are still happening. How will you make the most of more growth next year, and how will you attract and encourage new gardeners to grow veg in your area? Let us know by email trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year:
• Garden Products – down 3%
• Veg-2-Gro – down 2%
• Growing Media – down 11%
• All items index – up 20% To Subscribe to the full GTN Bestsellers Weekly Charts for only £145.00 per year click 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.
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After the recent sale of its sister stores in Lechlade and Cheddar, independent family-run Almondsbury Garden Centre is now looking forward with ambitious £5m redevelopment plans for the 80-year-old site.
"We are extremely excited about the plans for redevelopment at Almondsbury. It is important to my family and I, that we do rebuild the garden centre, for both the community and the business itself," said managing director Phil Hodges.
"The support from our customers both far and wide is one of the main reasons for ensuring that we have a building and facilities that match the quality of our products and our team."
The 18 acre site on Over Lane will begin an extensive rebuild in late May of 2014 and will be due for completion in the spring of 2015. The plans will see the demolition of the existing four greenhouses, which will be replaced with one state of the art greenhouse which will also follow the natural curve of surrounding landscapes. The plans will again be on display from October 1st along with suggestion boxes with ideas on the interior plans as well as design ideas for the new building. "We now want to engage with our extended family to find out what they would like to see inside our new centre. We welcome ideas on our brand, colour schemes, uniforms, products as well as any other suggestions that you feel will help our fantastic local business grow" added Phil Hodges. "We have had a successful business in Bristol for 80 years and we see no reason why it will not be around for 80 more. We are building for the future, a legacy for our children and somewhere that inspires all gardeners. Large or small, long or short, balcony or terrace, we have something for you, an unrivalled passion, a superb product and soon a garden centre to match." For more information call 01454 457331 or visit www.parkgardencentres.co.uk
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The Sunflower has been announced as the first European Plant of the Year at the Home Garden Conference held last week by Fleuroselect at Horsley Towers in Surrey.
80 delegates from 9 countries across Europe representing 50 companies attended the 4th Home Garden Conference targetted at increasing domestic plant sales.
Following the example of the American National Gardening Bureau, the Home Garden Association will now orgainise annual pan European campaigns to promote specific plant groups to consumers. Sunflowers will be the first campaign in 2015, with Cosmos and Tomatoes scheduled for 2016.
 Speaking at the conference about the success of Garden Re-Leaf Day in the UK, Boyd Douglas-Davies said that Sunflowers would feature high on the agenda for Garden Re-Leaf Day 2015 "What a great idea to get thousands of children planting sunflowers in March 2015 and then taking them to hospices and hospitals to grow tall and flower to bring delight to many in the summer!"
Boyd also told delegates that there would be other special plant promotions linked to Garden Re-Leaf Day 2015 that would be launched at the National plant Show in 2014 to give growers and retailers time to prepare and plan for even greater success.
For more information on the Home Garden Association go to: www.homegardenassociation.com
We'll be publishing more stories from the conference over the coming weeks. Watch this space.
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The garden centre industries oldest boss, director of Whitehall Garden Centres who worked daily until well past her 102nd birthday, has died at the age of 105.
Phyllis Self and her son Christopher set up the Whitehall Garden Centre in Wiltshire 1968 after a bypass road split their farm in two and that was before the word diversification became fashionable!
She received an MBE from the Queen at the age of 101 for her work in the community in her native Lacock, where her funeral will take place next week. Her son Christopher, who still runs the garden centre with her grandson Peter, said his mother once attributed her longevity to an interest in people and the odd whisky and ginger. 
When the family farm was split in two in 1963, with the building of the Lacock bypass, it gave the family a chance to obtain planning for one of the country’s first real garden centres.
Born in November 1907 in Merseyside, Phyllis was a pioneer of women in the 1920s, working as a personnel officer in a woolen mill before moving as a single woman to work at Avon Rubber in Melksham. She met farmer’s son Rowland Self at a hunt ball and settled down to the hard life as a dairy farmer’s wife in pre-war Wiltshire. She volunteered in the community, and was a popular member of a small group of ladies who adorned the village church, St Cyriacs, with flowers every week. The garden centre took off, expanded, and soon other members of the family were involved. Through the 1980’s and 1990’s she carried on, with eldest son Christopher, and later grandson Peter, taking over the day-to-day running of the centre. A second site was added at Whitchurch near Bristol in 2001. 
Into her nineties Mrs. Self still worked hard. She was company secretary, personnel and HR Manager, still driving herself from her farmhouse cottage to the garden centre a little way down the road. When she turned 100 she allowed herself an afternoon off, but made sure the payroll had been done first.
She had a gift for getting on with people, her son Christopher said. “She enjoyed the fact that the garden centre employed so many people and she took great pride in knowing them by name,” he said. “When asked what she attributed her old age to, she said an interest in people and an occasional whisky and ginger at night. 
“She did the flowers in the church, and liked her lilies on the altar. And was enrolling member for the Mothers Union at St Cyriacs, Lacock.
Mrs Self was awarded the MBE in November 2008, just days after her 101st birthday, for services to the community in Lacock and in 2010 she received an industry Lifetime achievement award. She continued to help run the garden centre until a couple of years ago, being described by many who knew her as a Grand Dame of the industry. “She’s been at home for the last two and a half years or so, said Christopher. “She died on Friday at home with her family around. She was just really very tired after a very full life.” Mrs Self leaves a family of five grand children and thirteen great grand children. The funeral will take place at the Church of St. Cyriac, Lacock, Wiltshire next Wednesday, October 9th, at 2pm.
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Following the recent appointment of new sales director May Philpott, Solus Garden & Leisure has made further significant new additions to its sales team.
New appointments to the gardening sales team include Jon Grandidge as Northern Sales Manager and Michelle Brown as Southern Sales Manager. Both bring with them significant sales experience and are committed to improving customer service and developing Solus’s own brand and third party brand sales. Jon Grandidge is a high performing sales manager with big brand experience and will focus on team development and driving forward brand distribution. Michelle Brown is an experienced consumer brands sales manager with excellent account and people management skills, and is moving on from a successful similar position within the garden centre industry. "We're delighted to welcome Jon and Michelle and our other new sales team members on board," said Solus commercial director Ross Yealland. "Their experience widens the skills and market knowledge of the Solus team, and their passion for the gardening industry means our customers can look forward to a better, more responsive service." The new team appointments are the latest in Solus's continuing drive to build an integrated sales and marketing function alongside a renewed commitment to product quality and choice.
All the new team members are meeting with and listening to Solus’s customers over the coming weeks, beginning with the ‘Grow with Solus’ brand event, a ‘meet and greet’ for key customers which runs from Monday 30th September until Friday 4th October at Solus’s Droitwich showroom.
Solus Managing Director, Nick Davies, told GTN Xtra last night that the 'Grow with Solus' event has been a great success. "We've had a fantatstic response this year with just over 300 customers visiting our showrooms in the first 3 days." Sales team contact numbers remain the same: 0121 504 2851 (Hunnington); 01603 722044 (Rackheath) and 0131 453 5522 (Edinburgh).
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LeisureGrow have announced some exciting news about Grillstream barbecues. They were specially invited to present the British-designed and engineered Grillstream technology at the MAS (Manufacturing Advisory Service) Showcase last week which received a Ministerial visit from Business Secretary Vince Cable. The event highlights companies and products that have benefited from the MAS service.
Grillstream inventors, Peter Neath and Ian Worton displayed the innovative Grillstream technology on the new Ziggy portable gas BBQ from LeisureGrow that will be available in stores from January 2014. They also showed how the technology is being implemented into various professional restaurant kitchens – Grillstream is now being rolled out into restaurants nationwide in the new year, proving how successful the technology is now becoming with both professional chefs and novice barbecuers alike.
Business Secretary Vince Cable met with Ian and Peter to talk about the ground-breaking technology and the relevance of British engineering and design in the current economic climate. 
The second generation of Grillstream is now available on the newly launched Ziggy, Classic and Gourmet BBQ ranges available from LeisureGrow.
www.grillstream-bbqs.com www.leisuregrow.com
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Rogue traders have targeted families in the Cambridge area claiming they are from reputable garden centres. A warning has been issued Cambridgeshire County Council’s Trading Standards and police for residents to beware of con artists offering tree and gardening services on behalf of the centres when there is no connection with these businesses. The rogues have been leafleting residents, using the garden centre trading names on the flyers and providing false trading addresses. Nikki Pasek, head of Trading Standards, said: “Whilst there are a wide range of reputable, honest garden services operating in the county, unfortunately it continues to be a sector favoured by rogue traders. These rogues tend to find work by calling door to door and leafleting. “We would advise against using a trader who calls at your door. If you want to use one of the gardening services operated by a particular garden centre, contact that garden centre direct for details. Alternatively, use a gardener or handyman on our Buy with Confidence approved trader scheme www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk, or go on recommendation from a friend or neighbour. “We would suggest that in every case you get more than one quote to ensure the price is reasonable, and ensure quotes are given in writing outlining exactly what work is included for the price. If you are at home when you agree to have the work done and it costs more than £35 you should also make sure you are given a written notice of your right to cancel within seven days.
"If the work starts before the expiry of those seven days, you should be asked to sign a consent form acknowledging that if you cancel, you will need to pay for any work done up to that point.”
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Emergency services were called to Dobbies in Aberdeen after an elderly man was trapped in his vehicle after it rolled over. A mum who saw the events unfold said staff rushed to help free the man from the silver Vauxhall Astra. Samantha Jenkins, 40, said: “I was taking my little one out of the car and I heard a bang and I saw the car roll over. “I just ran over and the man was stuck under his belt. “Staff ran over and they managed to get him out of the car through the boot. “People rushed to his aid and made sure he was fine while the emergency services were called.” Two fire engines were called to the scene shortly after 9am following reports of an overturned car. A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “We received a call of a vehicle being overturned. “Both ourselves, fire and ambulance attended the scene and the elderly gentleman was not believed to be injured.” An Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said they received a call and attended but were not needed at the scene. Two fire engines could be seen by the car, as well as two police cars and cones were used to cordon off the area.
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GIMA carries out survey on Glee
GIMA is carrying out its annual survey of Glee with feedback from exhibitors and visitors helping to shape the exhibition's future...
GIMA is carrying out its annual survey of Glee with feedback from exhibitors and visitors helping to shape the exhibition's future...
You could win a £50 wine voucher, just for entering!
Click here to enter the survey.
GIMA's 'Buyer Connect' scheme - designed to bring buyers and sellers together - was one of the big hits at Glee.
The scheme - a kind of speed dating for exhibitors - was oversubscribed well before the show opened and there was a waiting list for 10-minute slots with buyers, spread over two hours adjacent to Hall 5's Innovation Zone
GIMA strictly enforced the 10-minute rule - and encouraged a brisk turnround between appointments.
Buyers taking part included: Steve Guy (Dobbies), Neil Fishlock (Decco), David Yardley and Allan Wilson (Klondyke Group). Gerrard Smith (Garden Centre On Line), Simon Moore (Wilkinson Stores), Richard Pennell (Future Marketing Group), Sandy Parker (Notcutts Garden Centres), Michelle de Lavis-Travis (Choice Marketing) and David Gillespie (Homebase).
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lunch! confirmed its position as the leading trade event for the UK’s food-to-go market last week, after its sixth, and biggest, edition attracted a record 5,929 industry professionals. Organised by Diversified Business Communications UK, the two-day show, which took place on 26-27 September at Business Design Centre, London, enjoyed an unparalleled 37% increase in unique attendees (excluding revisits) compared to 4,314 in 2012. Renowned for attracting top buyers from across the retailing, hospitality, snacking and catering sectors, the show’s aisles were packed with a ‘“who’s who” of the sector – including buyers from Waitrose, M&S, Asda, Tesco, EAT., Pret a Manger, Costa, Caffe Nero, Harrods, Debenhams, Superdrug, Gate Gourmet, Greggs, Network Rail, Thomson Airways, Brakes, Aramark, BaxterStorey, Hilton Worldwide, Compass, Sodexo, Selfridges, and Coffee Republic; plus thousands of independent retailers including garden centres and foodservice operators. The significant surge in visitor numbers has led many exhibiting companies to rightly hail the 2013 show as its most successful ever. And, as a result, a record number of exhibitors have already rebooked for next year – when lunch! returns to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, on 23-24 September 2014. lunch!’s marketing manager Grace Allwright, who has worked on the award-winning show since 2009, is delighted with the phenomenal feedback it has inspired: “We talk about lunch!’s fantastic buzz and unique atmosphere every year but it really was incredible for 2013. Of course, lunch!’s 37% increase in attendees makes a great headline but it was the high quality of focussed buyers there that really grabbed everyone’s attention,” says Allwright. She continues: “We are thrilled that so many exhibitors, and visitors, are calling lunch! 2013 their best trade show ever! – and we really couldn’t ask for a better testimonial than that! Thank you to all our valued exhibitors, visitors, supporters and partners who helped make lunch! 2013 such a great success!” Renowned for its exceptional show content, it wasn’t just the show floor that was buzzing at lunch!. The show’s highly anticipated Keynotes were all well attended, with many enjoying standing room only crowds. British Smoothie Championships Notable highlights for 2013, included ShakeTastic winning the live finals of the British Smoothie Championships (sponsored by Magrini) for the third time – having triumphed in 2009 and 2010. Their winning smoothie – Pop Eye! (made with banana, baby spinach and freshly pressed apples), is now available to enjoy in all their stores. "Winning this award for a third time gives us great satisfaction and is a great credit to our on-going dedication to meeting our customers’ needs. It’s a team effort and big thanks must go to my business partner Amir Darabi, who is responsible for our operations, and, of course, Cherry – for making the smoothie on the day with such flare and passion," says managing director Josh Kettle, speaking on behalf of the ShakeTastic team. Innovation Challenge Awards Audience participation was also key to the prestigious, new-format Innovation Challenge Awards. For the first time ever this year, all products entered into the Innovation Challenge Showcase – including food, drink, packaging, equipment and technology – had to win over the show’s visitors before making it through to the live final. Designed to promote and celebrate genuinely new ideas in the market place, including brand innovations and new twists on established concepts, the Innovation Challenge Awards attracted over 50 entrants this year. The 15 short-listed finalists (as voted for by lunch! visitors on the first day of the show) were invited to pitch their innovative ideas to a panel of industry judges (which included Faith MacArthur, founder of EAT., Simon Stenning, foodservice strategy director at Allegra Strategies, and Maria Bracken, editor of Lunch Business magazine). The following companies received Innovation Challenge Awards at lunch! 2013: Gold ¡Cho! – CHO The Drinking Gazpacho The Nuttall Flexeserve Zone – Alan Nuttall Ltd Mr. Sherick’s Shakes Vivid Matcha Drinks Wholeleaf Retro Fit – The Wholeleaf Company WrapBag – ELLER FoodPackaging GmbH Highly Commended Little Big Shot – Health Energy Drink Finalist Heavenly Cacao – Creative Nature Fruity Cups – Pidy Ltd Joe & Seph’s Peanut Butter Popcorn Staybowlizer – Loxfield Distribution Ltd mello – Mello Drinks Passionfruit Chiffon Pie – Glamour Puds Ltd Xue Bar – The Ying Yang Food Company Thor Drinks See next week's e-mail newsletter for the GTN Xtra report after our visit to lunch! 2013 along with an update on the new Baytree Coffee shop which was inspired by last years lunch! visit. lunch! 2014 - the UK’s leading, multi-award-winning, trade event for the food-to-go industry, will return to Business Design Centre in Islington, London, on 23-24 September 2014. For further information visit www.lunchshow.co.uk.
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