Crest Garden have announced details of their new sales team under the direction of sales director Andy Abraham together with the launch of a comprehensive range of quality autumn products.

The new sales team is made up of Neil Williamson, Jo Williamson, Sam Thornley, Helen Thompson, Bobby Fisher, Spencer Goodall, Jon Davis, Stuart Miller, Robert Kerr, Andy Roe, Andy Campion and Gary Collins. The sales areas they'll be representing are listed below.

Announcing his new team, Andy Abraham said: “The Crest Garden sales team comprises 12 knowledgeable, well known and respected sales agents who have many years practical experience in the industry.

"Garden centres can rely on these people to provide industry leading standards of category management which will ensure the maximum return from the Crest Garden ranges.” 

The focus of the Crest Garden autumn range is to provide quality products that are fit for purpose supported by high impact POS.

Managing director Nick Davies (left) said: “Our research shows that garden centres are looking for reliable products which offer great value for money but are not compromised on quality just to hit unrealistic price points.

"Many retailers question the wisdom of selling a cost reduced item for £4.99 when they can sell a reliable, fit for purpose product for £7.99.

"This autumn range of proven sellers has uniformity of colour and increased quality to reflect their positioning in garden centre outlets”. 

Crest Garden will launch three major categories at Glee 2014 including garden tools which is an area of particular expertise for the company.

 

On 21 May 2014, a week after Robert Hunt and Tony Barrell were appointed administrators of Solus, PwC regrettably had to make 91 staff redundant following the closure of the Company’s Tipton and West Bromwich warehouses. On 3 June 2014, PwC subsequently announced the closure of the Edinburgh Regional Distribution Centre (RDC), which is scheduled to be complete by the end of June 2014. 

PwC can now confirm that having further reviewed the ongoing requirements of the business, regrettably the Norwich RDC will close during July 2014. Solus will continue to seek to serve customers in the region but this will be done from the Midlands in future, and customers affected by this change are being contacted by the Company to confirm ongoing arrangements.

As the Edinburgh and Norwich RDCs are closing, further redundancies are likely. The administrators are consulting and working closely with employees affected by the closure to ensure they receive the support they need during this time. There are currently 14 employees at the Edinburgh RDC and 19 employees at the Norwich RDC. 

All staff at the Company have been briefed and the administrators will work closely with them over the coming weeks as the business continues to operate as normal.

Tony Barrell, joint administrator and director, PwC said: “We would like to thank the employees for the continued support they’ve provided to Company during this difficult period and we will do everything we can to support them in the forthcoming weeks. Their contribution has helped us to get the business into as normal state as is possible.

"As a result, the Company is trading well, with a good level of sales due to the support of suppliers and customers who are continuing to order and pay for product.”

“The Gardening Club has been a massive success. Our customers rate the scheme really highly – it’s up there with some of the big high-street schemes.

“We’ve been focusing on using the understanding we have of our customers from what they are putting in their baskets to try to meet their needs better.

“We are looking at other enhancements we can add to the scheme – and it will all be about adding to the great experience, making them feel special and rewarded. We are trialling some free tea and coffee offers as a way to add extra benefits that people can enjoy in the centre."

The full exclusive interview with Sarah and TGCG CEO Kevin Bradshaw can be found in the July issue of Garden Trade News.



Recruitment drive for the Gardening Club at BBC Gardeners' World Live.

Notcutts have decided not to open a new garden store in Bagshot on the site of their former garden centre (pictured above) which closed in April.

Planning permission has been granted for a redevelopment to comprise a food store, pre-let to Waitrose, and adjoining retail unit. Notcutts have carried out further financial feasibility studies and regrettably concluded that a garden store would not be viable.

Notcutts have met with Surrey Heath Borough Council to inform them of this decision and will shortly commence a marketing campaign to find alternative occupiers for this retail unit.

Notcutts have informed all previous staff of the decision and would again like to thank them and the local community for their loyal support over the years.

Andrew Staff, COO, Notcutts: “We are naturally disappointed not to be able to continue to trade in the area but Bagshot is well served by some fantastic local garden centres and the opening of the Waitrose store in 2015 will ensure local employment is boosted well beyond the number that we were able to employ.”

The Notcutts decision comes a week after Kent councillors turned down the company's plans for an enlarged store on a new out-of-town shopping centre at Newnham Court in Maidstone. The £85 million development would also have included a Waitrose supermarket, Debenhams department store, along with 17 other stores and several restaurants.

For the first time in years we’ve had busy garden centre trading right from the turn of the year.  Hooray!

Now, as we reach the half year, you can give your retail teams a boost by getting your customers to vote for them as one of The Greatest Teams in garden centre retailing.

Between now and mid-day on Monday June 30th your customers can vote in-store or on-line for your teams in The Greatest Garden Centre Team and The Greatest Garden Centre Catering Team categories.

All you have to do is download the pdfs linked below (it's free), put up a selection of A1, A3 and A4 posters, hand out the voting slips and collect them up prior to posting back to us for counting and recording after voting closes at mid-day on Monday 30^th June 2014.  If you need more posters and voting slips you can print as many as you wish.

Then on Monday 7th July we will announce the winners at The Greatest Awards Summer Party, in the National Motorcycle Museum, opposite the NEC.

The winners will be the teams with the most votes, with separate awards for different sizes of centre and regional awards too.

What’s more, thanks to sponsorship from National Garden Gift Vouchers, there is a great incentive for your customers to vote.  Every vote with a valid e-mail address will be entered into a draw to win NGGV vouchers to the value of £100.  There will be five winners, one from each of five regions.

Over the years, customer voting has helped many garden centres gain an interesting insight into the positive ways their customers perceive them, and it also adds a spark to team morale.

And there’s no cost to you for being involved – all you have to do is get your staff talking to your customers!

We look forward to counting your votes, and who knows, if your team can get the most votes we’ll see you on stage at The Greatest Awards Party on July 7th!

Download all of the posters and voting cards pdfs from Dropbox (there is no cost) by using this link:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/10z9oj7ecd9a9gg/AADipaJF6Ls9NRyTtf0ny3BJa 

If you have any problems accessing Dropbox, please call 07973 504214 or e-mail trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk 

Packs of posters and voting cards have been sent this week to centres who registered in advance.  There are a very limited number of printed packs available, please call The Greatest Awards Team on 01733 775700 if you'd like one - firts come first served.

  

Mr Fothergill's has acquired the intellectual property and trading assets of GroBox Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The online-based business offers easy-to-grow, complete seed-based gardening solutions, such as a flower, vegetable and herb gardens in a box and roll-out seed mats.

GroBox products are made from recycled materials and are themselves completely recyclable or break down once planted in the soil. The packaging of its products for children were designed by schoolchildren close to the company's current location in Hyde, Lancashire. 

GroBox's previous owner Jayne Lawton remains in a consultancy capacity. 

Announcing the acquisition, Mr Fothergill's commercial director Tim Jeffries said: "There is a synergy between GroBox and our core products, we like their green credentials and the brand will be a valuable addition to our online presence."

Right: Jayne Lawton and Tim Jeffries shake hands on the deal.

After all those weeks reporting sales at record levels, the GTN Bestsellers Epos Data All Products Index has now been showing volume sales down versus last year for seven weeks now.

"Year-to-date overall volumes are still up by 3% on last year and a massive 15% up on 2012, but I guess we all hoped for more during those balmy days of March and April," says GTN Bestsellers analyst Trevor Pfeiffer.

"What we need is a push into the second half of the year and a chance to re-ignite the energies of your teams.

"Getting your customers voting for you in The Greatest Awards – Summer 2014 – could just be the opportunity."

Voting cards and posters are available by clicking here. Just download the posters (A4, A3 and A1) and the voting forms and get your customers voting in two categories – The Greatest Garden Centre Team and The Greatest Garden Centre Catering Team.

We’ve kept the voting period short this year so you can put maximum effort into a weeklong spree of voting with the closing date of Monday 30th June 2014.

When voting closes, send us the votes you’ve collected and we will announce the winners – from different sizes of centres and regional winners too – at The Greatest Awards Summer Party on Monday July 7th, the first evening of the SOLEX show at the NEC.

What’s more, thanks to sponsorship from National Garden Gift Vouchers, there is a great incentive for customers to vote. Every vote with a valid e-mail address will be entered into a draw to win NGGV vouchers to the value of £100. There will be five winners, one from each of five regions.

Over the years, customer voting in The Greatest Awards has helped many garden centres gain an interesting insight into the positive ways their customers perceive them, and it also adds a spark to team morale.

For more information call The Greatest Awards on 01733 775700 or email: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

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

• Garden Products – up 20%
• Veg 2 Gro – down 44%
• Growing Media – down 9%
• All items index – down 15%

As part of the cross industry ‘It Starts with a Pot’ campaign a limited stock of plastic pots are available to garden retailers to run planting activities in store over the summer holidays.

In the ‘It Starts with a Pot’ giveaway, sponsored by Stewart Garden, the gardening products division of Stewart Group Holdings, garden retailers can receive up to 50 20cm pots. The pots will be allocated on first come, first served basis and will be available for retailers to pick up from the HTA News stand at the HTA National Plant Show taking place on 24 and 25 June 2014 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.

Stewart Garden’s grow your own products, watering equipment, pots, propagators and garden accessories are available in over 1,600 outlets across the UK and Eire. These include DIY outlets such as Homebase and Wilkinsons and garden centres such as Dobbies and Klondyke/Strikes, The Garden Centre Group and over 600 independent garden centres.

Garden retailers wishing to take part in the campaign can claim up to 50 free Stewart Garden pots and use them in in-store planting promotions and activities throughout the campaign. They can share images and an accompanying paragraph about their ‘It Starts with a Pot’ events across a wide range of social media platforms.

Email iswap@the-hta.org.uk for further information.

For further information about ‘It Starts with a Pot’ visit

•          Trade website - www.the-hta.org.uk/iswap 

•          Consumer website - www.itstartswithapot.org

•          Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/startswithapot

•          Facebook www.facebook.com/itsstartswithapot

•          Twitter - #plantapot

With just under three months to go before it opens its doors to visitors, Glee is gearing up for its biggest and best shows for years, with 96% of stand space now sold.

And GTN Xtra understands that Glee organisers are looking to expand the show footprint in order to accommodate even more exhibitors as demand to attend September's showpiece grows.

This year’s show – which will be celebrating its 40^th year – will be unlike any other Glee in recent history. A new location, refreshed content and a wealth of lapsed companies and big name brands will come together to create the strongest showcase for the garden retail industry to be found anywhere.   

Event manager Matthew Mein said: "The changes that are taking place have certainly ignited the industry’s enthusiasm for the show. We are well on track to delivering our busiest and most inspiring show yet."

New exhibitors confirmed this week include STV Pest Control, and Bon Marche, the well-known high street retailer looking to build its presence in garden centres via concessions.

For more information visit www.gleebirmingham.com

The Greatest summer awards and evening garden party will take place in association with SOLEX at the National Motorcycle Museum on 7th July at 7.15pm.

Reward your team after a busy day at SOLEX and rub shoulders with The Greatest Garden Centre teams in the business.

Included in the ticket price is a pre-dinner drinks reception, a three course meal with wine, coffee and mints and the prestigious awards ceremony, followed by dancing to our live band.

Back by popular demand after their success at the Greatest Christmas Awards, The Rockits are the resident band from the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Dress code is smart casual

Book early to avoid disappointment, call 01733 775700 or book on line using the Buy Now link below:

Tickets

1 Ticket £102.00 GBP2 Tickets £204.00 GBP3 Tickets £288.00 GBP4 Tickets £384.00 GBP5 Tickets £450.00 GBP6 Tickets £540.00 GBP7 Tickets £630.00 GBP8 Tickets £720.00 GBP9 Tickets £810.00 GBPTable of 10 £840.00 GBP

The three senior managers at a family-run, independent garden centre in Somerset have been given new roles in the award-winning business.

General manager Norma Moore, plant manager Andrew Pitman and shop manager Steve Searle now form a new management team at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre near Taunton.

Managing director Mike Lind explained: “There are lots of positive developments taking place here at the moment including work starting on our new, state-of-the-art restaurant and our Plant Manager, Andrew Pitman and Shop Manager, Steve Searle are taking on the joint roles of Duty Manager for the garden centre and overseeing the running of the whole site.

“But don’t worry Norma hasn’t gone far, she will be looking after our new restaurant, as it represents a significant part of our business moving forward. She’s coordinating everything from the build, which starts this month, to the suppliers to the staffing and is supporting our highly experienced Restaurant Manager, Sally Sparks, in her role. So in order for her to be able to take on this role she has handed over the reins of running the business to Andrew and Steve, who have been here pretty much from the start 32 years ago.”

Norma joined the company more than 13 years ago after working for numerous national garden centres and retailers including Blooms, Redfields Garden Centre and B&Q. She has vast experience in setting up new areas in the business having launched the garden centre’s Craft Centre successfully in 2008.

Norma said: “I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into this new role. It’s a tremendously exciting time for us all.

“As a family-orientated garden centre, we understand how important it is to serve our visitors and their families with thefood and refreshments they would like, in an environment to match.

“The next chapter in our story together is our new restaurant, which will open next year. It will seat 350 people and our chefs will prepare food for diners in our new kitchens.

“It represents a wonderful addition to the eateries in Somerset, as we will be able to offer lunch at any time of the day, times when people want it and not just serve it between 12noon and 2pm. The menu and options will also be very interesting, so it promises to be a really different project to work on and when we’re done we’ll be offering our customers some of the best catering in the county.”

Andrew is a stalwart of the business having been an employee for more than 27 years. He studied at Cannington College of Agriculture and Horticulture and gained a National Certificate in Horticulture and also an Advanced National Certificate in Horticulture. During his time at college, he worked at the garden centre for work experience.

After leaving college he continued working at Monkton Elm and worked his way up the management ladder. Andrew has scooped numerous awards for the garden centre through various displays at Taunton Flower Show over the years.

Andrew explained: “In the next few years I think there will be a big divide between real garden centres that will focus on gardening and take the market share, and others that will diversify and forget they are a garden centre. Many will become more like supermarkets that sell plants. I am very passionate about plants and believe these are the core of any good garden centre. This is where we got our reputation from and they will remain at the heart of the business for the foreseeable future.”

The company’s longest serving team member is Shop Manager, Steve Searle, who has been with the company for nearly 32 years. He started as a weekend member of staff at the age of 15 and has a silver medal from the DIY Week Store Manager of the Year awards.

Steve said: “When I left school I went to college on a day release course and a Youth Training Scheme before starting at the garden centre full-time. As the business grew, I grew with it and it’s been a fantastic experience. I am now looking forward to this new era.

“Since we first opened our doors we’ve been on an incredible journey together, developing and re-developing the garden centre to meet our customers’ needs.

“Now we’re investing further in the future of the business. We’re committed to the community, local jobs and offering an excellent customer experience.”

Mike, who took over as Managing Director two years ago is the son-in-law of the founders David and Luella Bellman. The Bellmans, who are now retired, and their three children still play an active part in the garden centre’s development.

Mike said: “David and Luella first started offering visitors refreshments in 1989. Their aim was to have a real emphasis on fresh, locally produced food cooked daily on-site and the same will apply with our new restaurant once launched.

“There is much to look forward to but as we embark on our new restaurant development, we do anticipate some disruption and we apologise for this. However, we are creating a vibrant new space for our customers to enjoy when they visit in the future and it’s something we think the short-term upheaval will more than make up for.

“In the meantime, our current restaurant space will still be operational, albeit with a reduced number of tables, for teas, coffees, cakes, snacks, breakfasts and lunches, and our wonderful Pondside Café will also be open too for everything apart from breakfasts and the larger lunches.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Norma, Andrew and Steve on their new roles with the business and wish them well.”

Lansbury Bridge School is creating a very special sensory environment throughout its school grounds with help from Gardman, which has donated £500 worth of garden and wild bird care products.   

Lansbury Bridge School in St Helens, for pupils aged 3 – 16 years old with a range of special needs, was opened in April 2005 and has since massively grown its pupil numbers.  Many of the pupils have a diagnosis of Autism and the school is accredited by the National Autistic Society for its provision.  Lansbury Bridge also supports children and staff in mainstream schools through individual support and by providing afterschool clubs for those with special needs.

Libby Wood, the Curriculum Enrichment Co-ordinator at Lansbury Bridge School, explained: “The lovely new equipment is a fantastic addition and since it arrived our children have become incredibly motivated to make sure our gardening plot is the very best it can be.  Our sensory garden looks amazing with the addition of spinning flower border stakes and stunning bird feeders.  With these new additions the children are really engaging with this area.”

“Lansbury Bridge has created an amazing environment for its pupils and we were really pleased to help them further with our products,” explained Sarah Downing, Marketing Director of Gardman.  “The decorative bird feeders and border stakes create a wonderful and rich environment while the mobile veg patch, reusable growbags, walk-in greenhouses and other gardening accessories are perfect for making it possible for the children to get their hands dirty.”

Libby continued: “When the school opened we had to work hard to turn the empty space of the school grounds into play and quiet space.  We also have a polytunnel and raised bed area that allows our children to get hands on and grow their own produce.“ 

The 10th anniversary edition of the Flower Trials attracted more visitors than ever before, with growers, wholesalers and retailers attending from all corners of the globe.

In a four day period they discovered all the latest developments in the pot and bedding plant segment.

The 42 participants in the Westland, Aalsmeer and Rheinland-Westfalen areas presented their current assortments and novelties to a varied audience from more than 55 countries.

The surrounding European countries were strongly represented in the visitor numbers, but the event also attracted people from such far-off areas as Asia, the United States and Australia.

Once again, growers were the most strongly represented group. They took advantage of the Flower Trials® to gain a broad impression of the new market introductions and assortment to help them with their choice of crops and varieties. Wholesalers learned of new trends and developments from the source, and gave essential feedback for the direction of future developments.

They also met their own customers, since buyers and representatives of supermarket and garden centre chains were also present in significant numbers.

The Flower Trials formed an ideal meeting place for all links in the industry chain, not only in an efficient manner but also in a relaxed and pleasant environment, an attractive alternative to the meeting room table. In future months all that networking and brainstorming will undoubtedly lead to surprising new developments, co-operations and concepts.

The 10th Anniversary Flower Trials will donate more than €3,000 to their chosen charity, The Hunger Project. The Hunger Project is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against chronic hunger in the world. The individual participants also organised collections for the charity at their own locations.

My client is a medium sized garden centre group who is currently looking for a new garden centre manager in their flagship store.

Candidates must have general management experience before and will have shown success managing multi million pound garden retail sites.

The centre is on a large site with a well established customer base and a excellent restaurant.

Applicants must be hands on managers and be ready to step into a busy and challenging role.

We are currently recruiting for an experienced retail manager to join a established retail site.

The role will cover the day to day running of the farm shop, including the management of staff and the strategic implementation of the shops retail plan.

Applicants will ideally be in a similar position currently or have had experience in a farm shop or country store.

Applications from other areas of retail will be considered but a interest in food and specialist food retail will be beneficial.

As J & E Importers re-structure, an exciting new opportunity has arisen for an experienced National Account Manager to join the team. The role will involve working from Head Office, out in the field and from home as required in developing and implementing a sales strategy for a group of products marketed primarily for large volume resellers. 

The ideal candidate will have good working experience in a similar role and knowledge in the Home, Garden and Pet environment and seeking a new challenge within this expanding industry. 

The successful candidate needs to be hardworking, energetic, enthusiastic and committed for this exciting and rewarding position.

This role provides an excellent opportunity within a growing company offering a range of recognised products across multiple markets.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience: applicants should possess the following:-

An understanding and background within the Home, Garden & Pet industry would be considered advantageous, but not absolute for the right calibre person.

Excellent communication skills and a warm outgoing personality

The ability to excite, engage the customer and explore the full potential.

The knowledge and ability to be able to deal with container sales as well as palletised options

Strong influencing skills are required, as well as a diplomatic manner and a positive pro-active outlook.

To nurture and develop customer relations

To establish new accounts and to develop a clear strategy and action plan to grow sales and profitability within our existing portfolio of accounts as well as new.

Regular concise, clear and logical reporting on a regular basis is a pre-requisite for this position.

Must be able to produce/substantiate a proven track record of sales within a similar position/role

The package includes a Company car, laptop, mobile phone, 28 days holiday including bank holidays and staff product discount

Please email vince.green@greenjem.co.uk for further information or to forward your current CV

Our client is a well established young plant supplier who supply the professional growing market with a large variety of plants. They are currently seeing a driven sales orientated individual who has both superb plant knowledge and an aptitude for sales or a professional sales person who has sold into the growing sector.

The SUCCESSFUL Candidate will be responsible for:-

• Managing key grower account
• Developing new business and managing existing accounts
• Provide technical advice to customers
• Represent the company at trade shows and exhibitions

For this role our client is ideally seeking:-

• A proven background in territory sales to the grower sector or an outstanding individual from the growing or retail sectors who has the drive to become a top sales person
• Be a target driven individual who has the ability to hit sales target and achieve growth within their sector
• A strong relationship builder who has excellent customer skills and can ensure customer satisfaction   

Please call Dianne Saunders on 07929 013910 or apply with your CV to info@morepeople.co.uk

Our client is a vibrant plant supplier who source a wide range of Italian nursery stock and topiary which they supply direct to garden centres and also via their cash & carry. They are currently seeking a driven sales orientated individual who can assist the director in the administration of the sales department
 
The SUCCESSFUL Candidate will be responsible for:-

• Assisting with the Management of existing accounts, calling to take orders, process them and advise on availability
• Helping to developing new business and managing existing accounts
• Provide technical advice to customers and also dealing with their queries and complaints

 For this role our client is seeking:-

• A proven background in plant sales or plantarea management experience
• Be a target driven individual who has the ability to hit sales target and achieve growth within their sector
• A strong relationship builder who has excellent customer skills and can ensure customer satisfaction

Established for over 25 years, J & E Importers have built a strong global reputation in the manufacture, export, import, supply and distribution of a range of quality, value-based products, whilst delivering high customer service satisfaction at all times.

This is an outstanding opportunity to work within a large, successful organisation, currently undergoing a team building and re-structure programme

The responsibilities of the Area Sales Manager will include:

• Managing schedule of appointments on an ongoing basis
• Developing relationships with existing and new customers
• Visiting potential customers in the area to generate more sales

We are looking for an enthusiastic and energetic salesperson who is:

• Seeking a career in a customer-focused sales environment
• Driven and determined
• Well-presented
• Motivated
• Focussed, hungry and ambitious to ensure success in this role
• A quick learner with industry experience
• Energetic with a can-do attitude
• From a field or internal sales background
• Able to demonstrate success in previous sales roles

Although a field based role, the successful candidate will need to live or be based in close proximity to the South Eastern area

There are excellent opportunities for career progression within the company and the group.

Benefits also include a bonus, company car, mobile phone and 28 days paid holiday entitlement.

Please email vince.green@greenjem.co.uk for further information or to forward your current CV

www.jandeimporters.com

The recent warm weather helped members of the Garden Centre Association boost their sales of barbecues and garden furniture last month (May, 2014) according to the body’s Barometer of Trade.

The resultsout on June 16, which arethe only official GCA May trading figures to be released, highlighted that furniture and barbecue sales were up 23.4% compared to the same month in 2013.

Will Armitage, Chairman of the GCA, explained: “Overall our member garden centres had a good May, busier than anticipated with the weather playing a vital part in their successes. All categories were up on the year to date, which is also very encouraging.

“As well as furniture and barbecues, the other categories that saw significant increases during the month were hard landscaping, which was up by 11.12%, pets and aquatics up by 7.79%, clothing up by 7.89%, gifts by 7.02%  and catering by 5.64%.”

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

Philip Gass, Finance & Marketing Director for Creative Gardens in Northern Ireland, said: “We’ve had a good year for furniture and barbecues generally, and as usual it is probably down to a combination of factors. The weather has been good most of this year – we haven’t had the snow or bad weather in Northern Ireland that we got last year, and May was particularly good with generally mild and dry weather, possibly meaning people getting more use of their outdoor space and more willing to invest in new furniture or an upgraded barbeque. 

“We’ve made a conscious effort this year to select ranges that are harder to compare online and differ from our local competitors, and where we’ve found the comparable models we have been able to compete by adding value in the form of a loyalty points bonus or including things like gas cans or covers. We have given more space to outdoor living this year, which has certainly helped sales. We’ve seen a particularly good increase at our Bushmills centre, which has seen like for like barbeque sales in May 2014 increase by 350% on May 2013.” 

Meanwhile, things have been hotting up in the West Country too.

General Manager for Trelawney@Wadebridge and Trelawney@Ashford garden centres in Cornwall and Devon respectively, Peter Burks said: “Sales of furniture and barbecues at both of our centres were well up on last year, and were better than the last three years. I think the good summer last year is still helping as well as the good weather now. This trend has continued well into June with the current hot spell seeing massive increases in barbecue sales.”

Some garden centres have also reported that this year they have geared up for better sales and have put greater effort into their barbecue sections, and that this has paid off.

Peter Self, Managing Director of Whitehall Garden Centre near Chippenham, Wiltshire, explained: “Our sales increases are due to a number of things: having a dedicated Weber concept area, a large range of associated accessories and dedicated staffing at peak periods. We also held a Weber cookery demo evening in May that stimulated a great deal of interest and encouraged further sales. Additionally, we have added Jamie Oliver and Landsman barbecues to our range for the 2014 season as promotional lines and these are proving popular too.”

Some member garden centres have been working hard on promoting their membership of the GCA and their award wins and they feel this has helped with improving footfall this year.

Nigel Wait, Managing Director at Newbridge Nurseries in Horsham, said: “We had a very good May. As far as the garden centre figures go, which do not include our restaurant, May was up 8% on last year, which also makes it 30% up year to date. Mirroring the GCA findings, the following categories were up for us in May: garden furniture 49%, gifts 26% and barbecues 18%.

“We have seen a big footfall increase during the past few months, which is continuing throughout June. I think this is for two reasons. Firstly, the success of our restaurant Stooks, people are fed up with the same old food that everyone has to offer. People are coming to actually dine in Stooks, not just eating while they are here, and that has had a big impact on our business. The second reason is I used our success as a GCA award-winner to maximum effect throughout the county early on in the season and that has paid off. We were declared as the country’s Most Improved Garden Centre 2013/2014 by the GCA in January. Having a GCA award really does improve your reputation and it was a real asset when it came to gaining publicity and promoting ourselves.”

GCA garden centres are now also working harder to deliver catering excellence, customer service to match and all within a relaxing environment.

Fellow director Jane Wait, who looks after Newbridge’s restaurant, Stooks, said: “Our May figures are up by 27% and year to date figures up by 30%. Our restaurant Stooks is different to the run of the mill catering operations as it has a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influenced menu and the food is locally sourced, and very fresh. A selection of unusual salads, using many fresh herbs and spices, are on display daily. Menu items are cooked to order and a ‘house’ bread is offered for all sandwiches, which is baked in our kitchen along with all the delicious cakes displayed.

“Our success is definitely based on customer satisfaction, the ambience we have created with our beautiful, sunny south facing patio and our polite, friendly, hard-working customer-focused staff, who are all barista trained, many making coffees using latte art. Today’s garden centre customer has very high standards when it comes to refreshments and cuisine and it’s our job to deliver.”

When it comes to gift sales, many member garden centres say that it’s down to the personality and expertise of the buyer, and creativity with displays.

Martin Davies,Managing Director at Raglan Garden Centre in Wales said: “Our giftware buyer Julie Mills-Gardiner has created a great ambience this year with her mix of traditional and eclectic gift ranges for 2014. Year to date figures show an increase of 21%, with May coming in even better at plus 25%. 

“What can we put this down to? Well we have two distinct areas, the main shop gift continues to grab as much space as it can for traditional giftware with the addition of large ceramics and glass for that clean European look. Our second area is located next to the restaurant within our Interiors Department where we offer the perfect solution for the ‘spring clean’ brigade. New ranges of themed table linen, cushions, lighting and in particular pictures are giving us very good increases. Every available wall space, including the restaurant walls, is taken up with framed prints selling for as much as £250 each, this was dead space that now produces a seriously good return. Finally, I must add that Julie can go out on a limb sometimes and I was very thankful we found buyers for the authentic Indian cinema seat benches at £400 each and the Hawaiian bamboo bar she purchased!”

Gardeners are battling to keep the slugs at bay, a fact that’s evident in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart.

There are seven lines in the Top 50 this week with volumes up 64% on the same period last year. 

They are still on the increase as week-on-week sales show a 10% rise from last week.

• Bayer Bio Slug & Snail Killer (1kg) is the longest serving item in the Bestsellers chart.
• Westland Eraza Slug Killer has seen good sales and moves into the Top 10.
• Garden lighting is another good category, with the Revolution Chinese Solar Party Lantern being the highest re-entry.

The GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart is showing a late surge of tomatoes but chillies are still remaining hot.

• Gardeners Kitchen Tomatoberry is the highest new entry while the same company’s Patio Tomato Totem is the highest re-entry.
• But the red hot chilli surge continues with eight lines in the Top 50 this week. Sales are actually 10% up on last year.
• There are three new entries from the Suttons Chilli Fiesta range while Suttons Grafted Chilli Pepper F1 Medina is at No 2.

Sheila Jackson has joined an exclusive group of individuals in ‘the 25 year service club’ at one of the UK’s leading commercial nurseries.

The 63-year-old, who is the receptionist at Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford, joins 22 other colleagues who have all worked for the company for 25 years or more.

Adam Dunnett, Sales and Marketing Director at Wyevale Nurseries, explained: “We would like to congratulate Sheila on reaching 25 years’ of service. She is an integral part of our team and we would like to thank her for her commitment to the company. We look forward to many more years ahead.

“Sheila joins a group of 22 other staff members, which we’re calling our ‘club’ as we think it is fairly unique for one company in this industry to have so many long-serving staff, and in total they have 695 years’ service between them. Together they have a phenomenal amount of horticultural experience, skills and expertise and this is a tremendous asset to the business.”

The longest serving member of staff at the nursery is Roy Rogers, Potting and Mechanisation Manager. The 61-year-old has clocked up 42 years’ of service.

Roy said: “I started with the company under a disability scheme following brain surgery. I have worked in all of the different divisions, progressing to my current position. I have a passion for horticulture and really enjoy my job. We have a great team spirit at the nursery and it is a pleasant environment to work in.

“I have seen the nursery grow and expand from very small beginnings into the business it is today. I feel a great sense of ownership and pride in the part I have played towards this.”

Wyevale Nurseries is one of the largest family-run wholesale nurseries in the UK. It was established in 1928 by Harry Williamson, a horticulturist and entrepreneur. It became the company it is today under the leadership of his son, Peter, who sadly passed away in 2011.

The Williamsons’ saw the opportunity to sell their product to an undeveloped retail market, creating one of the first garden centres, followed by a chain. In 1987, the retail side needed to expand and the 19 garden centres were sold as a PLC.

The family then turned its focus to Wyevale Nurseries Ltd. It continues to be a family-run business with ownership and joint chairmanship currently being held by the third generation, Heather and Simeon Williamson, with plans for the fourth generation to takeover in the future.

Wyevale Nurseries has a significant product range and is regularly introducing new plants. It offers a large variety of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants to garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners.

For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, please call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk.

Top soil is certainly in demand at the moment with five lines in the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media Top 50 products.

Sales are up 10% compared to the same period last year, while overall volumes of growing media are down 9%.

• Vital Earth Top Soil (25 litres) has shown the most growth to re-enter the chart.
• Arthur Bowers Top Soil (20 litres) has also seen an increase in sales to move up to No 7.
• The highest climber is Arthur Bowers John Innes No 3.

The Garden Centre Group’s 140 garden centres is supporting Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Tea Party initiative this month.

Centres are organising tea parties, putting the kettle on and serving bespoke Marie Curie cakes as part of the ‘Gardens for Good’ partnership which aims to raise over £500,000 in two years for the charity which provides care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes and in its nine hospices.

As well as inviting the public into the garden centres to share a cuppa and participate in ‘Blooming Great’ activities, all of the garden centre restaurants will be running a promotion on tea and cakes. From June 20-29 for every ‘Tea and Cake for Two’ purchased for £4.95, the Garden Centre Group will donate 25p to Marie Curie.

All the money raised from the Blooming Great Tea Party activity will help Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes meaning they can continue to enjoy and benefit from their garden.

Susie McCarthy, Charity Champion at the Brighton Garden Centre said: “I’m organising a Blooming Great Tea Party this June because I personally have a strong reason for supporting Marie Curie. My dad was diagnosed with cancer last May and died just over a week later. It all happened so quickly, and was such a shock, that we didn’t have time to get the care in place that my dad deserved. 

"Our fundraising at the garden centre will help give families the support they need – having a Marie Curie Nurse would have made such a difference to our last days with dad.”

Fabian French, Director of Fundraising, at Marie Curie said: “The money raised from the Garden Centre Group’s Blooming Great Tea Parties will allow Marie Curie Nurses to continue to provide more free care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes or in one of the charity’s nine hospices, meaning the people we care for can continue to enjoy and benefit from their own or the hospice’s garden.

"It is so important for people to be able to spend their final days in their place of choice. Marie Curie relies on the generous support of the local community to ensure more terminally ill people can receive this care at the time when they need it most.”

Marie Curie is asking everyone to organise a tea party this June 20-29. For more information visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty.

The Garden Centre Group chose Marie Curie as its first national charity partner after an all-centre vote. The partnership will run for two years, over which time gardening-inspired fundraising, volunteering initiatives and commercial activity will help Marie Curie Nurses provide at least £500,000, to fund an additional 25,000 hours of free, hands-on care.

Activity launched during Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign, the Great Daffodil Appeal. More than £33,000 was raised through a donation on pots of daffodils, daffodil collection boxes at all 850 till points, staff fundraising and Marie Curie collectors in centres across England and Wales.

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 printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2012 as well as 2013 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 upto 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 Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers 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.