GTN Xtra - GTN Xtra - !ssue 13 2019

GTN Bestsellers analysis shows Mothers Day 2019 coming up just short of the previous record for 2011 in terms of volume sales and March up by 40% on last year. But how did that translate to turnovers? Were records smashed across the country?

Read comments from Bents, Blue Diamond, Cowells, Dobbies, Ayletts, Hilliers, Poplars, Perrywood, The Old Railway Line, The Gardens Group, Langlands, Planters, Haskins and Fron Goch

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GTN's Newshound joins the crowds at the Wyevale Crowland Closing Down Sale

GTN's Newshound pops into Wyevale Crowland where they have started a "50% Off Closing Down Sale" and reports on the speculation about the other 96 centres still for sale...

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Durston's plea to business on recycling
GTN Xtra Promotion

As the World-wide issue of recycling plastic continues to dominate news reports, Somerset based Durston Garden Products Ltd reaches out to all organisations big or small to follow its lead and introduce 100% recyclable packaging...

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APAC to build new centre next door to Wyevale at Leicester

Wyevale’s Rowena garden centre at Leicester is to get a potential new competitor right next door after APAC Group unveiled plans for a retail floristry centre on an adjacent site...

Pictured: Leicester Rowena Garden Centre.

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March 2019 sales now heading in the right direction

Sales for the fourth week of March – Garden Re-Leaf Day weekend – headed in the right direction towards the levels achieved in 2017 and 2014 with core gardening activity, especially Veg-2-Gro sales and growing media leading the way...

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LifestyleGarden® confirms exclusive new partnership with the Eden Project

LifestyleGarden® has confirmed they will be working exclusively in partnership with the Eden Project, helping to further drive their common goal of promoting environmental responsibility and sustainability...

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Notcutts celebrates success at annual conference

Family-owned garden centre group, Notcutts Garden Centres, has hosted its annual conference and awards dinner to celebrate the success of colleagues and teams across its 18 garden centres nationwide.

Notcutts Booker Garden Centre won the award for Best Customer Service.

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Cherry Lane creates 18 jobs at former Wyevale Barnett Hill

QD subsidiary Cherry Lane is to create 18 new jobs at the Clent garden centre in Worcestershire it has acquired from Wyevale and which is now trading as Barnett Hill by Cherry Lane...

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Co.Antrim centre doubles workforce to 100 after expansion

Colemans Garden Centre at Templepatrick in Co. Antrim has doubled its workforce to 100 following completion of a £5 million expansion project that added 32,000 sq.ft of retail space...

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Haskins Garden Centres introduce ‘adopt a houseplant’ scheme
Added Monday April 1st 2019

Haskins Garden Centre group has introduced an adoption scheme to keep up with customer demand for houseplants...

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Plans for 32 homes on unused part of Notts garden centre

Work on the development of 32 homes on an unused part of the Brookfields Garden Centre site in Nottinghamshire could start towards the end of the year...

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31 locations for FlowerTrials visitors in June.

More than 60 plant breeders at 31 locations in The Netherlands and Germany will open their doors in June for FlowerTrials 2019 to exhibit the latest pot and bedding plants...

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Great lead up to Mother's Day for plants

Plant sales bounced back up to be above 2017’s levels for the fourth week of March by 1% which is a great position to be in before Mother’s Day. Rhododendron were the highest GTN Bestsellers Plants chart climbers, up 15 places to No 23.

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Garden retail set to power ahead as industry defies gloomy High Street outlook

While Britain’s High Streets are facing economic headwinds that have seen big name retailers consigned to history, garden centres are bucking the trend and experiencing healthy levels of growth...

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Bord na Mona launches branded lorry fleet to raise profile

Bord na Móna has welcomed a new fleet of 15 branded lorries to the UK, in a bid to boost brand awareness as it embarks on its most promising season in the UK market to date...

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Haskins Ferndown raises more than £5,500 for Autism Wessex

The team at Haskins in Ferndown presented Autism Wessex with a cheque for £5,899.45 this week. All money raised from events held at the Ferndown centre throughout 2018 and collected from Haskins’ ‘Wishing Well’ was donated to the charity...

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GTN April 19 Issue. To view a digital version click here

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Katy Golden joins The Great British Card Company

Katy Golden has been appointed as The Great British Card Company's new Head of Gifts, a move which signals the company’s diversification into the gifts market...

Growing media sales heading for record March

Last week's Growing Media sales volumes, as reported by GTN Bestsellers were just below 2017’s record high for the fourth week of March. That means with a potential bumper Mother’s Day weekend March 2019 could be a new record for March...

Planters defends its 'Live chicks for Easter' post

Planters Garden Centre near Tamworth has defended itself on Facebook after revealed its plans to hatch chicks in time for Easter...

Mass gardening activity gets underway

Garden Re-Leaf Day certainly signalled the start of mass gardening activity this year. Plant feeds, lawn care products, growing from seed lines and garden clean up products all saw big sales increases. Pictured: Fountasia’s Bunny Springer debuted in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart at No 24...

Warm weather boosts February garden centre sales

The March 2019 issue of HTA Market Update, published last week, reports that nationally, garden centre sales recovered well this year from last February, which saw the ‘Beast from the East’ cause major disruption. Despite starting off cold, February 2019 was recorded as the warmest February since 1998...

Tomato plants dominate Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart

Veg-to-Gro continues to fly through garden centre tills, up nearly 40% on last year and almost catching up with 2017 levels. Tomato plants dominate the GTN Chart with 10 in the Top 15. Cucumbers and Herbs are selling through well too...

Now is the time to stock up on Neudorff’s fridge-free nematodes

Neudorff’s nematode range, which offers effective biological control of leatherjackets, chafer grubs and vine weevils, will be back in stock and ready to ship to customers from 2 April...

Wild Bird Care sales on the increase

Increased garden centre footfall drove Wild Bird Care sales up last week but they still lagged behind last year, down by 12%...

The best of last week's

If you missed last week's GTN Xtra, below are the most-read stories...

Wyevale Crowland Garden Centre to close

Local newspapers reported that the Wyevale Crowland Garden Centre will close on April 28th...

Industry pioneer Mike Dunnett dies

With sadness, we share news of Mike Dunnett passing away (Tuesday 26th March 2019)...

"The unifying energising effect it has is priceless." Alan Roper on the Blue Diamond Awards evening

After a successful Awards evening where he announced three new centres for the group, Blue Diamond MD Alan Roper gave GTN Xtra his thoughts on the event and the motivational effect on his teams...

Dobbies signs with Nisa for everyday groceries

Nisa Retail has announced it has signed a deal with Dobbies Garden Centres to support their new Foodhall strategy across its 35 garden centres...

Garden Re-Leaf Day Walk and Cycle Challenge boasts record numbers

Over 100 walkers and 30 cyclists took part in the fifth Garden Re-Leaf Day Challenge held in Buckinghashire with Wyevale Worlds End Garden Centre as the base for the day...