• Garden Products – down 2%
• Veg-2-Gro – up 33%
• Growing Media – up 19%
• All items index – up 32%

Garden Centre Group chief Kevin Bradshaw has appointed a business consultant to help drive a cost-cutting programme, including a move to develop long-term relationships with suppliers and growers.

Charles Coates, an engineer turned business adviser who founded the Stonebeck consultancy, helped Bradshaw reduce costs during his time as CEO at the Avis UK car rental company.

Coates’s profile on the Linked In business networking site carries a testimony from Bradshaw. “I think the rigour of your approach and hopefully the experience that has now been imparted to the team is excellent,” it says. “I am certain we wouldn't have achieved the same level of savings without you....Our interaction was just right - light touch, frequent enough and focused."

The Garden Centre Group, acquired by Guy Hands’s equity group Terra Firma 17 months ago, is believed to have started consulting with its regional managers about redundancy as a prelude to a wider managerial re-shuffle.

TGCG declined to comment on speculation that it is about to buy the Lechlade and Cheddar garden centres from the Park group when approached by GTN.

Leading wholesaler Stax Trade Centres is increasing its attempts to attract more garden centres as it aims to increase its growing penetration of the gardening market.

With the market remaining healthy despite the turbulence of the economic downturn and last year’s weather, Stax is optimistic about the future and feels the time is right to push on.

Joint MD David Hibbert says: “We have seen an upturn this summer. The warm weather has encouraged the traditional gardening market into the garden, prompting more trips to the garden centre. We are also seeing the growth of more leisure shopping as consumers head to garden centres for a coffee and a mooch around as part of a day out. As a result we are showing strong gardening sales, especially of well known brands including Scotts, Bayer, Town & Country, Hozelock, Rentokil, Vitax, STV, and Pagoda.”

The gardening market is estimated to be in excess of £5 billion (HTA data) and Hibbert believes it will increase.

“As we see ever increasing signs of economic recovery, and as the population continues to age, we believe that garden centres will thrive.”

Stax will be at Glee again this year, with a bigger stand in hall 5 (5E31). They will be exhibiting their own brands: Ambassador quality garden tools, Glenwear workwear and clothing and a selection of SupaGarden value brand lines.

“Going forward we plan to work hand in hand with independent garden centres across the country by offering them the right mix of products, at the right terms to help them capitalise on market growth”  Hibbert said.

Stax are continually developing their garden offering through all depots and through Scottish delivered wholesaler Wisharts of Edinburgh. Hibbert says STAX have invested in improving their online ordering system and representatives can offer garden centres assistance in reviewing ranges, providing merchandising and marketing support, as well as helping new customers with a range of special deals.

Contacts: David Hibbert, Stax Trade Centres, 0161 728 8000

Mark Camp, Stax Marketing , 01254 878 956
 

• STV International Prickle Strip Fence Topper at No 42.
• Mulberry Studios Potting Shed Plaque at No 45.

Rt Hon David Blunkett MP paid a visit this week to the Sheffield  factory of Burgon & Ball, one of city’s longest standing traditional garden tool manufacturers.

Burgon & Ball is a thriving family business, est 1730, whose product range originated in agricultural tools and is now diversified into a wide range of garden tools and design-led garden accessories.

Burgon & Ball are working with Blunkett, the Regional Growth Fund/RBS and Creative Sheffield to plan for future growth and investment in Sheffield manufacturing.

Following the visit, Blunkett said: “Politicians of all parties eulogise about the importance of manufacturing, of craftsmanship and of creativity. Burgon & Ball tick all the boxes as a historic example of the innovation and craftsmanship of Sheffield, but also a living example of enterprise and modernisation. We should be very proud of this company which is at the heart of Sheffield’s history and at the forefront of our city’s future.”

Leading catering consultants Catering Design Group have come up with valuable advice to help garden centres resolve the knotty problem of restaurant queues.

They say the first thing to think about is customer flow.

• To manage traffic around the main counter areas and till points, consider pick-up points for coffee and call to order items or remote location of condiment stations
• Create defined routes from entry to payment and seating areas to avoid customer confusion and crossover with staff
• To manage the queuing process – position display and retail points along the route with opportunities for impulse buying and cross-selling
• Consider the decision-making process – display menus ahead of the servery to avoid hold-ups
• Think about display styles - multi-tiers for quick and easy selection of grab ‘n’ go items or chefs’ tables which keep customers moving as they choose 

Contact the Catering Design Group at: info@cateringdesign.co.uk

http://www.cateringdesign.co.uk/ 

Moreton Park Garden Centre won a large gold medal and the prestigious Best in Show title for their show garden at Shrewsbury Flower Show last week.

The garden, titled “Good Enough to Eat”, was designed and built by Paul Farry, the centre’s sundries manager and buyer.

Judging took placed following submission of a brief and sketch plan and construction of a small garden within the show ground. Alyson Haywood, general manager at Moreton Park, said: “We are delighted…it is testament to the hard work that was put in. The show is a great, local annual event that we are proud to be a part of.”

Some 45,000 visitors viewed the exhibit, an ornamental garden in which all the plants were edible; 95% of the plants used were grown from seed organically in Vital Earth multi-purpose peat-free compost donated by Bord na Móna. The garden demonstrated how edible plants could be used to provide a stunning ornamental display.

The garden contained a summer house to provide structure and height and a modern water feature to act as a focal point. The edible garden contained many unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables, including almost extinct Welsh varieties of apple trees. White strawberries, purple chillies, popcorn and ‘rat tail’ radish were all grown from seed and proudly displayed...all good enough to eat.

Paul Farry said: “I hope the garden gave others the inspiration to ‘grown your own’. Home-grown fruit and vegetables promote greener and more sustainable living. Apart from anything else, it is a rewarding activity, when you eat the fruits of your labour”

Paul represented the garden centre as a guest panellist alongside TV presenter Chris Beardshaw at the ‘Gardening Time’ question and answer session in the lecture marquee at the show.

Sponsors of the award winning show garden included Bord na Móna, Sutton Seeds and Zest 4 Leisure.

www.moretonpark.com/gc

A popular choice with catering managers across the UK, next month’s lunch! show, which returns to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, on 26-27 September, looks set to be its biggest show yet.

An unprecedented 290 exhibitors are preparing to launch new products onto the eating out of home market.

High quality and wide variety are key growth drivers in the UK’s £14.9bn lunch market (according to foodservice consultancy Horizons) – and lunch!’s eclectic menu of exhibitors certainly offers plenty of both. 

Just some of the new launches already confirmed include: Incredible! Sauces and Meal Pots from Yorkshire Provender; mint chocolate gourmet popcorn from Joe & Seph’s; Patak's Jalfrezi and Tikka Masala jumbo peanuts (50g) from GFT Retail; 'Strictly High Grown' Costa Rican coffee from Cafédirect; Pomegranate tonic water from Bottlegreen; a pre-baked frozen sweet sable range from Pidy; 'Meze-2-go' roasted red pepper and feta dip, with bread sticks, from Odysea; and natural cold press fruit and vegetable juices from Aartizen; and luxurious liege waffles from Projuice.

There’s also a new sideways stackable ‘All in One Table’ for outdoor catering from GO IN; 100% compostable catering disposables from Biopac UK; the latest British-manufactured water boilers from Burco; and an iPad cash register system from orderbird AG.

To register for a free trade pass, please visit www.lunchshow.co.uk and use priority code LUNGT4.

Last year GTN Xtra visited lunch! with the team from Baytree Garden Centre, read the linked article below, and we'll back again this year to pick up more great catering ideas.

Work is under way on a new environmental garden project at at Bents Garden & Home in Glazebury.

The project, featuring seven different wildlife zones and natural gardens, will provide visitors with a unique nature experience.

Chairman Ron Bent says the gardens should attract a huge variety of wildlife and insects and provide a home for many moisture loving natural plants from the ponds, bogland areas and fields he used to explore as a child.

Central to the project is a three metre deep pool, which i will gradually expand into a natural bogland area.

The work will involve the extraction of more than 14,000 tonnes of topsoil and yellow clay until a layer of boulder clay is reached. The clay will will be used as lining, while the topsoil and other layers will form the contours and mounds that will divide up the wild gardens.

“Boulder clay is a rich brown clay which is often used for brick making and is a great natural lining to help waterproof and seal the sides of the banks and other water retaining areas,” Ron explained. “The extraction to reach it will be a slow process to collect enough to cover the whole wetland areas, but we’re committed to keeping this an entirely natural environment so will continue until the process is complete.”

A similar process was required when Bents built its reservoir in 1976.  Now a beautifully landscaped lake located next to Bents outdoor decking area, the reservoir still collects all run-off rainwater from the centre and is used to recycle water.  The lake holds 3-5 million gallons of water and irrigates all plants grown on Bents’ on-site nursery and Open Skies planterea.

The new gardens are part of Bents’ wider £10m vision for the future which will be rolled out over the next 5-10 years.  An extensive new car park, warehouse facilities and a new children’s adventure play area are already complete, as well as the Wild Wings Birds of Prey Centre.

Future plans include transforming the existing centre, creating a larger contemporary retail space with a 2 storey high glazed atrium and a farm shop.

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 and on the GTN website www.gardentradenews.co.uk.

Every week we give sales volume comparisons with 2011 as well as 2012 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, 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 Veg-2-Gro 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.

Greenfingers have confirmed that this year’s Garden Re-Leaf Day raised £61,379 for the charity - £6,379 more than in 2012

The money has helped to create gardens at children’s hospices at:

Derian House Children’s House, Chorley in Lancashire, where a Woodland Garden for the teenagers to chill out in is now open.

Horizon House, in Northern Ireland, where the Memory Garden has been extended.

Little Havens Children’s Hospice in Essex, where an interactive learning space with a fruit and vegetable garden and family area is planned.

Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice in West Sussex – a woodland walk garden

Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Yorkshire – a multi-functional family garden

EllenorLions Hospice in Kent – an Urban Oasis,

Pictures and designs can be seen at greenfingerscharity.org.uk

Garden Re-Leaf Day 2014 has been confirmed for Friday 14 March.

Greenfingers will be at Glee next month to demonstrate more ways in which supporters can get involved.

The Garden and Leisure Group have completed the sale of half of the Percy Throwers Garden Centre site to Waitrose for an undisclosed sum.

The business will trade as usual whilst the new garden centre, incorporating a 5000 sq.m. store, is developed over the next 12 to 18 months. When the new site is open and operational, the old garden centre will be demolished to make way for a new Waitrose store. The project is expected to generate new jobs.

Just Must Perennials say their 2014 trade catalogue will be available at the end of August,ahead of their apperance at the Four Oaks trade show (3-4 September).

It will list a huge number of rare, specialist and unusual perennials,  including many new varieties.

JustMust Perennials was established in 1995 by Bob Brown and continues to bring new and rare perennials to the market. Bob and his son Ed frequently tour the UK and the globe to find new and interesting plants.

The new catalogue will be available at both the Four Oaks and GroSouth in November.

Just Must say there is no minimum order value. For example, if you wish to trial plants, orders can be taken for five of a specific variety although most of their orders tend to be for 25 or more. In addition to the rare and unusual, JustMust also supply plants like Heucheras which are required in small numbers. The majority of plugs are produced from micro propagation/tissue culture.

Further information from 01386 47337   www.justmust.co.uk

GreanBase, makers of the Wheelbarrow Boster, will launch their Grumpy Gardener brand at Glee next month (stand 5E30)

Visitors will find eight completely new and original garden tool inventions with that GreanBase describe as “huge mass market potential”.

There will be 13 Grumpy Gardener products, including the ‘as seen on Dragons Den’ Wheelbarrow Booster

They will be promoting their ‘Made in the UK philosophy and their design collaboration with UK universities.

To celebrate the launch, the company are giving away a 16GB iPad2. Drop a business card into their Litter Gripper collector between Sunday and Tuesday midday to enter the blind draw (conducted by a member of the Garden Trade News team).

There are two runners-up prizes prizes on offer - an entire Grumpy Gardener product line and a bottle of Champagne

You can request a catalogue via email pre-show

www.greanbase.co.uk

Sales 01604 530035

Email: joe.smith@greanbase.co.uk