The Garden Centre Group are advertising for the role of Pricing Manager and are offering a salary of between £65k and £75k plus benefits. But the group are insisting the right candidate will "need to love and be comfortable with change".

TGCG have recently bought the Garden & Leisure Group of garden centres and have seen many management changes over the past few weeks with others expected in the near future. The group refuse to be drawn on any future changes, insisting they don't comment in public on HR matters.

Wyevale Nurseries have appointed Adam Dunnett as Sales and Marketing Director.  He is expected to join the executive team in January.

Andy Johnson acting MD commented “We are delighted to have Adam joining our team.

"We have a real depth of horticultural expertise here at Wyevale Nurseries and look forward to the contribution Adam will bring as we focus the business on meeting the needs of our customers."

Adam has a strong horticultural background and will bring his wide experience of marketing and sales to the business.”

The weather has resulted in plant and bulb sales gathering momentum, according to GTN Bestsellers.

This buying activity helped to keep the total volume of sales ahead of last year in a week when even Christmas volumes dipped below last year’s early October levels.

Daffodil Tete-a-Tete is once again the bestselling bulb in the UK with Tulips Dutch Master and Hotpants following on behind.

Out in the planteria, pansies, cyclamen and wallflowers are top of the charts and the GTN Xtra team has seen some great autumn and winter colour displays while visiting garden centres this week (see gallery of pictures below).

Our GTN Bestsellers Tip of the Week is to make the most of colour outside and get your winter and Christmas planteria themes ready now.

Your customers will want to buy plants – you are a garden centre after all.

To acknowledge the vital role that planteria teams play we’re adding a Festive Planteria Team to The Greatest Chrsitmas Awards. Sponsored by Bord Na Mona, we’ll be visiting nominated teams to find out just how festive they can be! Send nominations to trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

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

• Garden Products – up 2%
• Christmas – down 11%
• Growing Media – up 22%
• All items index – up 6%

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.

GIMA, the UK’s only Trade Association dedicated to suppliers, requires a full time Director to spear head our activities.

A fantastic opportunity for an individual to influence and assist its Membership who operate in and around the Garden sector.

The ideal candidate will have excellent management, communication and operational skills that are needed to carry out this varied and exciting role.

The ideal candidate will also have had experience, at a senior level, in the garden sector (or a closely related sector) and therefore have a clear understanding of the  industry, with the ability to build relationships not just amongst the GIMA Members but right across the sector.

This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to greatly influence the Gardening trade!

Please send a covering letter, your CV and current salary details to Nigel Thompson on recruitment@gima.org.uk.

We will send by return a copy of the job description.

Closing date: 25^th October 2013.

Orchid days organized in conjunction with Growth Technology are proving to be a big hit with visitors to garden centres throughout the UK.

GTN Xtra joined customers at Huntingdon Garden & Leisure for the latest in a series of more than 70 orchid days and weekend events held this year alone. Peter White, who is President of the Orchid Society of Great Britain, was the guest speaker giving advice on growing and caring for orchids.

“Special events like this give orchid lovers the opportunity to find out how to best look after their plants, as well as have any queries answered,” said Peter.

These days are also a great way for garden centres to engage with new and existing customers, driving footfall, and achieving extra sales of plants and orchid-related products.

At Huntingdon Garden & Leisure, Peter delivered two 40-minute talks entitled ‘Tropical Orchids are Easy’ as well as giving free MOTs on plants brought in by customers. And his advice went down well with visitors.

One remarked: “I have picked up a lot of tips today. It’s great to get insights from people in the know.” Another customer said: “I found Peter’s talk very encouraging, and I’ll definitely be buying another orchid before I leave.”

Huntingdon’s Gardening Divisional Manager John Kay explained that the orchid day was the highlight of the centre’s orchid festival.

“We find the event creates a lot of trade for the garden centre,” said John. “Customers love it because they get the chance to listen to an expert and then get their questions answered.

“It helps to build trust between the centre and the customer because the expert is giving practical advice which is free and can be used straight away.

“We also encourage staff members to listen to the talks because there is a lot they can learn too.

“Having such an expert like Peter White visit our store and pass on his knowledge is a massive benefit to us.”

As well as listening to the talk, customers are invited to bring in orchid plants for a check over – an ‘Orchid MOT’.

The expert can repot customer’s plants provided they purchase the necessary pot and Repotting Mix from the garden centre.

One Huntingdon Garden & Leisure customer who took advantage of the ‘Orchid MOT’ said: “My plant was looking very sorry for itself. Now I know why, thanks to Peter. I will certainly give it a lot more attention in future because he’s given me the confidence to care for it properly.”

As well as Peter White, Growth Technology’s other orchid day experts are:

• Chris Channon – retired professional orchid grower; RHS Gold Medallist.
• Ian Parsons – former Chairman of the British Orchid Council.
• Sara Rittershausen – professional orchid grower; author; RHS Gold Medallist and RHS Orchid Judge.
• Philip Seaton – author of Growing Windowsill Orchids published by Kew Gardens.

Retailers wanting to maximise sales of Forest Garden’s market leading core and decorative garden timber products will be pleased to learn that the company has further developed a new range of merchandising solutions for the 2014 season.

Launched at Glee 2013, the latest merchandising solutions are designed to help retailers maximise the profit-boosting potential of Forest’s product ranges, which include planting and growing products, fencing, trellis and gates, landscaping essentials and sheds and storage solutions. 

Key volume-selling lines will be supported with new pallet POS, branded with the company’s new pricing ethos – ‘Great Prices, Everyday’. 

In a move to incorporate more products into the display, whilst also providing retailers with the flexibility to display a wide range of ‘pick and mix’ products and supporting POS, Forest has also created four new merchandising stands, which are designed to be positioned in the core gardening section of the garden centres. 

With flexible stock holding options, products which can be added to this new merchandising display include obelisks, planters, cloches, raised beds, fast-moving trellis and lattice lines, tree stakes and uni-round posts and stakes. 

Paul Taylor, National Sales Manager at Forest Garden, said: “Our new merchandising displays have been developed to add real impact in-store, whilst also arming consumers with all the information they need to make educated decisions when purchasing timber garden products. 

"Additionally, the selection of products that can be displayed in our new merchandisers will provide retailers with unrivalled impulse-buy, and add-on sales potential, helping them to build bigger, better and stronger business throughout 2014.”

Finally, Forest will be using Glee to introduce a new ‘Take me to the Till’ initiative, which has been designed to make the shopping experience more convenient for consumers by providing them with a tangible product to take to the check-out for quick self-service and easy purchase. 

Additionally, ‘Take me to the Till’ is an entirely fuss-free introduction for retailers, meaning it is easier than ever to optimise sales of Forest products.

For further information call 0844 248 9801 or email info@forestgarden.co.uk

Local newspapers in North London are reporting that Sunshine Garden Centre has been granted planning permission to build a two-storey retail extension with a restaurant.

The reports go on to say that the GCA Award winning centre’s new-look extension will increase its retail floor space and replace a single-storey building, to the east of the centre’s central building, which will be demolished.

The floorplan will increase from 1,990 sq metres in the building to be demolished to 2,960 sq metres in the new building.

It will contain two shop floors and a central display area on the ground floor and a shop floor, a central display area and a restaurant, replacing the existing Sol e Mio coffee shop, on the first floor.

As part of the planning permission the space can only be used for purposes “ancillary” to the garden centre with no independent retail or residential use.  10 extra car park spaces will become available, including two disabled bays.

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/sunshine_garden_centre_granted_permission_for_two_storey_retail_extension_and_restaurant_1_2904304

To achieve operational efficiency in your kitchen, it’s essential that you choose the right equipment for your menu and customer numbers. This doesn’t need to be expensive and if bought wisely, has the power to significantly increase your margins. The best approach is to work out your budget, decide what you need and what you have room for.

• When choosing your equipment, consider longevity and reliability to avoid costly breakdowns. Sustainable solutions, although initially may appear expensive, could reduce operational costs in the long run.

• Don’t be pressured into buying state of the art appliances that aren’t right for your needs. Seek advice from independent sources such as CEDA (Catering Equipment Distributors Association). Attending trade shows such as Hotelympia, Glee and Casual Dining will provide you with an opportunity to see a wide range of equipment in operation.

• Think about your staffing and skill levels - choosing the right equipment to suit will ensure successful delivery of your menu and a fantastic customer experience. Whatever the case, training is essential and failing to provide it could have a negative impact on your front of house operation.

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

Christmas comes but once a year, so you need to make the most of Christmas sales opportunities.  GTN Bestsellers is the answer. Every week from now until Christmas we compile and publish the Top 50 Bestsellers Christmas chart from garden centre Epos data, giving the best and most up to date garden centre trading information on the market.

If you’d have been a subscriber last year you’ll have known that History and Heraldry Moneyboxes were the No.1 best selling product for the christmas season and which products from Premier Decorations and Kaemingk graced the Top 50 volume sales charts week by week.

Plus, you’ll have benefitted from the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart and our Tip of the week – a gem of a sales idea every week derived from 5 years of GTN Bestsellers charts.

Christmas is cioming fast, so you need to act now.  Buy a subscription to GTN Bestsellers right now. For just £145.00, you get a printed GTN Bestsellers chart posted to you each week, full access to the GTN Bestsellers charts and the GTN Archive on-line and your own copy of Garden Trade News in the post each issue.

And there’s more!! 

If you take out a GTN Bestsellers subscription before the end of October, we’ll send you, as a bonus, all of the GTN Bestsellers Christmas Charts for 2012 so you'll have the best view of how trends have changed and be most prepared when it comes to buying for Christmas 2014.

So, what are you waiting for?  To get your subscription to GTN Bestsellers up and running, simply subscribe online here

or contact us by phone on 01733 775700 or by e-mail: karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

GTN Bestsellers – Garden Centre Bestsellers, Guaranteed!

Westland, the pioneering UK manufacturer of food and accessories for the bird food market, remains the only bird food producer to achieve accreditation from The British Retail Consortium.

Earlier this month, Westland’s Driffield facility was told that it had retained its ‘A’ grade status from the BRC for the fourth year, making its products a safe bet for both retailers and consumers.

The continued success follows a two day annual audit of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Driffield, which produces the leading brands Nature’s Feast, Peckish and Bucktons. The facility surpassed expectations across a stringent set of criteria, covering everything from processes, hygiene and safety, to the full traceability of ingredients.

The BRC award is testament to Westland’s commitment to excellence, quality produce and highly trained staff. In addition to the status, Westland can also provide significant support to suppliers through investments in media and marketing. This includes in-depth customer insight which has led to more effective product positioning across all bird food brands and a £1 million TV and communication plan for Peckish.

James Farnsworth, General Manager at Westland said: “We are delighted to remain the only bird food manufacturer to achieve the BRC accreditation. The BRC is much more than just an accreditation for us. It’s about creating a culture in which everyone in the company recognises the importance of product safety and the quality of our products.

“The status, which we have achieved at Grade ‘A’ for the fourth year running, acts as an assurance to our customers that all our products, have been produced safely by experienced and professional staff, to the highest standards, using the best ingredients.

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director at Westland said “In addition, we remain the only manufacturer to actively drive awareness of the bird food sector in national advertising across the UK. We have invested in TV, print and magazine advertising to ensure that more people than ever realise the importance of feeding birds and flock to our retailers to buy our products. Last year alone, we invested £1m in TV and communications, achieving a sales growth of 148%, compared to the previous year.”

The BRC is a leading trade association providing certificates for manufacturers who can prove they implement best practice across their manufacturing processes. The BRC Global Standards are a leading global safety and quality certification programme, used throughout the world by over 17,000 certified suppliers in 90 countries

For further information about the products included in the Nature’s Feast, Peckish and Bucktons ranges, visit www.peckishbirdfood.com, www.bucktons.co.uk or  www.naturesfeast.co.uk

• Two nights bed and breakfast at the luxury Majestic, Harrogate's leading hotel.
• Dinner for two on Saturday evening (up to the value of £80).
• Two places at the prestigious Greatest Christmas Awards on Sunday evening
• A bottle of champagne
• An exhibition show guide

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 Christmas 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.

New HTA President Stan Green opened the HTA Futures conference by passionately reminding us all that plants are our at our core and that we should make more of them.

"There is a remarkable truth in horticulture.  People genuinely love plants.  We all have a connection with them.  We have been around plants for hundreds of thousands of years.  This remarkable truth is a beautiful one.  Plants are inherently aesthetically pleasing.  To lose sight of the emotive element of what we do is to lose sight of our core and our usp. 

"The beautiful truth is that we trade in an amazing product that brings joy and comfort to so many people.  The beautiful truth is our product promotes sustainable healthy living.  When the penny finally drops I’m sure that we will all recognise the asset the beautiful truth we are all privileged to work with daily.

"Gardening hasn’t lost it’s mojo, the British people have not fallen out of love with gardening, gardening and the trade that supports it has always been unpredictable.  

Stan went on to quote Dr Alan Knight: “If gardening didn’t exist, sustainability would invent it.  Nothing else connects people with nature, provides passive exercise, reduces stress, helps wildlife, and is just good fun.” 

The HTA President then asked: "How about that as a strap line for our industry? How about that for the beautiful truth?

"I think promoting should be easy for us, what we do is all about people and plants, what we do is bring people and plants together.  Let’s lift our own horizons, let’s see what’s happening in the rest of the world.  To ignore what’s going on there we do at our peril.

"The time to promote is now.  We have a message.  Offer your time to anyone who will listen, local radio, schools."



Read more coverage from the HTA conference in the GTN Xtra Conference Special and look out for more coverage in future issues of GTN Xtra and the November issue of GTN.

There is evidence in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products chart that gardeners are starting to think about the winter ahead – maybe it was the recent wind and rain that prompted sales of weather-related items.

The Gardman Tap Cover was the highest climber, moving up 14 places to No 6, while their Frostgard 8m x 1.5m roll maintained a healthy position at No 4.

The Bubble Insulation Small, 30m x 0.75m, with clips is a re-entry into the Top 50 bestsellers.

At the very top of the chart Gardman Solar Spot Lights have grabbed No 1 position from Solus Yeoman Professional Bypass Secateurs, which slip to No 3.

Yeoman, however, have won this week’s highest re-entry accolade with their Soft Grip Secateurs while the highest new entry goes to Town & Country Master Gardener Pink Gloves (Small).

Orchid products have also been selling well with 10 lines in the Top 50. Growth Technology had a particularly good week.

See the full GTN Garden Products Bestsellers Chart here. Subscribers Only

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.

How to attract a younger audience into gardening was one of the main themes to come out of the HTA Garden Futures Conference.

Social media was one of the key topics that were covered in the presentations which all came to the same significant conclusion; the industry’s marketing communications models need to adapt quickly and get their messages through these channels to reach new customers and stay competitive.

With this in mind, HTA led by example and implemented the Twitter hashtag #gardenfutures with an overwhelming response.

At time of writing, 223 tweets were generated by 61 different contributors over the two day event.   The result was reaching a staggering 92,036 different Twitter accounts over a 48 hour period.

Tweets from the conference included:

Which Home ‏@WhichHome

'British people have not fallen out of love with gardening' despite economy and wet summers, says Stan Green. Do you agree? #gardenfutures

SocialRetail @socialretail

great case study presentation from Mark Palmer from @pret #gardenfutures

Tony Stacey ‏@BrackleyBoy

I'm receiving a lot of positive emails from people listening to @daviddomoney talk about the Cultivation Street campaign at #gardenfutures

Andy McIndoe ‏@AndyMcIndoe

@Botanygeek @HTAnews my day suddenly became so worthwhile #gardenfutures

Michael Thomson @MrMrsGardens

Grow your own has 374,000,000 hits online says @Botanygeek #gardenfutures. More than X Factor, Great British Bake Off combined

Abi and Tom's Plants ‏@ABIANDTOMS

We need to radicalise our thinking: move away from 'how to' & focus on WHY everybody should be gardening says James Wong #gardenfutures

Clare Rayner @clarerayner

4 step upward customer cycle by @clarerayner Attraction, Conversion, Retention, Referrals #gardenfutures

James Wong @botanygeek

Thanks to all the plant geeks at the @HTAEvents  #gardenfutures conference today for such kind feedback on my talk. #21stChort #time4change

There are seven new entries and 10 re-entries in the GTN Bestsellers Christmas Products charts this week as garden centre customers get into the festive spirit.

Sales volumes are gathering momentum as our data shows they’re 17% higher than the previous week, although they were down on the same time last year.

History & Heraldry have had a good sales week with their popular Christmas Money Box replacing Christmas Carousel Charms at the top.

Their Christmas Tea Light Carousel and Charm Set is the highest new entry, jumping straight to No 5, followed by Snowy Night Christmas and Waiting for Santa Stockings.

Premier Decorations have two battery-operated newcomers in Dancing Flame Candle and Water Spinner Christmas Tree. Their Christmas Glasses (assorted designs) are the highest climber, moving up 30 places to No 19.

And to complete a good week for Premier, their Christmas Metal Hooks earn the highest re-entry accolade, coming into the chart at No 25.

Kaemingk have a new entry in their Glass Hurricane Lamp with Star.

See the full GTN Christmas Bestsellers Chart here. Subscribers Only

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.

Plans to build a £30 million shopping complex near Tewkesbury, creating up to 1,000 jobs, have been lodged with the borough council.

Robert Hitchins Ltd's outline planning application is for 52.8 acres of farmland at Ashchurch, near junction nine of the M5. The development site flanks both sides of the BP garage on the A46.

It would include an 8,000-sq-m garden centre and a 17,545-sq-m outlet centre offering discounted clothing, sport and leisure goods and household items, plus up to 2,000 parking spaces.

Hitchins said the clientele would be expected to come from a 60-minute drive time, principally from the Midlands. The company said the scheme would work in partnership with local businesses and tourism representatives to promote both the retail outlet and Tewkesbury town centre as a joint leisure destination.

Hitchins bosses aim to include a tourist information point at the outlet centre and provide a subsidised shuttle bus to encourage shoppers to visit the Abbey, riverside, alleyways and Tewkesbury High Street.

The Boddington-based building company revealed its scheme in February and in March more than 250 people attended a public exhibition at Ashchurch Village Hall.

Of those who completed a questionnaire, 70 per cent were in favour of the scheme, 18 per cent were undecided and 12 per cent against.

Those with reservations touched on two main topics – traffic on the A46 and potential flooding.

At the moment, about 25,000 vehicles use the A46 each day.

Hitchins predicts that its centre would create an extra 3,200 vehicle movements per weekday, 4,500 on Saturdays and 5,750 over bank holidays.

It says the western part of the A46 would need to be widened and made a dual carriageway.

Jane Tooley, Hitchins' executive surveyor of property and development, said: "We have produced a scheme which we consider will provide a major boost to the local economy and a fantastic opportunity for Ashchurch and Tewkesbury."

Sue Lambert, chairwoman of the Federation of Small Businesses in Tewkesbury, said the investment in the area and the creation of jobs was good news.

But she had concerns about whether the development might cause traffic and flooding problems and wondered whether the town centre would benefit.

Twenty-eight of the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media Top 50 showed increases in sales volumes from the previous week.

The biggest rise was achieved by Arthur Bowers John Innes No 2 (20 litres), which saw sales increase by 100%.

Other notable performances this week were:

• Arthur Bowers Coarse Grit (5kg) re-entered the chart after recording 50% increase in sales.
• Westland John Innes Young Plants No 1 (30 litres) also returned to the chart.
• Westland Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure (50 litres) rose to No 3.

See the full GTN Growing Media Bestsellers Chart here. Subscribers Only

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.

Fiskars have just launched an axe campaign to help retailers maximise sales in this sector.

Axes are one of the few garden tool product categories growing despite the challenging market conditions in the UK.

The 9% growth in 2012/2013 can actually be described exceptional.

While DIY merchants dominate, axes are an emergent area for garden centres looking to extend their product portfolios.

The Fiskars axes campaign has a heavy online presence to support in-store activities, attract consumer attention and promote sales.

The campaign includes online competitions, social media and blogging campaigns.

The campaign features on the www.fiskars.co.uk  home page and dedicated axe pages, which detail the unique selling points of the entire axe range.

There is also a competitions page with regular product giveaways running throughout the campaign.

Traffic will be driven to the website through a dedicated Twitter page @FiskarsAxes and videos uploaded to YouTube channel FiskarsAxes <http://www.youtube.com/user/fiskarsaxes?feature=watch> .