With festive sales delivering an ever more important contribution to garden centre balance sheets, Gardman have taken the wraps off their Christmas Event 2015, which looks destined to make tills jingle all the way next year.

Visitors to the Gardman stand at the company’s maiden appearance at Harrogate Christmas & Gift next month (stand A3) will find not only around 100 carefully-researched new products but a new-look offer strengthened by feedback from the market place.

While many of 2014’s top sellers – like the Solar Powered Snowflake Tree, Festive Solar Crackle Border Stakes and Pre-Lit 20-LED Holly Topiary Ball – are reintroduced for next season, new products demonstrating Gardman’s commitment to innovation are the guaranteed head-turners, especially those that will encourage consumers to trade up.

The key decorative lighting category has been significantly re-vamped to reflect the consumer’s insatiable appetite for novelty, like changing colour, light patterns and sound.

At the luxury end, the spectacular new Pre-lit Snowy White Christmas Wreath (pictured left), with its 35 warm white LEDs, and Pre-lit Rattan Berry Heart Wreath, are tipped as two of next year’s potential best-sellers, while the budget-priced Twinkling Light-up Musical Bauble – you clap to activate lights and music – can hardly fail to charm impulse buyers.

Battery-powered Flameless Candles make up a fast-growing category for Gardman and benefits from some excellent design-led additions for 2015.

Festive Pre-lit Printed Canvases at highly competitive price points should have little difficulty finding their way into shopping trolleys next Christmas.

Finally, Gardman’s range of Doormats – another category that has seen impressive year-on-year sales increases –  has been expanded with some appealing new festive designs in hard-wearing coir and the new Garden & Home Co-branded machine-washable cotton range (see Robin, in the picture gallery, below).

Gardman’s marketing director Sarah Downing says the combination of existing favourites at competitive prices and innovative design-led lines with excellent margins makes the new offer an enticing prospect for buyers. “We’ve listened hard and worked hard to supply what our customers have told us they want,” she said. “We understand the importance of Christmas to garden centres and we believe our 2015 Christmas Event with its near-100 new products is going to be winner.”

GTN Xtra has learned that barbecue company Swiss Grill have instructed London chartered accountants and insolvency practitioners Singla & Co to convene a creditors' meeting with a view to putting the company into voluntary liquidation. 

We understand that the creditors' meeting is due to take place at Singla's offices in London on December 30.

The news comes as a shock to the outdoor leisure industry after Swiss Grill had recruited former Weber boss John Cooper as their Managing Director earlier this year.

The company had a major presence at SOLEX at the NEC in July with John Cooper saying at the time: "I took this new role at Swiss Grill because I think the company has got great potential. It's a great brand as the name alone conjures up quality, professionalism and outdoor living. There is so much opportunity."

GTN Xtra tried to contact Swiss Grill and the Singla & Co but no one was available for comment.

Kirsty Clark is a key member of Perrywood’s team that won the accolade of The Greatest BBQ Sales Team 2014 this summer, and now she is a Rising Stars finalist preparing her presentation for the GCA Conference in January 2015 where the winner of the scheme sponsored by Westland will be decided.

Kirsty joined Perrywood four years ago after completing a degree in Equine Studies and Business at Writtle College. “I applied for a giftware position but I didn’t get taken on in that role, instead I was offered the role of Retail Sales Assistant in the Garden Shop and Market Street.   I’ve not had a horticultural background but I have enjoyed gardening with my grandparents and mum from a young child,” she explained when GTN Xtra met her earlier this month.

Now, Kirsty is Senior Retail Assistant, the number two to her supervisor and looks after 16 staff when she is not in.  The Market Street area at Perrywood is her main responsibility.  “Furniture, solar lighting, wall art, BBQ’s, things like that throughout the summer months and then as it goes into Christmas that turns into Christmas.   Then when we have bulbs in I’m in charge of them too, both spring and summer flowering bulbs.  There’s no quiet time, were very busy throughout the year.”

“We work well as a team and get on with it.  Some of my colleagues have been asking why I’ve done things in a certain way: Why would you only have one thing there rather than use the space and put more items there?  I have suggested that we all do some merchandising training so everyone can understand why we’ve done the Masterclasses for Rising Stars.”

“When we go to the Masterclasses and get all the information and advice from Ian Boardman he has just opened my mind up to a lot of different ways of doing things and what not to do. He’s a really good teacher and puts it across in a way that you can understand and he doesn’t make anything too complicated, yet he makes it complicated enough so it’s not dumbing things down.  When you’re at the Masterclasses you don’t feel like you want to shut off like you do at some training things – you’re actually concentrating and interested throughout the whole day.”

“My confidence has improved the most really to be honest.  I’ve not really been the most outgoing person but since I’ve been doing the course I’ve put forward more of my own ideas when they’ve been asking people for ideas with regards to demonstrations and displays.”

Just as with the other finalists, we have to wait until GCA Conference to learn all about their Rising Stars projects, however Kirsty tells us that she was shocked at the results:  “There’s been some pretty good results from my areas, some of them were pretty big improvements.  It’s brilliant actually, beforehand I didn’t’ have a clue what I was doing when it came to merchandising.  Danielle, our main merchandiser used to help me out with all the merchandising but now I can get on and do my own thing and it’s actually alright.”

Simon Bourne, who nominated Kirsty for the scheme backs that up:  “Kirsty has shown that she knows the products that she sells inside out but we really wanted to find out what Kirsty could do and how far she could push herself so we nominated her to learn about retailing to learn about garden centres and to really benefit her with the products she sells. Being able to go out of the business, take time out and look at how things can be done have been really beneficial. It’s given a little separation away from work to really think about things.  This year we’ve been exceptionally busy and the projects that Kirsty has been involved with have really worked.”

Perrywood had four staff members take part in Rising Stars 2014.  “All have benefitted, even the two who didn’t get through to the final.  It’s increased their confidence and they have come along in leaps and bounds.  The workshops that Ian Boardman ran were really fun and interesting.  What the team came home with was that what they were doing was pretty good!”

The last word should go to Kirsty.  “If you get a chance to take part in Rising Stars just go for it!  At the end of the day, yes you have to come away from work to travel to the Masterclasses but it’s not that hard.  What’s good about going to these different centres was we can see how they do it, look at their ideas and see how it works and I found that really helpful.  Now even if I’m out shopping somewhere I pop into garden centres and see how they do things.  I definitely recommend Rising Stars.

The five finalists of the Garden Centre Association Rising Stars Programme, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, are: Kirsty Clark (Perrywood GC), Matthew Fay (Stewarts Garden-Lands, Christchurch), Lisa Waim (Haskins Snowhill), Hannah Mason (Chessington) and Cerys Williams (Perrywood) have all made it through to the final challenge, where they will present at the GCA Conference in Chester on 26 January. The overall winner will be chosen by conference delegates.

The results are the culmination of an eight month programme in which candidates attended three merchandising Masterclasses run by IBBIS director and training facilitator Ian Boardman. Thanks to Ian’s efforts, many of the Rising Stars went on to increase sales in their departments by keeping hotspots fresh, creating clear signage and organising themed displays throughout the year.

Ian Boardman said: “All the Rising Stars who took part in the programme were top notch and I’d like to thank every single one of them for their efforts and praise them for the progress they have made. The results of their achievements in their workplace prove they are all stars in their own right!”

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director for Westland Horticulture said: “On behalf of Westland I’d like to congratulate the Rising Stars finalists for getting this far. We now face a very exciting GCA conference final where delegates will get the chance to vote for the winner – Rising Star of the Year 2014.”

GCA chief executive Iain Wylie said: “The five finalists have some really exciting presentations prepared for delegates. It is always the highlight of the GCA conference and this year will definitely not disappoint.”

Twenty-eight of the most aspiring young representatives of the horticultural industry kicked off the Rising Stars Programme earlier this year.

The original list of 28 was whittled down to 10 in September before the final five were chosen.

Traditional fertiliser now part of Jack's Magic-al range!

Building on the popularity of its compost, Jack's Magic is introducing a nutrient-rich garden fertiliser to its range for 2015.

Appealing to those with a passion for gardening, Jack's Magic Garden Fertiliser is the perfect all-rounder, a specially blended granular feed delivering outstanding growing results on flowers, shrubs and vegetables.

This premium gardeners' essential is made with a rich organic base and contains added nutrients and trace elements which all plants need to thrive. Enriched with seaweed, a natural growth stimulant and specially formulated into a low dust granular mix, it's a great trade up from straights. NPK 6-8-12.

Find out more from your Westland sales representative or by logging onto the Westland trade website http://trade.gardenhealth.com/

It has been a funny old year reporting for GTN Bestsellers and analysing garden centre EpoS data every week. After a brilliant spring when sales volumes went through the roof, the summer was above average, but only just, and now we see sales volumes dipping off during Christmas.

In the background of our analysis we can see a reduction in the number of different products sold, a trend that has increased during the Christmas period.

Could it be that range rationalisation at Christmas simply leads to fewer sales or has footfall dropped off?

More than ever it has been a mixed bag of performances from the centres which provide us data every week.

In previous years they have all followed the same pattern, but this year we have a range of cumulative sales volume changes for 2014, ranging from plus 10% right through to minus 12%.

The weather played its part as ever and in general provided an excellent year for core gardening, and the trend towards instant decoration of the outside room has certainly gathered pace with outdoor lighting sales booming.

On a sour note for the year, Wild Bird Care sales have stagnated since the summer, a victim of the weather possibly. So now it’s time to wish you all well for next year. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for another early spring (surely we are due two in a row) and a sizzling summer, and a couple of weeks of snow and cold weather around the end of January and early February. Now that’s not too much to wish for, is it?

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

• Garden Products – down 42%
• Xmas Products – down 17%
• Growing Media – down 16%
• All items index – down 16%

Have we forgotten about Christmas houseplant linked sales opportunities? The sales volumes of three key past Top 10 bestsellers – Poinsettia drip feeders, red and glossy cream cover pots – are 80% down on the same week last year, which together with a drop in sales of floral foam bricks almost entirely accounts for the total year-on-year change.

• Burgon and Ball’s Kneelo is a Christmas gift hit, new into the Top 50 at No 24.
• Oasis Floral Foam Bricks are the highest re-entry at No 11, albeit on lower total volumes.
• Gardman Ice Orb Solar lights continue at No 1.

Bents (pictured above) and Castle Gardens have been revealed as the national winners of this year’s Garden Centre Association’s annual Christmas competition.

The garden centres were judged to have the best Christmas displays in the UK by the organisationand will be presented with their awards at its annual conference next month.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive,said: “We announced the regional winners of our Christmas display competition to members at the end of November. Following this, the area winners were all judged for a second time and these two national winners were selected this week.

“We’d like to congratulate Bents in Cheshire who were the stars on the tree in the Destination Garden Centre category, and Castle Gardens in Dorset who scooped the prize in the Garden Centre category.”



Above: The Christmas team from Castle Gardens.

The garden centres were judged on the innovation, inspiration and excitement created from the way their Christmas products are displayed. The range of products available, accessibility, how easy it is for customers to find and select products and ‘wow factor’ were also taken into consideration in an assessment of the overall commercial proposition.

Iain added: “The displays at both garden centres were of a very high standard and we’ve been very impressed once again by the imaginative offerings these two winners have created.

“Bents has successfully showed what could be achieved in a larger space, while Castle Gardens’ effectively demonstrated how a smaller space can still create a big impression. It’s the second year running that Bents has achieved this award and Castle Gardens has won the accolade five times now in seven years. These two garden centres are leading the way with their Christmas displays, despite some serious competition biting at their heels.”

The runners up in the Destination Garden Centre category were Van Hage Great Amwell in Hertfordshire and Webbs in Worcestershire. In the Garden Centre category, the runners up were Squires Shepperton in Middlesex and Fron Goch in North Wales.

Pictures of Christmas at Bents and Castle Gardens below...

The outdoor furniture and barbecue market grew by an impressive 18% in 2014, with LOFA members enjoying the lion’s share of the increase.

LOFA’s annual, independent, analysis of the market plus a review of its members' business over the past two years has thrown up some spectacular results: LOFA members increased their business by an aggregate 36% in 2014, out-performing the market.

The new data also confirms that shoppers still prefer to see and touch garden furniture and barbecues before purchase, although the internet continues to play a greater role in research. Three in 10 people buy on-line but, significantly, on-line business accounts for 40% of the value.

The secret formula for winning in the Outdoor sector is: Quality, Inspiration and Value.

Paul Bevington, LOFA’s Chairman, commented: “This updated report shows that LOFA members are at the forefront of moving the industry forward. Corroborated by internal data we now have information that will be invaluable to the whole industry. It is clear that the values and standards of LOFA membership are fundamental to the success of the industry.”

Dates and venues have been announced for the ‘Love the Plot You’ve Got’ Masterclasses planned for spring.

The one day masterclasses, designed to help garden centre teams help their customers ‘love their plot’, will be run by Ian Boardman of IBBIS (UK) Ltd. The high-profile consumer promotion has received widespread support across the industry.

Aimed at garden centre teams from the plantarea, garden care and outdoor living departments, the sessions will cover different aspects of the campaign. They will include the findings of the consumer research into what 30-45 year olds want from their outdoor spaces plus information about how the campaign is being publicised, how retailers can link in with the activity and ideas on maximising sales opportunities.

The masterclasses, which will run from 9.30 am - 4.30 pm with tea/coffee and biscuits provided, cost £75 per person (plus VAT). To find out more and to book your place contact Ian Boardman – i.boardman@ibbis.co.uk

Wed 4 Feb – RHS Wisley

Thurs 5 Feb – Europlants tbc

Tues 17 Feb – Woodlodge

Thurs 19 Feb - Westland, Peterborough

Fri 20 Feb – Sinclair

Thurs 12 Mar – Glendoick Garden Centre

Fri 13 Mar – Creative Gardens, Donagadee

Tues 17 Mar – RHS Harlow Carr

Love the Plot You’ve is a new garden industry campaign to demystify and popularise gardening amongst consumers who currently see the pastime as hard work and primarily for older people. The campaign is targeting consumers aged 30-45 years who have access to a garden or outdoor space but don’t currently make great use of it.

A consumer website will go live in early 2015 and a series of regional roadshows across the country will provide examples of themed gardens and projects.

Information: click here or contact Garden Industry Marketing Board project manager David Arnold (07876 643638, email: daaltd@virginmedia.com),

Sinclair have announced a £1m spring TV campaign to support the re-branding and expansion of their Growing Success range for 2015.

Seven new entry level growing media, plant food and play products are scheduled, along with a new ‘lifestyle’ brand identity designed to appeal to new gardeners.

The extended range comprises a multi-purpose Universal Enriched Compost in 20L and 50L bags (SRP: £3.99 and £4.99), a 50L No Dig Soil Improver (£4.99), 1L concentrated and 4L ready-to-use Universal Plant Food (£3.99 and £5.99), 20kg Play Sand (£4.99), a 2-plant Growbag (£4.99) and the unique GrowQube® single tomato planter (£4.99).

Targeting families with little or no gardening experience, the new Growing Success products are claimed to be easy to understand, easy to use and virtually foolproof.

The growing media is a new blend of 50% Scottish peat, 10% organic compost and 40% enriched SuperFyba peat substitute made from composted oversize wood.

The new No Dig Soil Improver contains 100% organic compost made from recycled garden plants. Each bag is sufficient to treat one square metre.

The new new brand identity follows research by Haines McGregor to find images and messages that appeal most to the 30% of garden centre spenders who populate the HTA segments of 'Alfresco Aspirations', 'Backyard Barbecuers' and 'Convenience Gardeners'.

Right: The new, easy to use 50L Growing Success No Dig Soil Improver Left: The new Growing Success packs are lighter and livelier, with a yellow airbrushed background evoking sunshine.

Superimposed is a large flower motif with six petals, each containing a different photograph showing happy family lifestyle moments – the first time that a compost bag has depicted images of adults and children.

The Growing Success logo is now tomato-coloured and the pack is adorned with a buzzing bee and other fun graphic icons above the new strapline, “bringing life to your garden” – all intended to engage emotionally with young families looking for easy ways to enhance a happy home.

Included for the first time on each growing media pack is a pie chart showing the main ingredients to help inform the purchasing decision. There are also simple step-by-step instructions in comic strip style together with graphics showing how the product works and how far it will go.

The TV campaign will air from early March through to the May Bank Holiday, with supporting tactical digital and social media campaigns, national press advertising, PR and in-store POS and merchandising solutions for the new GrowQube® and its companion product, Universal Plant Food.

Sinclair marketing director Simon McArdle described Growing Success as a fail-safe brand for newbie gardeners who are looking for help, clarity, convenience and assured results. “Our investment in re-branding, TV advertising and new product development reinforces our commitment to this key target group and ensures that they are properly addressed at the point of sale,” he said.

“By making gardening easier and more accessible for new or reluctant gardeners, Growing Success complements our J. Arthur Bower’s range for experts and will be the go-to brand for a massive audience with high disposable incomes.”

Information= 01522 780300 or www.william-sinclair.co.uk/gardening/trade 

Presentation of the Taylors Bulbs Bulbland trophy, commemorative shield and certificate to Jonah Tinsdale and Zoe Hetherington-Redhall of Sunshine Garden Centre by Ian Clark, Account Manager, Taylors Bulbs and Adam Taylor, Director, Taylors Bulbs.



Sunshine Garden Centre have been announced as the winner of the Taylors Bulbs Bulbland Competition 2014.  The independent garden retailer based in North London fought off strong competition from across the country to walk away with the £200 prize and trophy.

Taylors have been running a competition amongst their customers for innovative and creative displays of Autumn bulbs for over 25 years and are launching a new competition for Summer Flowering Bulbs and Grow-Your-Own products starting in Spring 2015 to run alongside.

According to Adam Taylor of Taylors Bulbs, Sunshine Garden Centre in North London put together a very well organised and kept Bulbland display containing many extra features that added extra sales in Autumn 2014.  As well as collecting varieties together for a 6 months of colour display and new signage to help the shopping of the display, the garden centre engaged with their customers with a features to tweet or Facebook pictures of themselves with their faces in the “peep board”/“head in hole” display and a “Graham v Riyaana Bulb of the Week showdown”. 



This “competition” saw the two staff members each selecting a choice for Bulb of the Week and asking their customers to buy whichever they felt was their favourite.  Staff wore badges displaying which “team” they were supporting, encouraging plenty of attention to be drawn to the bulb display wherever a customer was in the centre.  All this activity led to an uplift in sales and some impressive data from the campaign.

Other winners in the Taylors Bulbs Bulbland competition were –

• Highly Commended – Burford Garden Company, Oxon

Regional Awards were given to –

• Scotland – Klondyke Garden Centre Mortonhall, Edinburgh
• Wales – Raglan Garden Centre, Monmouthshire
• North England – Ribblesdale Nurseries, Lancs
• South England – The Q Garden Company, Hants
• East England – Baytree Nurseries & Garden Centre, Lincs
• West England – Dundry Nurseries, Glos

Adam Taylor added “The levels of housekeeping in all entries was very high this year and many centres had added their own point-of-sale to help theme their displays. Those displays that really stood out were those that had incorporated sometimes small yet engaging features within the display area to attract and inform customers.”

More pictures of the winning display and other entries will be featured in the Taylors Autumn 2015 catalogue due out in February.

The quest for The Greatest Christmas teams is nearly at the finishing line.  The expert team of judges have already visited over 130 garden centres to meet teams nominated in this years The Greatest Christmas Awards.  

You’ll find out who are The Greatest at Christmas this year by joining us at the first awards event of 2015, The Greatest Christmas Awards Christmas Party, sponsored by Premier Decorations, on the night of Sunday January 11^th at The Majestic Hotel, Harrogate.

Our annual awards presentation and Christmas party is an event not to be missed whether you are visiting the Harrogate Christmas and Gift show or just want to have another great Christmas Party with some great garden centre people.

Tickets are now on sale for the party, which includes reception drinks, a 3 course meal with wine, the awards presentation and dancing the night away to a live party band.

Early Bird Ticket prices for The Greatest Christmas Awards Party, sponsored by Premier Decorations.

Please call The Greatest Christmas Awards team on 01733 775700 or e-mail harry.sinclair@tgcmc.co.uk to book your Early Bird tickets today – or buy on-line using these links:

Prices below include VAT

Tickets

1 Ticket £100.80 GBP2 Tickets £201.60 GBP3 Tickets £288.00 GBP4 Tickets £384.00 GBP5 Tickets £456.00 GBP6 Tickets £547.20 GBP7 Tickets £638.40 GBP8 Tickets £729.60 GBP9 Tickets £820.80 GBPTable of 10 £864.00 GBP

The sponsors for The Greatest Christmas Awards are:  

Following applications from students representing 18 colleges across the UK, six students have been awarded Student Scholarships by the David Colegrave Foundation (DCF).

Because the standard of entries was particularly high this year, the charity elected to award six scholarships of £1,000 instead of an intended five.

The six are Hannah Schlotter, Capel Manor College; Adam Ferguson, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise; Charlotte Bancroft, Merrist Wood College; James Hayley, Writtle College; and Lydia Mackay and Suzie Irlam, Pershore College.

Hannah Schlotter, who is studying for a Level 3 Sub-Diploma in Horticulture, said she was thrilled with the award. “My aims are to start a video blog about growing, so this scholarship will enable me to get cracking, and start sharing with others what I am learning in horticulture. Receiving this scholarship has been hugely encouraging."

James Hayley, studying for a BSc in Horticulture, said: “Thanks to the foundation I shall be able to focus 100% on my studies over these next few very important months.”

Sandra Nicholson, senior lecturer at Writtle College, said it was great news for James and added: “We are very grateful for the support that the David Colegrave Foundation offers our students.”

DCF chairman Jeff Colegrave said the ibnterests of this year’s students range from growing, retailing and landscaping to pathology and technology. “There were a number of stand-out applications which is why we chose to award an additional scholarship. As always we now look forward to following each student on their journey.”

The DCF Scholarship Season is still open. Applications for Sponsored Scholarships from Wyevale Garden Centres, South West Growers Show, Floranova, Ball Colegrave and BPOA are due by 31 January 2015.

For more details visit www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk

Bermuda are to exhibit at AQUA 2015 at Telford in October as part Scotts commitment to driving growth for the water gardening brand, acquired in the Solus deal earlier this year. 

The brand will benefit from Scotts’ innovation, advertising and marketing expertise, which they believe will benefit the whole UK water gardening market.

“Our number one priority is to ensure customer satisfaction, especially in the key areas of product supply, delivery and distribution, and customer support,” said a statement.

New products are promised for AQUA, including water features and ponds, plus promotional offers.

Sales contacts are: Bob Meacham (left in our picture), senior sales manager (01905 798666, 07799 710952, bob.meacham@scotts.com); Adam James (right), sales manager (07799 710964, adam.james@scotts.com) and Vanessa Culshaw, sales manager (07748 144032, vanessa.culshaw@scotts.com).

Grange stockists are benefiting from price reductions on the company’s newly-extended decorative products range, following recent ‘direct from the dockside’ logistical agreements.

Thirty new products have been added. As well as the new style Elite St Malo fence panel, there are new panel sizes on a number of existing designs. There are also new sizes of Alderley trellis as well two new trellis ranges – Lilleshall, offering a small gauge for privacy, and Halesfield, with very large gauge for maximum decorative impact. The six strong gate selection includes three new designs that match with Grange fence panels. The whole range features a number of distinctive finishes, including planed, rounded and grooved timber.

Retail customers can benefit from clear pricing options on all these products, based on a minimum order of £2000.  Full-load orders can also be fulfilled (contact a Grange representative or call the sales line on 01952 588088).

Sales and marketing director Tony Fasey explained, “Thanks to our logistical abilities, we now have an unrivalled offering across our whole range of fencing, decorative garden structures, gates and fixings including Metpost, as well as all these new products.  This complements an equally extensive choice for customers who prefer to source product through a more traditional design and specification route. We are now perfectly placed to meet the needs of all customers from specialist merchants to garden centres to multiples, including clear pricing options not previously seen in the market.”

The deals are available from the middle of February 2015, when customers can benefit from a lead time of no more than 10 days.

Left: the Grange bin store

National Tree Company have announced new launches for 2015, to complement recent innovations like Feel Real® PE branch tips, multi-function Dual Color ® LED light strings that allow for up to nine different light options and a tree top star of Bethlehem that will follow the functions of a Dual Color ® tree. 

New lines for the 2015 Christmas season include PowerConnect™ and Music Match ™ features that are compatible with National Tree pre-lit trees.  Trees that feature PowerConnect ™ will no longer require the multiple light string and extension cord connections between tree sections. Electrical connections are made through the tree center poles, reducing reduce set-up time and add to the ease of assembly.  Music Match ™ can be connected to any National Tree low voltage LED tree and allows music to be streamed from a Bluetooth capable device causing the lights on the tree to “dance” in sync with the music users choose. Light intensity raises and lowers according to the volume of sound.

The new options will be shown for the first time at Harrogate Christmas & Gift in January.

Information: sales@nationaltree.com or christmas@norfolkleisure.co.uk.

Property agents Quinton Edwards are celebrating 25 years in business.

Simon Quinton Smith joined the chartered surveying profession in 1979 and worked in London as a commercial property agent, covering property valuations and the acquisitions, disposal and lettings of offices and industrial units.

In 1986 he moved out of London to join Chancellors at Reading, working with senior partner Tony Edwards who was one of only two specialist garden centre and horticultural valuers in the UK

Immediately interested in this niche market and enjoyed dealing with businesses and property rather than just property, Simon asked Tony to teach him how to value them to enable him to acquire and dispose of them for clients. When Chancellors sold out to Hogg Robinson, Simon moved to Camberley to work for Carson & Company and much of the garden centre work followed him.

Like many other chartered surveying companies in the late 1980s, Carson & Company were also sold to a major corporate, prompting Simon to start his own business.

At the end of 1989, he set up Quintons Commercial and continued to work within the garden centre and horticultural sectors as well as undertaking general commercial property work in the Newbury area. Twenty five years on, the Newbury based commercial property practice is a leading firm of chartered surveyors that incorporates Quinton Edwards and Quintons Commercial. Quinton Edwards offers property and business advice to the garden centres and horticultural businesses throughout the UK and parts of Europe. Quintons Commercial deal with commercial property within Newbury and West Berkshire and is run by Simon’s co-director Shane Prater.

Over the last quarter of a century Quinton Edwards has seen many independent garden centres sold to the groups but Simon has also seen several small independents develop to become groups.  During his first year in business he was contacted an entrepreneur who ran a garden centre in Scotland and was looking to expand. Simon drove to Kirkintillock to meet with Bob Gault, who went on to acquire a further 24 garden centres under the Klondyke and Strikes. From their very first meeting in the early 1990’s until his premature passing in 2011, Simon and Bob would have weekly conversations about business and industry news.

Quinton Edwards deals with businesses from the smallest nurseries and plant centres to the largest destination garden centres, his largest agency deal being £28 million. He enjoys the wide variety and the diversity of clients. One of Simon’s proudest moments was when he visited an elderly client who had guaranteed hers son’s loans on his garden centre, which was in danger of closing and she was in danger of losing her house. Simon worked closely with them and their bank to find a solution that enabled his client to keep her house.

Simon said: “It has been a pleasure to work with so many business owners over the past 25 years and without them we would not have a business. Being a small independent practice gives us flexibility to provide a personal and friendly but professional service”. 

Quintons Commercial employ eight members of staff. Celebrating with Simon is Mandy Princ,e who joined him 25 years ago and, apart for a brief break for maternity leave, is still a key member of the commercial team.

Simon is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Registered Valuer. Over the last year he has carried out 98 valuations of garden centres, nurseries and other horticultural businesses, together totalling £268 million.

Simon offers free nursery and landscaping property advice to HTA members through the HTA advice lines. He has also been involved in the industry charity Greenfingers, recently being appointed chair of the charity’s fundraising committee.

Above: Simon Quinton Smith and his co-director Shane Prater (left) at their 25th anniversary party

At Wyevale Garden Centres we are looking to grow our specialist team of horticulturists, and now have some fantastic opportunities at four of our leading garden centres; Huntingdon & Bicester - two of our destination garden centres and Thatcham & Hungerford - two of our established horticultural centres. We are looking for experienced and highly motivated individuals to manage their indoor and outdoor plantareas.

The Horticultural Manager will be responsible for delivering excellence within their department; developing and leading their team; continually improving operational retail standards and delivering industry-leading standards of customer service, plant quality and display.

The successful candidate will have a broad knowledge of horticulture and garden retailing, possess good commercial acumen, be capable of analysing and interpreting business data, able to demonstrate effective leadership qualities and be capable of motivating and managing a team.

A competitive remuneration package is offered providing, in addition to the basic salary, a generous staff discount and contributory pension scheme.

For more information please contact Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480 530 or apply with your CV, quoting reference #6826 to info@morepeople.co.uk

I am currently seeking a sundries manager to join the team of a large independent garden centre.

Retail management experience is a must for this role as you will be leading a large team. 
Experience at supervisory level may be adequate but will be evaluated on a application by application basis.

I am looking for someone who is a driven retailer. The goal of this store is to be the best and their managers need to lead from the front and be hands on. 

Garden Sundries experience would be ideal but an interest in gardening and a knowledge of the products would be sufficient.

To discuss further, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 or apply with your CV, quoting reference #6951 to info@morepeople.co.uk

I am currently seeking a bright plant area retailer to join the team at a large award winning independent. 

I am seeking candidates with previous plant retail experience who can join a challenging environment. 

Horticultural qualifications are preferred but experience in a garden centre will also be of interest. 

Candidates must be excellent at customer service and will be keen to take on a role where excellence is expected.

To discuss further, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 or apply with your CV quoting reference #68807 to info@morepeople.co.uk

All GCA-member centres bought by the Wyevale group over the past 10 years have remained in the organisation, says chief executive Iain Wylie.

"We have no reason to believe they won't stay as members as long as they continue to pass the annual inspection and as long as they want to remain members," he adds.

"The GCA has been growing steadily over the past 10 years despite the consolidation that has taken place throughout this period. We anticipate welcoming another three or four new members in 2015, continuing the organic growth of the association. We welcome applications from centres who like what we do and who will enjoy the benefits of membership."

Commenting on Wyevale's expansion, Iain adds: "I have no idea how many more centres will be bought by Wyevale or how many of them will be GCA members.

"Wyevale seem to be strengthening their brand, not just through buying more centres to create a physical presence but also with a lot more PR. 

"I imagine that the new centres will soon be Wyevale branded and they will all eventually develop a similar culture and style. This will give any remaining independents opportunities to differentiate themselves by focusing on the elements of service and product range that a larger national organisation won't or can't do."

Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair is the UK’s only dedicated event for Christmas and celebration products. It is the show where garden centres from all around the UK visit to select products for retail and Christmas displays for the year ahead (with one eye on The Greatest Christmas Awards!) 

Taking place at the Harrogate International Centre, 11-14 January 2015 in the beautiful, historic spa town of Harrogate, it’s the first event for the industry in the whole of Europe and a perfect way to help give your business a leading edge in the New Year. Garden Trade News in conjunction with the organisers are offering you an opportunity to win a VIP visit to this fabulous event. 

The prize includes: 

• 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, organised by Garden Trade News and supported by Christmas & Gift Harrogate 
• A bottle of champagne 

There is also a runners-up prize of two tickets for GTN’s fabulous Greatest Christmas Awards Party, which is held at the Majestic on the first evening of the show. The prize includes a superb three-course meal and dancing to a great live band. 

As well as leading companies such as Premier Decorations, SnowTime, Festive Productions and Kaemingk displaying all their new lines, there will be a host of new companies all offering something new for the very first time. 

Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair is one of the UK’s fastest growing trade show with visitor numbers increasing every year. 

“The influx of garden centre buyers has created a new dynamic which in turn has attracted new exhibitors with product ranges for the entire year,” says show organiser Simon Anslow. 

Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair is the event to kickstart your new business year, combining business and pleasure. For the perfect way to kick-start the New Year, find out more by visiting www.harrogatefair.com  

How to enter 

To enter the free prize draw simply answer the following question: 

When did flashing Christmas lights get introduced, the 1930s or 1950s? 

Email your answer to: mandy.atkin@tgcmc.co.uk 

Entries close Friday, January 2, 2015. The winner will be announced in GTN Xtra on Sunday 4th January 2015.

Good luck!

Christmas is a time for caring and sharing and colleagues and customers at Bents Garden & Home have been doing both in abundance with children and the homeless both benefiting from some outstanding generosity.

Two colleague initiatives have brought smiles to the faces of children at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) and people living on the streets in Manchester city centre.

Over 220 gifts have been delivered to the hospital as part of Bents’ Charity of the Year initiative and a van full of coats, jumpers and blankets were taken and given out to the homeless in Piccadilly Gardens.

In November this year Children’s Boutique colleague, Nichola Kendrick, asked Bents colleagues and customers to help improve the stay of all those teenagers who will be spending the festive period in hospital by donating gifts to be given to them on Christmas day.

The gifts, which included board games, gift sets and 30 Bents Bears have now been delivered to the RMCH where they will be wrapped and allocated to the children. 

In addition, a collection for the homeless was initiated by Bents’ Fresh Approach Restaurant colleague, Caroline Emmison, having watched ITV’s Tonight programme which highlighted the work carried out by Coffee 4 Craig; a charity which works with the homeless in Manchester City Centre.

Following a request by Caroline a collection of coats, jumpers, jackets and warm clothes was quickly put together and transported to the city centre by a team of 10 colleagues using Bents’ vehicles and trolleys.  Arriving at 6.45pm a van full of clothing was all handed out by 9.30pm.

Said Matthew Bent, Managing Director at Bents Garden & Home:  “Our customers and colleagues are always hugely generous when it comes to our charity of the year or any fundraising initiative, but both Nichola and Caroline have both gone that extra mile, encouraging others to get involved and help improve Christmas for others.  We are extremely proud and would like to say a huge thank you to them and everyone who supported their campaigns.”

Garden Centre Association members have reported an overall 10 per cent increase in November sales compared to a year ago. Year-to-date sales were also up by a similar amount.

GCA Barometer of Trade figures showed Christmas sales up 23.53 per cent, gifts 7.15 per cent up, catering 9.71 per cent up and furniture and barbecues 5.54 per cent up. Houseplants and outdoor plant sales were also up, by 11.88 and 0.9 per cent respectively.

Whitehall Garden Centres, whose stores at Bristol and Lacock are both GCA members, said they were expecting more than 25,000 people to use their festive season skating rink at Lacock this year. They have enlarged the capacity to 125 skaters per session. They also expect their Santa’s grottos to attract 40,000 visitors across both sites.

Despite the volume of the GTN Bestsellers Christmas Top 50 being down by 17% on the same week last year the volume of the Top 5 Bestselling Christmas lines are up by 23% with the No 1 line this year, History and Heraldry’s Spinning Tree Decoration continuing to sell at record levels for a single Christmas product.

• Premier 200 Multi-action Supabrights are the highest chart climber, up 29 places to No 10.
• Kaemingk Durawise battery Operated lights are the highest new entry at No 28.
• SnowTime 240 LED Chaser lights are new into the chart at No 48.

A leading economist will be presenting to delegates at the Garden Centre Association’s conference next month (January 25-28, 2015). Roger Martin-Fagg will be speaking at the event on Tuesday, January 27 at the De Vere Carden Park in Chester.

Chief Executive of the GCA, Iain Wylie said: “Roger began his career as an Economist with the New Zealand Treasury in 1972, then as Economist to the Air Transport and Travel Industry Industrial Training Board. In 1975 he was asked to design and run a postgraduate programme in Airline Management for British Airways, which ran very successfully for 12 years at Thames Valley University.

“In 1987, he joined Henley Management College to design, deliver and teach bespoke strategic management programmes. This he did for 21 years, covering all sectors, but with an emphasis on financial services, house builders and newly privatised utilities.”

For the past five years, Roger has worked as an independent Behavioural Economist. He has a visiting faculty place at Warwick, Ashridge, Henley and Duke Business Schools and has also been External Examiner at The University of Bath, and a visiting faculty expert at the Bank of England and the Institute of Marketing.

Roger specialises in making economics accessible for non-economists and helping boards think through their strategies. He leads workshops, seminars and delivers keynote sessions. He has worked in the USA, Middle East, Russia and South East Asia.

His book ‘Making Sense of the Economy’ is in its fourth reprint, and he publishes a quarterly economic update, which is read by 1,200 Chief Executives.

Iain added: “Roger has a reputation for making the complex simple, producing accurate forecasts, and is one of a few economists with a keen sense of humour. We’re very much looking forward to his presentation at the conference. It promises to be both interesting and entertaining.”

In his spare time, Roger is a veteran oarsman at Marlow Rowing Club and plays keyboards in a rock band.

Kevin Gaskell, a businessman and entrepreneur who ran Porsche GB Limited in the early 1990s, will present to the conference on the Tuesday too.

Iain added: “It’s not too late to book for our conference, so if you are hoping to attend, please visit the members’ section of our website via www.gca.org.uk to book your place.

“With a new venue, a great line-up of speakers and plenty of opportunities to catch up with old friends from the industry, the conference is set to be a fantastic event."

  The conference kicks off on Sunday, January 25 with an afternoon of fundraising activities for the charity Greenfingers. Two teams will go head-to-head to battle it out for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup.

Scotts and Westland Horticulture are the event’s headline sponsors and David Thomas, who broke the world record for reciting the maths formula Pi (3.14..) to 22,500 digits will be attending. He will speak about techniques for improving memory at the conference on Monday, January 26.

 David is the bestselling author of ‘Essential Lifeskills: Improving Your Memory’. His clients range from Olympic athletes, government officials to national businesses.

Professor Greg Whyte OBE, who has helped celebrities complete various physical challenges, will be sharing his secrets on achieving the seemingly impossible at the conference too.

He has led 18 celebrity Comic Relief challenges, which have raised more than £33 million for the charity.

Professor Whyte, who is an advisor to the Benetton and Renault Formula 1 Teams and several Premiership football clubs, will also be speaking at the event on Monday, January 26.

Retailers are being encouraged to promote the use of decorative aggregates as a low-cost, low-maintenance means of adding value to property.

“Aggregates are easy to buy and easy to use. They come in manageable size packs and no experience is needed to get the best of them,” a spokesman stressed. “With the garden now seen as an extra room in a property, people are making the extra effort to enhance their outside space.”

Estate agents believe clever use of aggregates can generate returns in excess of their costs.*

Garden uses include setting and maintaining boundaries for flowerbeds and adding texture to garden ponds.

Kelkay MD Antony Harker says decorative aggregates are the quickest and easiest way to dramatically improve a garden’s appearance, regardless of size. “This category overall has increased in popularity and is selling better than ever,” he said. “Our new Mediterranean Collection has had a great response so far allowing consumers to create their ideal outdoor space. These products are appealing because they’re low maintenance. They make it possible for people to achieve a beautiful garden without becoming slave to it.”

Kelkay’s Mediterranean Collection comprises premium products sourced from across Europe; Spanish Corn, Italian Rose, Swiss Glacier and French Pearl.

Kelkay say garden centres who have promoted aggregates, paving and fountains with eye-catching point of sale, merchandising units and display stands have seen sales grow in these categories.

Information: kelkay.co.uk

* http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2338078/Splashing-garden-thousands-homes-value-claim-estate-agents.html#ixzz3Kldz3b45

Smart Garden Products have announced that Paul Bailey has recently joined the company as Marketing Manager from Trend Tools based in Watford.

Paul brings with him a wealth of relevant trade marketing experience drawn over the last 15 years.

He will be focussed on driving the company’s commercial marketing activities to support the extensive new product development program.

 Jonathan Stobart, Smart Garden Products’ managing director, said: “We are delighted that Paul has joined our growing team, adding relevant skills and experience that we need to achieve our ambitious expansion plans.”

Bark products continue to sell through in reasonable volumes as gardening activity reaches the low point of the year (as measured by volume sales of growing media lines in the GTN Bestsellers weekly chart).

Bark lines are up 9% against a total Top 50 volume drop of 30% week on week.

• Westland Composted Bark in 70 litre packs is the highest new entry this week at No 9.
• Westland Decorative Mini Bark re-enters at No 21.
• 100 litre bags of Arthur Bowers Landscape Bark are a re-entry at No 35.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose with John Innes (56 litres) takes over at the top.

Santa’s Grotto at Berwick Garden Centre, with its dancing polar bears, penguins and seals, was wrecked by thieves last weekend.

Animal ornaments and around £780 worth of stock were taken – a huge blow to to the centre at one of its busiest times of the year.

Manager Lynda Murray said: “At Berwick Garden Centre we pride ourselves in offering a memorable Christmas experience for all. Our staff work incredibly hard building our displays and a lot of effort is made to ensure our displays are enjoyable for both adults and children.

“Our Santa’s Grotto area this year has been magical, with dancing polar bears, penguins and seals. We have inflatable Santa’s and Snowmen along with a display of illuminated woodland animals.

“On Sunday morning, I was devastated to find this display had been ransacked overnight. There was a considerable amount of stock stolen and the dancing polar bears and other items were vandalised.”

Staff set about rebuilding as much of the display as possible.

Mrs Murray said: “I hope that the people responsible are sentenced. I don’t know how they sleep at night.”

Police said two men, aged 23 and 24, had been questioned in connection with the break-in and bailed pending further enquiries.

Tesco have declined to confirm speculation that they might pull the plug on the planned joint Tesco/Dobbies store at East Kilbride following the supermarket’s latest profits warning.

The company is believed to be abandoning up to 100 new supermarket building projects.

A spokesman said he was not aware of any plans to abort the East Kilbride development, according to a story in the Daily Record.

South Lanarkshire Council approved the development in June after hearing that the project would create about around 400 jobs.

East Kilbride West Councillor Graham Simpson said Tesco had told him they might have news in the New Year.

Broadcaster and ocean adventurer Monty Halls has ben added to the line-up of speakers at the HTA’s Contact 2015 ‘Growing Opportunities’ conference in the New Year.

The conference, whose delegates will be from the  the nursery stock industry and associated sectors, takes place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 January 2015 at JCB Global Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire. An advanced booking discount is available to those  who sign up by 7 January. The event also features a tour of the JCB factory.

Monty Halls, a former Royal Marine and an inspirational speaker on leadership, will offer a dynamic, thought-provoking and light hearted look at the extraordinary things people and teams will do when pressure is applied. His experience covers more than two decades of leading teams in some of Earth’s most remote environments, presenting wildlife and adventure documentaries, and working with blue-chip companies in the UK and overseas.

The conference dinner takes place on the evening of 14 January at the Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport, and will feature charity fundraising for Perennial.

Delegates can choose from four workshop sessions to attend on theThursday. Topics include “Making Horticulture Attractive” and “Understanding the value of Research”.

Information and booking: www.contactconference.co.uk

The Mr Fothergill's Group will be attending two trade shows early in 2015, both for the first time.

While the company has attended trade events from Europe to China and has products on sale in many countries round the world, their appearance at IPM Essen in Germany (27 to 30 January) is a first. The stand will be staffed by members of its export and UK retail sales teams, reflecting the show's importance to buyers both from abroad and the UK.

From 1 to 5 February, Mr Fothergill's will be making its début at Spring Fair at the NEC Birmingham, where it will showcase its recently launched gift and impulse lines. The selection includes GroBox and GroMats, plus other kits under the Garden Time sub-brand, and a partnership range with the RSPB. Also on display will be the Sarah Raven, Microgreens and Little Gardeners products from sister-brand Johnsons.

The company's commercial director Tim Jeffries said Spring Fair was an ideal platform to speak to traditional stockists and a wider audience that did not list mainstream seed ranges.

RedheadPR have joined GIMA (the Garden Industry Manufacturers’ Association) as associate members.

The company has worked with a number of brands in the industry, including Anthony Tesselaar International, raingardenkits.co.uk, John Woods Nurseries, Stewart Garden, Briers and Kelkay.

The agency’s founder and MD Sara Tye said: “We have worked with many clients within the gardening and horticulture industry for many years. Our expert knowledge of the sector allows us to provide a first class, all encompassing public relations and digital services.”

RedheadPR manages the reputations of start-ups, corporates, not for profits and individuals. The agency uses cutting-edge online PR and marketing techniques as well as traditional methods.

GIMA now has more than 100 members across all the key market sectors (excluding green goods). Between them they command turnover approaching £1.5 billion.

Information: redheadpr.co.uk

A home and garden centre is to be included in proposals for a £50m shopping and leisure development ona brownfield site at Rushden Lakes, Northamptonshire.

East Northamptonshire Council have backed plans to add a further five restaurants to the complex (making eight in all), an extra 154 parking spaces (now more than 1,450), a home and garden centre, a lakeside visitor centre and a boathouse. Marks & Spencer is expected to be the anchor store.

The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs.

The development had been approved by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles following a public inquiry, following concerns about its impact on nearby town centres. The minister had call in ther plans for further scrutiny.

The developer is LXB Retail Properties, which submitted its original application in 2011.

Seed company Johnsons reports its Designer Garden Collections - the brand new 'border in a box' concept - have been very well received by the garden trade, beating their sell-in targets with ease. 

Of the three collections, by mid December 2014 the Cottage Garden had reached 255%, the Wildlife-Attracting 199% and the Fragrant and Cut Flowers 193% of initial targets set by Johnsons, with the range being stocked by many major garden centres and other leading retailers.

Johnsons' Helen Clayton reports that more than 300 major garden centres have stocked the collections to date, a number still rising, with the packs proving most popular in south east England. 

"The really good news is the early sell-out has been encouraging. They are proving popular with consumers, and retailers are already placing top-up orders for more", she says.

Eye-catchingly presented in a beautiful box with designs by leading illustrator and printmaker Hannah McVicar, each of the three Designer Garden Collections includes 12 packets of carefully chosen annual and perennial flower seed varieties, plus an easy to follow seed sowing and planting plan to encourage the creation of beautiful borders. 

"I am so pleased my designs are attracting gardeners to this new idea," comments Hannah.

The three collections are each presented in a compact counter-top display unit containing eight boxes. Each Designer Garden Collection has a recommended retail price of £9.99, making it an inexpensive gift with a high perceived value or a bargain for the purchaser's own use.

To find out more about Johnsons and how it can increase retailers' turnover, visit www.johnsons-trade.com or telephone 01638 554111.

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 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.