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 Sad news has reached the GTN Xtra office of the death of Alistair Lorimer last week after a long battle with cancer.
Alistair was involved in the UK garden centre and plants industry for over 30 years, learning his core retail skills within the innovative Jardinerie group.
He gained a certificate in Strategic Management whilst at Malcolm Scott Consultants and worked closely with garden retail clients throughout the
UK, Ireland, USA, Middle East and northern Europe.
He became the Buying and Marketing Director for the Blooms of Bressingham Group where he was closely involved in the development
of Bicester Avenue, the first UK garden centre ever to achieve the Retail Week Retail Design of the Year Award and Retail Destination of the Year Award.
Blooms was sold to the Wyevale group in March 2007 after being built up to 10 centres with annual sales of £30m and a staff of over 400.
Most recently Alistair had been providing consultancy services for both retail and plant breeder clients worldwide.
No news is available about funeral arrangments at present. We will publish those when they become available.
Our thoughts on behalf of the industry go to his family and friends.
If you'd like to add a personal comment about Alistair, please use the comments link below or send to trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
From Boyd Douglas-Davies, CEO Hillview Garden Centres: "Really sad to learn of Alistairs passing. I've known him for many years and have great respect for everything he achieved in the industry. He's wisdom and encouragement will be sorely missed. I owe him a lunch and now I'll forever be in his debt, for many reasons."
From Carol Marks, Development / Marketing Specialist, Horticulture, Bord Bia, Dublin: "I am so very sad to hear of Alistair's passing. I had the pleasure of working closely with him over more than ten years, as he carried out the assessments for the Bord Bia Garden Centre Quality Awards, and through the many workshops and seminars he presented to the Irish horticulture industry for me."
"His philosophy of always providing commercial, profit focussed and practical support to garden retailers was always delivered with enthusiasm, humour, honesty and integrity, and he was highly respected and liked by all those whose path he crossed. While he was unable to travel over the last two years, I had kept in touch by phone and email to check in. He was always so pragmatic and so positive."
"A true gentleman, a huge loss, He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts, on behalf of the gardening industry in Ireland, go to his family and friends."
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Bunnings UK No. 3 - Hemel Hempstead in pictures
Hot on the heels of the HTA National Plant Show, GTNXtra called into the third Bunnings UK store at Hemel Hempstead which opened two weeks ago. Steve Pitcher, ex Wyevale Garden Centres and B&Q, was also at the plant show with the Bunnings Homebase team...
See GTN Xtra's exclusive photo tour of the new store
Hot on the heels of the HTA National Plant Show, GTN Xtra called into the third Bunnings UK store at Hemel Hempstead which opened two weeks ago. Steve Pitcher, ex Wyevale Garden Centres and B&Q, who was also at the plant show, has now joined the Bunnings Homebase team.
The "garden centre" at Hemel Hempstead is not as large as the one at St Albans Griffith Way and as a result garden products including ferts, chems and tools are inside in the main warehouse store. The majority of the outside area is covered and when we visited plant stock levels were high with dutch trolleys packing the compost and hard product aisles.
The extensive range of BBQ's, BBQ accessories and garden furniture was clearly driving volume sales with several product shelves awaiting replenishment.
 Cardboard box in-aisle product placenents also appeared to be well recieved by customers, prompting impulse pick ups during a store visit.
See our photo gallery of the Hemel Hempstead store below.
The next Bunnings UK opening will be at Milton Keynes where previously used warehouse space has been converted to make the old Homebase store even bigger for it's re-opening as Bunnings in a few weeks time. Watch this sapce for another photo tour from GTN Xtra.
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Malus toringo Aros is best in show at New Plant Awards
Malus toringo Aros from Frank P Matthews has been crowned this year as Best in Show at the New Plant Awards on the opening morning of the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry...
Malus toringo Aros from Frank P Matthews has been crowned this year as Best in Show at the New Plant Awards on the opening morning of the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.
The New Plant Awards, sponsored by the RHS, are the beating heart of the show and create an area bursting with inspiration for our visitors.
Judging Panel member Tim Upson, Head of Horticulture at the RHS comments, “Malus toringo Aros really stood out as a true winner. Whilst purple leaved trees are not uncommon this one has a particularly strong colour and good habit.
He adds, “It has a wide use in different garden situations and with its compact nature is particularly suited to small gardens and patios. With its long season of interest and colour this tree will have wide appeal to many customers and has great potential as a really good seller.”
The winners are:
Annuals
Gold and Best in Category – Silene hybrid ‘Sl 11 04-61 Sparkling Rose from Kernock Park Plants Ltd
Herbaceous Perennials
Gold and Best in Category – Adenophora White Blaze from Darby Nursery Stock and Fairweather’s Nursery
Houseplants
Gold and Best in Category – Gloxinia sonata pink spot from Javado and Batchmere Ltd
Shrubs and Climbers
Gold and Best in Category –Passiflora Riverside Snow Queen from Newey PPL
Trees and Conifers
Gold and Best in Category – Malus toringo Aros from Frank P Matthews
This year’s judging panel included Tim Upson (RHS), Ian Hodgson (Garden News), Marcus Cousins (Aylett Nurseries), Ken Cox (Glendoick Garden Centre) with HTA’s Martin Simmons overseeing.
All the entries were validated by Joy of Plants.
In addition to the formal announcement in the New Plant Awards area on the opening morning of the show there was also a seminar session for visitors highlighting the award winning plants and the benefits that they bring to help bolster plant sales.
For more information visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk
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Adenophora White Blaze wins Visitor Vote Award
Visitors to the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, have voted Adenophora White Blaze from Darby Nursery Stock and Fairweather’s Nursery as Best in Show at the New Plant Awards...
Visitors to the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, have voted Adenophora White Blaze from Darby Nursery Stock and Fairweather’s Nursery as Best in Show at the New Plant Awards.
The Visitor Vote Award, sponsored by Floramedia, proved extremely popular and with so many great entries in this year’s awards, visitors were spoilt for choice.
The tall flower spikes of this plant are covered in masses of white hanging bells throughout summer due to its long flowering period. Ideal for the middle of a border, it can add delicate vertical structure and soft colour. This cottage garden plant is hardy and very easy to grow.
Full Visitor Vote results were:-
Best in Show – Adenophora White Blaze from Darby Nursery Stock and Fairweather’s Nursery
Best Shrub & Climber – Hovaria® 'Elleair Anniversary' from Javado
Best Annual – Silene hybrid 'SI 11 04-61 Sparkling Rose from Kernock Park Plants
Best Herbaceous Perennial – Adenophora White Blaze from Darby Nursery Stock and Fairweather’s Nursery
Best Houseplant – Cambria Renaissance Grandeur from Javado
Best Tree and Conifer – Malus toringo Aros from Frank P. Matthews
For further information visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @HTANews #HTAPlantShow
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Visitors vote for the best retail inspiration ideas
Visitors to the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, and Nursery Supply Show, which took place this week at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, voted for their most inspiring retail stands and concepts at the events.
Allensmore Nurseries came second in the Planting the Seed Award category for their bright and breezy nautical themed display.
Visitors to the HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, and Nursery Supply Show which took place this week at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire voted for their most inspiring retail stands and concepts at the events.
The winner of the Planting the Seed Award, which highlights stand displays that capture the imagination, provide clear information and attract attention was:
Profit Plant (stand 34/35) for their Bohemian room setting complete with tapestry carpets and a rocking chair. This stand provided lots of opportunity to display plants at different heights and the plant labelling encouraged visitors to use their senses.
In second place were Allensmore Nurseries for their bright and breezy nautical themed display complete with boat, beach hut, crates, fishing nets and pebbles.
In third place were The Bransford Webbs Plant Company who used paint as the inspiration for their display. Their Hellebore Collection was cleverly branded on paint tins, with accompanying painting accessories and staff kitted out with aprons.
New for 2017 was Best Plant Concept for Retail award, sponsored by Elho – again voted for by visitors. The winner of this award was the Plantbutler plastic cover pot and Water Wick from Javado. This easy-care watering system for houseplants comes with 6 attractive pot designs and colours to suit all homes or styles.
Runner up – Proven Winners – joint entry from Kernock Park Plants and The Bransford Webbs Plant Company. Proven Winners is an inspirational brand that also aims to give consumers ideas that they can achieve at home to create a beautiful garden with ‘Pot Art’ concept which are easy to follow planting recipes along with inspirational seasonal ideas books, planting advice, videos and articles on their website and social pages.
The winner of the New Product Showcase in the Nursery Supply Show was Wonderwall from USP Creations – an easy to maintain vertical planting system.
For further information visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk, www.nurserysupplyshow.co.uk, or follow us on Twitter @HTANews #HTAPlantShow #HTANurserySS
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Click to see gallery of pictures
Here's our colourful round-up from this week's HTA Plant Show....
Sales heat up as temperatures soar
After the sales crash of the ‘election week’, garden centre sales volumes bounced back to be ahead of last year despite a heat wave that could easily have seen more people disappearing to the beach rather than visiting garden centres...
After the sales crash of the ‘election week’, garden centre sales volumes bounced back to be ahead of last year despite a heat wave that could easily have seen more people disappearing to the beach rather than visiting garden centres.
And garden centres are also reporting significant increases in turnover as the high temperatures sparked renewed interest in garden furniture and barbecues.
With continued hot weather during this week people will be using their gardens even more so there is plenty of potential for further sales gains to make up for the May shortfall.
GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...
- Garden Products - down 9%
- Veg-2-Gro - down 2%
- Growing Media - up 14%
- All Plants Index - up 14%
- All Items Index - up 6%
To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
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Haskins buying director Conna Powles is hoping to raise £4,000 for Greenfingers when she takes part in a daring wing walk on a bi-plane.
"I have decided to complete a wing walk to raise money to support the charity," said Conna.
"I had a target of £1,000 but thanks to the generosity of friends, family and colleagues, this has already been smashed to over £3,000. I suspect there are quite a few people who would like to see me fall off.
"I am not far off £4,000 so, if I can get that amount, with sales of carrier bags and the raffles we did in store, Haskins will have raised £10,000.
"I would really appreciate it if you would sponsor me to complete this wing walk on a bi plane. If you would like to do so, please click the link below which will take you to my Just Giving page."
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/conna-Powles1
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The GCA is hosting its second annual GCA Plant Area Forum for plant area managers and plant buyers at Ball Colegrave on July 20.
The event will once again be facilitated by GCA inspector, Roger Crookes, who is also the organisation’s Ruxley Rose plant area competition judge this year and believes passionately in the power of plants.
Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “Our first Plant Area Forum last summer was a big hit with all those who attended. It was a highly motivational day and this year’s event promises to be just as inspiring. Bookings, so far, this year are ahead of last year’s, but we can now take more people if others would like to join us.
“The day will give delegates the chance to see the Ball Colegrave trials grounds and the opportunity to network with like-minded people from garden centres across the country. The event includes a comprehensive agenda covering ways of maximising plant sales, stock management and benchmarking sales.”
Delegates will be asked to share ideas and information, discuss the challenges they face, as well as analyse sales and profitability and discover potential opportunities.
There are still some places, which cost £79 per person, available for the event and members can find a booking form on the GCA website www.gca.org.uk or contact the GCA office direct on 01244 952170.
“All the delegates will be asked to carry out some pre-Forum homework because part of the day will include a session to benchmark key performance indicators to help people assess their own centre’s performance against others. They’ll share information and come away with new ideas and be challenged to think differently.
“Using the information they bring, delegates will analyse the space occupied by a category in relation to the value of sales for that category. So, it might be that we find some plants occupy a great deal of space but that doesn’t justify the sales they generate or vice versa. It promises to be an enlightening and profitable day all round.
“It’s also a wonderful opportunity to see the Ball Colegrave trial grounds in all their summer glory, be one of the first to see their new introductions for 2018 and the day offers the chance to network with colleagues from centres from all around the country.”
GCA Plant Area Forum for plant area managers and plant buyers takes place at Ball Colegrave in Oxfordshire on July 20 from 10am until 4pm. Food and refreshments will be provided.
To book you place, call 01244 952170 or visit www.gca.org.uk
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Steph McGovern to host HTA Garden Futures Conference
Garden retail – the great escape – is the theme for this year’s HTA Garden Futures Conference and Dinner, which takes place on Wednesday 4 October at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. This year’s event will be hosted by award winning broadcaster Steph McGovern from Breakfast News...
 Garden retail – the great escape – is the theme for this year’s HTA Garden Futures Conference and Dinner, which takes place on Wednesday 4 October at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. This one day conference and dinner is aimed at all those from across the garden industry from business owners to directors and managers.
The theme of this year’s one-day strategic event reflects the role of both gardens and garden centres as an escape and focuses on the benefits, positive role and unique opportunities that this provides for the industry.
This year’s event will be hosted by award winning broadcaster Steph McGovern from Breakfast News. Steph has been working in financial journalism for over 13 years and has been part of the BBC Breakfast family for the last five. Steph travels all over the UK to cover economic and business news for the BBC and since joining Breakfast has broadcast live from over 500 businesses. On top of this Steph regularly stands-in as a main presenter on Breakfast and this year launched two new shows, a primetime BBC One programme called ‘Shop Well For Less’ and a children’s TV show 'Pocket Money Pitch' for CBBC. This autumn Steph will also be joining the presenting team on BBC One’s ‘Watchdog’.
Also, joining the programme is Rachel Lund from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Rachel heads up the BRC’s Insight and Analytics team, and is responsible for all of the BRC’s data gathering and market analysis activities including the Retail Sales and Footfall Monitors.
Josh McBain from the Foresight Factory will present on The Ageless Society demonstrating how the changing demographic provides huge opportunity for the garden industry with a big focus on experiences rather than material objects.
In a session sponsored by Fiskars, botanist, science writer and broadcaster James Wong will be speaking about the role of merchandising and the way in which garden centres can utilise cross-category merchandising to help illustrate the benefit of plants. This picks up findings from his most recent TV programme ‘The Secrets of your Food” where James looked at how plants and plant science underpin the food that we eat.
Following on from the Retail Lab @ Glee there will be a Retail Lab @ Garden Futures panel session providing the opportunity to find out more about how retailers can make the most of this feature which showcases innovative ways of illustrating lifestyle themes.
Look out for further details about speakers over the coming months.
Make sure you don’t miss out! Book your place now at www.hta.org.uk/gardenfutures
For further information about sponsorship opportunities at the conference and dinner please contact Tim Bell, HTA Commercial Manager Tel: 07808 775 177 Email: tim.bell@hta.org.uk or Phil Swainston, HTA Commercial Sales Executive Tel: 07783 625 037. Email: phil.swainston@hta.org.uk
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Klondyke Group donates to innovative neurological charity
The Klondyke Group have made a donation of £420.81 to the innovative work of Funding Neuro. This money was raised through a series of Dress Down days and raffles enjoyed by the staff at The Klondyke Group’s head office in Polmont...
The Klondyke Group have made a donation of £420.81 to the innovative work of Funding Neuro. This money was raised through a series of Dress Down days and raffles enjoyed by the staff at The Klondyke Group’s head office in Polmont.
The donation was kindly arranged by Klondyke Finance Director Sharon Allan. Sharon arranged for Funding Neuro to benefit from The Klondyke Group’s staff fundraising after she attended Funding Neuro’s annual Ladies Lunch at Soho in Glasgow and was inspired by the ground-breaking work of the charity, which seeks to revolutionise the treatment of all neurological disorders. Sharon Allan commented: “We are honoured to be able to donate the monies from our recent fundraising at Klondyke Head Office to Funding Neuro. I was both moved and inspired by the work and commitment of the team at Funding Neuro and am delighted that our donation will assist in continuing the ground breaking work they undertake.” Funding Neuro is a Glasgow-based charity that funds research into new treatments for neurological conditions. Founded by Bearsden-based lawyer Bryn Williams after his own diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 36, Funding Neuro seed-funded a major ongoing Parkinson’s clinical trial.
Now they are fundraising to run a clinical trial into a revolutionary new treatment for inoperable childhood brainstem cancer Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). No child has ever survived this devastating condition, with an average survival time from diagnosis of 9 months, there has been no hope, until now. A group of 11 children with DIPG have been compassionately treated using CED. For these children, their average survival after diagnosis has doubled. Funding Neuro’s Chief Executive, Sharon Kane thanks The Klondyke Group for their kind donation saying: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this kind gift raised through the amazing fundraising efforts of the team at The Klondyke Group.
'Their support will help Funding Neuro run a clinical trial into a revolutionary new means of treating the childhood brain cancer. Using Convection Enhanced Delivery, to deliver chemotherapy directly into the brain tumour, the trial will bring hope to families all over the world facing DIPG. We simply cannot thank the staff of The Klondyke Group enough.” The Klondyke Group manages 22 stores across the UK. Funding Neuro website: http://fundingneuro.com/ Funding Neuro JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/fundingneuro Klondyke and Strikes Garden Centres website: https://www.klondyke.co.uk
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The unique ‘invited buyer’ format of the Exclusively Shows has delivered a strong visitor profile for exhibitors once again, confirmed show organiser, Brooke House Exhibitions.
“Senior, quality buyers from across all the different retail categories attended the shows this year,” said show director Simon Boyd.
The Exclusively Shows, which ran last week on 13 and 14 June at the Business Design Centre in London, vet all their visitors carefully, inviting only bona fide housewares, tablewares and SDA buyers to attend the shows.
From the UK’s high streets buyers from The Range, TK Maxx, Argos, Robert Dyas, Marks & Spencer, Lakeland and Steamer Trading all attended. From ‘Out of Town’, Leekes, Dunelm and Dixons Carphone were represented.
The grocery sector saw teams from Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco and Asda at the show, whilst department store visitors included John Lewis, House of Fraser, Debenhams, Selfridges, Brown Thomas, Barnitts, Dinghams, Rossiters, Jarrolds, Bentalls of Kingston and several different Fenwick stores.
Exhibitors also welcomed buyers from a wide range of e-commerce/mail order companies including Amazon, Achica, Brand Alley, Next Online, Kaleidoscope, Freemans, JD Williams, Express Gifts, Wayfair, Harts of Stur, Shop Direct, Ocado, QVC and Ideal World.
“It was great to see a good line up of independent retailers making the most of the shows this year,” says Simon.
“Borough Kitchen, Lords at Home, Butlers Choice, Potters, Morleys, WH Hurst & Son, FTB Lawson, Roys of Wroxham, Upstairs Downstairs and Kitchen Kapers were all in the aisles.”
In addition, buying groups such as Sirius and Euronics attended Exclusively Electrical, along with bira Direct and AIS. In the wholesale/cash & carry sector exhibitors saw buyers from Decco, Costco, Jegs Electrical, Stax, EFG and Home Hardware and garden centre visitors included Bents, Wyevale, Blue Diamond and Haskins.
The shows' invited group of international buyers also drew praise from exhibitors, all of whom are given the opportunity to meet the buyers in a separate networking event held the evening before the shows open.
Heavyweight retailers from as far afield as Australia, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong, as well as Scandinavia and Europe, all visited the shows this year. The international line-up includes recommendations from the Housewares Committee at BHETA, which works closely with the shows to ensure visitor contacts are kept up to date.
A look to the future
This year’s shows also included a new area utilising the Atrium Gallery above the Exclusively Electrical show floor, which was dedicated to a comprehensive trend display co-ordinated by trend forecasters Scarlet Opus. Sponsored by BHETA, the team has worked with the shows for several years to help both suppliers and visitors be aware, and make the most of, consumer and design trends affecting the housewares sector.
Their role includes offering Trend Tours of the shows – taken up this year by visitors including John Lewis, B&Q and the BBC licensing team.
BHETA also sponsored a packed, and well-attended, seminar programme, run in the shows’ new Tomorrow’s Kitchen feature. The seminars combined to give a detailed overview of what is to come for the kitchen of the future and allowed visitors the opportunity to view some of the latest kitchen technology including a Samsung fridge with interior cameras, a remote-controlled oven and the very latest induction hob.
Will Jones, housewares director for BHETA, and chairman of Brooke House Exhibitions, commented “The feedback from members to this year’s show has been very positive with many pleased at the overall quality and buyer representation from all the main retail sectors. In addition, the positive reaction to the show initiatives that are all designed to add value and stimulate the industry has been pleasing.”
Finally, a new ‘press showcase’ was introduced this year aimed at attracting key consumer press and bloggers to review key product launches and ranges at the show. The initiative saw over 50 top consumer journalists attending, with more requesting a post-show brief on the showcased brands. Coverage from this new initiative has already appeared in Hello magazine, for new exhibitor Coravin, and in GQ for Welsh Slateware.
“Initial feedback from exhibitors and visitors points to another busy and productive two days for everyone involved. We had tremendous support, not only from key sponsors RKW, Brabantia and Brita, but from all our exhibitors for our new initiatives, and will be looking, as always, to build on this for next year!” commented Simon.
Next year Exclusively Housewares and Exclusively Electrical will run on Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 & 13 June at the Business Design Centre, London.
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Greenfingers Ambassadors met up at the HTA National Plant Show last week to receive updates on progress of current Hospice garden building and to input ideas for fundraising including Garden Re-Leaf Day which takes place on Friday 16th March 2017.
As well as their usual fundraising roles, Greenfingers Ambassadors will be helping to spread the word about our industries great charitable work for Childrens Hospices by meeting and thanking fundraisers around the country, both within the UK garden industry and from other areas who want to help build more special gardens.
To find out more about Greenfingers visit: www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity/
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Horticultural Plant Buyer
£36,880 pa
Permanent f/t (37.5 hrs pw)
Swindon
Ref: IRC53290
We have a rare and exciting opportunity to work as a Horticultural Plant Buyer within an ambitious and forward thinking charity. If you’re someone who has a true passion and drive for horticulture then this is the role for you.
You will be the creative force behind the sourcing and development of our plant offer ensuring our core values and customer needs are reflected in the range. We are looking for someone who fully understands and can manage the complexities of our peat-free offer and implement quality control throughout the supply chain.
It’s a truly exciting time here in Retail for the National Trust. We’re redefining how we do things and pushing the boundaries in our product ranges more than ever before.
Closing date: 2nd July 2017
For more information and to apply please visit: https://careers.nationaltrust.org.uk/OA_HTML/a/#/vacancy-detail/53290
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GIMA Awards 2017 – last few tickets remaining
With just a few weeks to go until the winners of the 2017 GIMA Awards are crowned, interested parties are urged to book their place now to avoid disappointment, as tickets are selling fast...
With just a few weeks to go until the winners of the 2017 GIMA Awards are crowned, interested parties are urged to book their place now to avoid disappointment, as tickets are selling fast!
Taking place at Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales on July 13th the evening is set to be another fantastic event. This year the GIMA Awards will be celebrating the best the garden retail industry has to offer from nine product categories, as well as Best Point of Sale, Consumer Product Packaging, and Marketing Communication awards. The coveted Sword of Excellence, GCA Supplier of the Year, and Gardenex Export Achievement Award will also be up for grabs, helping the winners to set themselves apart from the competition with these unrivalled industry accolades.
This year’s event will be hosted by award-winning comedian and star of the BBC’s ‘Mock the Week’ and ‘Have I Got News For You’, Hal Cruttenden.
GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall, said: “The GIMA Awards are getting ever closer, and tickets are selling out fast, in fact we’re on track for another sell-out event. Each year, the industry comes together to create a really amazing night of celebrations and networking, and this year’s award ceremony will be no different. We have a handful of tables left, and urge interested parties to get in touch now to secure their space.”
The winners of this year’s awards will be decided next week at the special judging day.
To secure your ticket for the GIMA Awards visit http://gima.org.uk/gima-awards/. Tickets for GIMA members are just £309 + VAT per person, or £2,899 + VAT for a table of 10, whilst non-members pay £370 + VAT per person, or £3,465 + VAT for a table of 10. Price includes accommodation at the Celtic Manor Resort.
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Milano Cube breaking the mould for Kelkay
For the 2017 season Kelkay introduced a series of sixteen new contemporary styled water features with prices ranging from £79.99 to £299.99. The star of the show is the beautifully sleek ‘Milano Cube’, inspired by the perpendicular symmetry of a classical Italian courtyard and built with a polished metal finish and sparkling LEDs...
Garden consumers tend to be a conservative (with a small C) bunch and sales trends consistently show how traditional design outsells the contemporary in almost every segment. The water feature category has certainly been no exception to this rule and Kelkay report that naturally styled designs like Como Springs and novelty features like Bramble Cottage as consistently in their ‘top sellers’ list.
But, the team at Kelkay have seen the beginning of a style revolution this year which seems to suggest that consumer taste is shifting towards a more contemporary, modern look.
Richard Pyrah, Sales Director explains “We have always had a broad selection of designs in the Easy Fountain range to meet the needs of all types of consumer. But frankly, the modern styled products have never been our most popular sellers. Garden Centre consumers seem to mostly want to style their gardens in a traditional English look. But for the first time this year, we’ve seen some remarkable sales volumes and great repeat business on some of our newly introduced modern designs.”
For the 2017 season Kelkay introduced a series of sixteen new contemporary styled water features with prices ranging from £79.99 to £299.99. The star of the show is the beautifully sleek ‘Milano Cube’, inspired by the perpendicular symmetry of a classical Italian courtyard and built with a polished metal finish and sparkling LEDs.
“For the first time I can remember, a very stylish and modern design fountain has made it into the top 20% of the range” added Richard. “I think this probably represents a real shift in consumer trends and we will be looking carefully at how we develop the entire range and new products for next season in the light of this.”
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Last week saw a bounce back for garden product sales but GTN Bestsellers Top 50 volumes are still lagging behind last year.
However, the sales movements in the chart reflect that people are getting on with gardening while the weather is good for being outside, with gardening gloves, plant food and watering cans amongst the fast movers.
This week’s highlights were:
- Briers All Season Gardener Gloves was the highest re-entry.
- Smart Solar Eureka! Lightbulb Lantern was the highest climber, jumping 21 places to No 15.
- Gardman Solar Hanging Globes was the highest new entry.
To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
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Cucumber sales toppled Runner Beans off the top of the GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart last week.
The 9cm potted cucumber plants from WD Smith sold in higher aggregated volumes than Quantil’s White Emergo Runner Bean strips. In the week overall Veg-2-Gro sales volumes continued to decline as the season for planting summer crops draws to a close.
The main highlights this week were:
- Farplants Chives 9cm was the highest climber, jumping 28 places to No 10.
- Quantil Sweet Potato Bonita 10cm was the highest re-entry at No 15.
- Farplants Rosemary Common was another returning entry.
To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
Further growth for growing media sales
There are indications of further room for growth in growing media sales this week after GTN Bestsellers Top 50 volumes grew by 14% on the same week last year...
There are indications of further room for growth in growing media sales this week after GTN Bestsellers Top 50 volumes grew by 14% on the same week last year.
In this hot weather it seems gardeners are still actively planting in pots and looking to use mulches to preserve water.
The highlights this week were:
- Westland John Innes Young Plants No 1 (30 litres) was the highest re-entry at No 22.
- Another returning product was Scotts Levington Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost (56 litres).
- Westland Multipurpose (50 litres) +20% Extra Free was the highest climber, moving up 32 places to No 15.
- Scotts Levington Multipurpose + John Innes (56 litres) stayed on top of the chart.
To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
Sales of Roses more than double in volume
With many varieties in bloom in garden centre planterias, sales of Roses more than doubled last week which meant they jumped six places up the GTN Bestsellers chart to No 4...
With many varieties in bloom in garden centre planterias, sales of Roses more than doubled last week which meant they jumped six places up the GTN Bestsellers chart to No 4.
Big, bold blooms are attracting plenty of interest with Dahlias also increasing sales to move up three places to No 8.
- Penstemon recorded the highest percentage sales growth, up by 160%.
- Arctotis were the week’s highest new entry, in at No 46.
- Hebe bounced back into the chart at No 30.
To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
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The product selection of the Garden Plant of the Month for 2018 has been completed in collaboration with the product specialists from Royal FloraHolland.
"We are letting you know which plants we will be putting in the spotlight next year, how the list of plants was produced, how we will be promoting them, and how you can link in with this campaign on the shop floor," said Royal FloraHolland.
These are the 12 garden plants that we will be paying extra attention to in 2018. The consumer names or grouped plants are given in brackets.
- January Camelia
- February Willows (Salix)
- March Ivy (Hedera)
- April Petunia
- May Vegetables (Pepper =Capsicum annuum); tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum);
- chilli pepper (Capsicum annuum); cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
- June Climbing fruit (raspberry; blackberry; blueberry, grape)
- July Olive tree
- August Shrub speedwell (Veronica)
- September Garden palms (Yucca, Cordyline, Phoenix)
- October Firethorn (Pyracantha)
- November Skimmia
- December Helleborus
This selection has been produced in collaboration with Royal FloraHolland, and has been assessed by various plant experts, growers and exporters. The selection criteria include:
- Plants may be promoted once every three years
- A plant or group of plants must fit with the current trends
- A plant or group of plants must be widely available and commercially interesting for the entire supply chain
Promotion of the Garden Plant of the Month
As usual every year, the Flower Council of Holland will again be responsible for promoting the Garden Plant of the Month campaign in 2018. We do this with respect to both the trade press and consumers through regular PR, our online platforms, and associated social media channels.
We will be making a small change to the consumer promotion with effect from 2018: we will no longer be pinning the promotion to one month, but will cluster multiple products over a longer period. This means that the dossiers will be more seasonal, so that we can also add aspects such as trends. This approach also means that the products can be promoted for a longer period.
The garden plant promotion will involve rolling content, the use of the Balcony and Terrace Plant 2018, garden trends and the seasonal dossiers.
Join in!
You can download free photographic material, posters and banners from our website flowercouncil.co.uk. This will enable you to draw extra attention to the Garden Plant of the Month on the shopfloor. You can also use the images in your own promotional material, such as on your social media channels, website, and in your newsletters.
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Eden Halls Greenhouses renames as Juliana Group
One of the UK´s longest established greenhouse manufacturers, Eden Halls Greenhouses has been renamed as The Juliana Group Ltd, a new company which includes the Halls, Eden and Juliana greenhouse brands...
One of the UK´s longest established greenhouse manufacturers, Eden Halls Greenhouses has been renamed as The Juliana Group Ltd, a new company which includes the Halls, Eden and Juliana greenhouse brands.
Long part of the international Juliana Group, headquartered in Denmark, which has an enviable reputation for quality and value, the UK company has enjoyed considerable consumer and trade reputation with its mass market Halls brand, one of the most trusted UK greenhouse names.
In the last two years, the company’s revolutionary Eden Zero Threshold greenhouse range has seen a 53% sales increase, according to annual sales figures reported by the company, bringing the Eden brand to the forefront of the market.
There are now over 160 Eden greenhouse dealers giving nationwide coverage with the company receiving more approaches from the retail sector all the time.
“This latest move,” says Pete Monahan, Marketing Manager, “is a logical progression, aligning our good, better, best sales strategy with activities throughout Europe. Our customers will still enjoy the fantastic customer service that we have become known for and our new product development program will continue as before.” All products offer comprehensive frame guarantees and RRPs include VAT and home delivery. Interested retailers should contact their sales representative or call the company on 01242 676625 or email mail@eden-greenhouses.com
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With 7,135 registered visitors from 67 countries, the FlowerTrials reports 2017 as another successful year.
The total number of visitors in the Netherlands went up considerably.
No less than 5,557 persons made the trip to the Westland region, an increase of 6% over last year. Also the Aalsmeer region, which has grown strongly over the last few years, saw again a rise with 3,653 visitors, 4.4% more than in 2016.
As many people visit both regions, the increase for The Netherlands as a whole is 3.5% with a total visitor number of 6,395. A
fter having seen a major rise in 2016, the total number of visitors to the Rheinland Westfalen region saw a small dip this year to be attributed to the Corpus Christi holiday which is related to Easter and fell right in the middle of week 24. In total, 4 out of 5 exhibitors reported more visitors than last year.
Visitors aim at making the most of their day at the FlowerTrials. The number of locations visited increased by 11% with a total of 35,725 individual visits registered, meaning an average of 5 per person.
As many locations host several breeders, the average number of companies visited per person is significantly higher. The new route planner can be seen to have helped the visitors plan their trips more efficiently.
A surge in visitors from Columbia, the major Floriculture producer in the Americas, was particularly noticeable with a major delegation from the Columbian Growers Association. Interest from Asia was again on the increase with considerably more visitors from Japan, Korea and China echoing the relevance of trade with growers and retailers in this part of the world. More visitors from Israel, Iran and the U.S.A. also found their way to the event.
Gill Corless, Chairwoman of the FlowerTrials Board, said: “I am delighted to have seen our brand-new slogan ‘where plants meet people’ confirmed last week.
"The feedback I received from the many visitors I spoke to echoed the success of the event’s formula, i.e. 59 individual companies showing their very best achievements in breeding to growers, traders and buyers worldwide. I would like to make use of the occasion to congratulate all exhibitors with the high quality of their displays.
"These ongoing efforts make FlowerTrials the key event in pot and bedding plants on the horticultural calendar.”
The FlowerTrials took place from 13th to 16th June in the Westland and Aalsmeer regions in the Netherlands, and Rheinland Westfalen region in Germany. Breeders show their latest innovations in pot and bedding plants to the international horticultural industry.
A registration system with a personal badge scanned at the entrance of each location allows insights into the visitor profiles.
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Syrians taking refuge in the UK are learning a range of skills thanks to charity ETC Sussex which is finding support from businesses.
Among the firms helping is Newhaven’s Paradise Park garden centre and tourist attraction which has generously donated plants and materials to enable a garden to be created.
Charity chairman Peter Carcas said: “We were asked by some of our students who are learning English with us if they could have a garden so they could grow vegetables.
“We found them some space, which they cleared, and we approached Paradise Park for help.
“Our students are mainly refugees from overseas conflicts, including many from Syria, so as well as benefiting from the produce, gardening is a great therapy for them.”
The Avis Road company is known for supporting community projects.
Sales director Mark Gilbert said: “We were delighted to step in and help when we found out what was wanted and wish the students every success with their gardening project.”
ETC Sussex provides English courses to refugees at its centres in Brighton and Hastings.
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Plans have been submitted to demolish a Cheshire garden centre and build new houses in its place.
An application has been lodged with Cheshire East Council’s planning department on behalf of the owners of Pickmere Nurseries Ltd., who say the garden centre is due to cease trading shortly.
The buildings, close to the entrance from Pickmere Lane, would be knocked down and replaced with two three-bedroom homes, while the nursery – at the rear of the property – would continue to operate.
While an earlier application saw permission granted to convert the garden centre into residential properties, the latest plans would see altogether new buildings constructed.
A planning statement said: “The application is for the redevelopment of a previously developed site in the greenbelt.
“The site is currently in use as a garden centre with nursery however the garden centre is expected to close in the near future.
“The nursery element of the business will remain; this is located on land to the south of the application site.
“The proposed dwellings would be identical to those approved on the conversion scheme in terms of the amount of floorspace and design.”
Plans would also see garaging and turning areas provided for each property.
In a note dated November 2016, property owner Terence Hulley said that a ‘modest loyal customer base’ had kept the garden centre going since he took over in 1980.
He said: “In the intervening years the retail side of the cash and carry has remained static while the wholesale production nursery has shown significant growth.
“I now feel it is probably an appropriate time to close the garden centre.”
Comments may be submitted on the application until July 6, with a target decision date of August 4.
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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 2014 as well as 2015 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period. Access is by subscription only. For £195.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-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 Garden Plants 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.
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Get the GTN Bestsellers charts in full every week in the GTN Bestsellers newsletters delivered via the post for only £195.00.
GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnover in excess of £120m.
Use the weekly Garden Products and Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes charts to plan your hotspot and other promotions and ensure you have the right products in stock to satisfy the needs of your customers.
For further information contact karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call 01733 775700.
Buy your subscription today and start receiveing the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.
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