Coolings Nurseries of Sevenoaks, have agreed to purchase the well-respected retail business known as The Potted Garden Nursery, near Leeds Castle in Kent...

Chairman Paul Cooling (left) said: “We are over the moon to welcome the new team into the Coolings family.  The focus on plants has always been paramount at Coolings and we look forward to being part of the next chapter in the history of this new site.”

MD Gary Carvosso (right) also said Coolings would work with the current team to further improve what was already a successful and profitable business. “Plants will always remain at the core of what we do and we will not be rushing into any additional investment just yet, as we are mindful to preserve the wonderful charm of the site.”

The site, on the busy A20 close to Maidstone, comes with planning permission for the introduction of catering and a larger garden shop.

Rob and Amanda Brookman, the current owners of The Potted Garden, said: “When we were looking for a buyer for the site we were keen to find a company that valued its staff and whose core interest was plant based, so we’re delighted to have found the ideal buyer in the great company that is Coolings. We wish them every success taking the business forward.”

The official handover date is 1 November.

The sale was handled by Alexander Mackie Associates Ltd.

The Trade Show hosted 90 suppliers covering core gardening, plants, gifts, Christmas and catering. Key industry personalities from all sectors of the industry were in attendance. Choice announced the winners of their supplier of the year awards with Whartons scooping the Plant supplier accolade and Woodlodge winning the Sundries supplier award.

Michelle de Lavis-Trafford, Choice CEO, extended her thanks to members for their commitment to the Choice ‘Stronger together’ philosophy and for their total support for their suppliers.

Three new members who have joined the group since the last Conference were give a warm and enthusiastic welcome. They are Warbreck Garden Centre Ormskirk, Fron Goch Garden Centre North Wales and Fosseway Garden Centre Cotswolds.

To the delight of members, she announced that supplier rebates for the 2016/17 season are forecast to exceed £1.5million.

Greenfingers held a huge tombola with high quality prizes donated by Choice suppliers. Members, suppliers and even hotel staff and guests all joined in to support this worthy cause. John Ashley, Greenfingers Chairman, announced at the Conference Dinner that the total amount raised was over £1,000.

Pete Goss MBE, sailor, adventurer and international speaker gave the keynote Conference address. His truly inspirational talk included his participation in the

in the 1996/7 Vendee Globe non-stop single-handed round the world yacht race. The race took a dramatic turn resulting in Pete rescuing a French competitor in hurricane force winds for which he was awarded the MBE and Légion d’Honneur.

Garden centres who would like to know more about the benefits of membership of Choice Marketing should contact Michelle de Lavis-Trafford at info@choice-marketing.co.uk www.choice-marketing.co.uk

The module, which is available to all free of charge, is one of the actions to come from the emergency Xylella meeting held at the HTA offices at which garden retailers requested a resource which could be easily shared amongst staff in order to raise awareness about the plant disease.

The 8-minute-long module can be accessed here -

www.hta.org.uk/xylella

Whilst aimed at plantarea and garden retail staff the information will also be relevant for plant buyers and business owners, as well as the wider industry. The elearning module includes information about:-

• Host species
• Five-point plan
• Plant Passporting
• Further sources of information

Many of those who attended the meeting also took part in the Xylella panel session at HTA Garden Futures last week where Xylella was described as ‘the single biggest threat to the garden industry in 32 years’. Businesses including Aylett Nurseries, Notcutts Garden Centres, Klondyke Group, Hillview Group and Johnsons of Whixley spoke about the preventative actions and responsibility they are taking.

Panellist Boyd Douglas-Davies, CEO of Hillview Garden Centres comments: “We need to act now as individual companies and take responsibility for our own actions. Resources such as this video will help to spread the word about Xylella and I encourage all to share with their staff.”

Xylella fastidiosa is one of the most harmful bacterial plant diseases in the world. It can cause severe losses in a wide range of hosts and there would be a massive impact on the plant trade across all business sectors in the event of an OUTBREAK in the UK.

An OUTBREAK of this disease, where several different plants are infected, will trigger immediate stock destruction within 100 metres and a movement ban of host plants within a 10-kilometre radius for up to five years.

This will dramatically and immediately affect most plant selling operations, as well as impacting on all businesses dealing in plants within the 10km zone. Gardens could also be affected.

The potentially catastrophic consequences for the UK’s horticultural industry of an outbreak of the bacterial plant disease Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) were spelled out in a stark warning to growers and retailers at last week’s HTA Futures Conference.

During a panel debate, Hillview Garden Centres CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies (right) described it as the most serious situation he had come across in his 32 years in the industry. It was a wake-up call that had resulted in his businesses starting to take plant health more seriously.

The disease has already devastated horticulture in southern Italy and has spread to Corsica, southern France and Spain. There is no known control and severely affected plants can die within three years. Thousands of plants on those regions have already been destroyed.

In the event of an outbreak in the UK, an exclusion zone of 10km would be imposed for five years. It has been likened to “foot and mouth” in horticulture, affecting growers, retailers and consumers alike.

Dan Munro (second left) from the UK’s Animal and Plant Healthy Agency said the disease was sure to spread and spread, with new cold-hardy strains posing a threat to the UK should it reach our shores. It could even be brought on the boot of a holidaymaker.

Douglas-Davies urged the industry not to wait for official action or it could be too late. “We have to act now as individual companies and be far ahead of the industry as a whole, which can only keep up with the slowest member. There is no time to wait for official bodies to do their bit,” he said.

The HTA’s Raoul Curtis-Machin (left) said businesses should take extra care in sourcing their plants and urged British growers to start growing more of their own material to ensure bio-security.  He suggested the HTA could support calls for some kind of official compensation scheme for businesses caught up in an outbreak.

Selby Garden Centre in North Yorkshire has been acquired by the Noble family, owners of Victoria Farm Garden Centre & Café at Whitby.

Ann and Stephen Ward, who started Selby GC in 2000, are to retire.

The 5.25-acre centre is on Hull Road at Osgodby, near Selby.

Victoria Farm Garden Centre & Café, originally opened in 2003 by Bill & Jean Noble, is now run by their sons Mark (pictured) and Paul.

The Noble family were originally dairy farmers but as the milk price dropped, they found it unsustainable to run a dairy farm on the edge of the moors.  A local agricultural engineer who found he was losing business as farmers stopped farming put his site up for sale. Bill and Jean Noble sold their cows to buy it.

A strong family interest in gardening made a garden centre business an obvious choice After it was set up in 1996, a cafe was incorporated so visitors could enjoy the outstanding view and the Old Barn on site was the ideal place to exhibit Bill's collection of farming bygones and relics.

The garden centre thrived thanks to a loyal core of regular customers, some of whom travel long distances. Although supposedly retired, Bill still visits the centre to chat with customers, who enjoy listening to his stories of farming on the moors. 

The sale was handled by Alexander Mackie Associates Ltd.

• Garden Products - down 5%
• Veg-2-Gro - down 19%
• Growing Media - down 4%
• Christmas Products - up 37%
• All Plants Index - up 7%
• All Items Index - up 3%

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Winners

The Greatest Garden Care Retail Team of the Year

Bronze Award: Blue Diamond Group                        

Silver Award: Altons                                                

Gold Award:  Aylett Nurseries                                            

The Greatest Garden Centre Customer Service Team of the Year

Bronze Award: Planters Tamworth                                        

Silver Award: Chessington                                                   

Gold Award: Fron Goch             
                                       

The Greatest Garden Centre Merchandising Team of the Year

Bronze Award: Barton Grange                        

Silver Award: Millbrook Gravesend                         

Gold Award: Perrywood                                         

The Greatest Garden Centre Training Team or Initiative of the Year

Gold Award – GCA Grow

The Greatest Garden Products Supplier of the Year

Gold Award – Smart Garden Products           

                       

The Greatest Garden Centre Team of the Year

Bronze Award – Millbrook Gravesend

Silver Award – Fron Goch

Gold Award – Perrywood and Castle Gardens

Finalists

• Altons
• Aylett Nurseries
• Barton Grange
• Baytree
• Bents
• Birkacre
• Blue Diamond Group
• Burston
• Castle Gardens
• Chessington
• Christies Fochabers
• Coolings
• Coolings Green & Pleasant
• Cowells
• Fresh@Burcot
• Fron Goch
• Glyndwr Plant Centre
• Green Pastures
• Hayes Garden World
• Hillmount
• Hillview Studley
• Langlands Leeds
• Mains of Drum
• Millbrook Gravesend
• Notcutts Woodford Park
• Perrywood
• Planters Tamworth
• Poplars
• Scotsdales
• Shackletons
• Squires Badshot Lea
• Squires Chertsey
• Stewarts Christchurch
• Stratford Garden Centre
• Strikes Garforth
• Summerhill
• Webbs Wychbold
• Whitehall Lacock

Boyd Douglas-Davies has been awarded the Charles Pearson Memorial Medal for  outstanding contribution and service to the horticultural industry.

Boyd, who is CEO of the Hillview Garden Centre Group, was presented with the accolade by HTA President, Adam Taylor, at the HTA Garden Futures Conference held at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire. 

A respected figure in the industry, Boyd studied at Pershore College of Horticulture beforer a career in garden retail  spanning more than  30 years.  He strted working at his fathers’ business, Clows Garden Centre, before moving across to Webbs of Wychbold where he worked for 20 years up to the position of Chief Executive.  His determination and experience in retail and sales saw Webbs repeatedly recognised by the Garden Centre Association (GCA) as the UK’s Best Garden Centre.

He then left to start the Hillview Garden Centre Group in 2011, which has seen phenomenal growth, acquiring 11 stores across the Midlands.  Boyd instigated key retail and sales concepts in store and increased footfall across the chain by introducing onsite events such as ice rinks, circus and motor shows. Their Soft Play Barns have been a phenomenal success and entertain close on 100,000 children per year. In 2015, Hillview launched their e-commerce platform .

Boyd is also renowned for his charity work in the industry and joined the Greenfingers Board of Trustees in 2014.  He is the brain and founder behind Garden Re-Leaf Day, a cross-industry fundraising extravaganza to kickstart the gardening season.  Through events such as 24-hour Plant-a-thons, quiz nights, sponsored walks and cake sales, Garden Re-leaf has raised more than £500,000 for Greenfingers.

"I was totally shocked and for once utterly lost for words when the announcement was made," Boyd saidf. " I feel incredibly honoured to be the recipient of this year's award and to be included in a list of people for whom I have such huge respect and admiration is a genuine privilege.  This is such a wonderful industry and to have been part of it for the last 33 years is brilliant. I hope this doesn't mean anyone's expecting me to hang up my boots anytime soon!"

The HTA Charles Pearson Medal, instigated in 1930 in memory of the HTA’s first General Secretary, is presented annually at the Garden Futures event.

Smart Garden was nominated as Garden Products Supplier of the Year  in GTN’s Greatest Awards presented at the HTA Garden Futures Conference and dinner at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire – the second year in a row that the company has won the title....

The award was presented to Smart Garden’s MD Jonathan Stobart and sales director Paul Knott by BBC rural affairs correspondent and Countryfile presenter Tom Heap, and awards host and founder Trevor Pfeiffer of Garden Trade News and GTNXtra.

Sponsored by Elho and Glee, the award, voted for by garden centres, is given to suppliers that go above and beyond in the service of their retail customers.

Trevor Pfeiffer, said Smart Garden came out top in the supplier votes for its all-round ability to supply to garden trade customers. “But for the majority of the retailers I spoke to, the main factor was sales consistency – the product range just keeps selling all year round,” he said.

Jonathan Stobart said: “I am incredibly proud of my team and would like to thank our garden centre customers especially for so generously rewarding our efforts once again.”

For more information on Smart Garden, visit the website  or call 01235 424100.



From left to right: Trevor Pfeiffer, Jonathan Stobart, Paul Knott and Tom Heap.

Cultivation Street, the community and school gardening campaign pioneered by TV gardener David Domoney,  has announced Syngenta and its Calliope brand as a new sponsor.

Jodie Sara Vale, marketing communications manager for Syngenta Flowers, said the company would use ‘Colour Your Life’ Calliope^® geraniums to promote the campaign. “It’s an absolutely fantastic way to support the super stars in the community who put in so much hard work, dedication, and kindness to enrich green spaces and the lives of those people around them,” she said. “We are proud to be part of the programme and can’t wait to see the entries for the 2018 competition section of the campaign.”

Aylett Nurseries’ Adam Wigglesworth immediate-past president of the HTA, whose sponsorship of the campaign has ended after five years, said: “Now with another horticultural heavyweight firmly behind it, it will keep growing. Community and school gardening is so important, and this is a campaign the industry can feel proud of.”

David Domoney said Cultivation Street had built significant momentum and ambition. “The HTA have been great partners and will always be a part of our heritage,” he said. “ Keeping it horticultural was key, so we awarded sponsorship to Syngenta. They are bursting with energy to promote the activity of gardening up and down the streets of Britain, and they truly believe that every child should be able to experience growing plants.”

Cultivation Street now boasts its own online video channel – Cultivation Street TV – a help-line for new gardeners, an ambassador scheme, a whole host of growing and fundraising guides, a huge national competition, a monthly newsletter, an ever-growing community of communities on social media, as well as coverage on television and in national newspapers and magazines.

New for 2018 will be the mentor scheme, where new communities, schools and neighbourhood street gardeners will be paired with experts who have achieved great successes with their own projects, and will offer help and advice to others who are getting started.

More information can be found on the website (www.cultivationstreet.co.uk)

For information about Syngenta’s Calliope geraniums, visit the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Calliope.flowers/)

Berry-bearing trees and shrubs come into their own in autumn, creating colourful displays that last well into winter, which is why they have been chosen as the HTA Plant of the Moment for October.

From elderberries to rose hips, crab apples to firethorns, the addition of “berrying” plants adds a new dimension to any garden, with plants carrying fruits and berries through autumn and into winter. Berry-producing plants also provide home grown food for hungry birds and wildlife too, enhancing their appeal and value to the garden – all well worth pointing out in your POS material

Evergreen shrubs provide structure and form throughout the year, but many produce early displays of flowers followed by autumn berries. One of the best compact shrubs for borders or patio pots is a Skimmia (S.japonica subsp. Reevesiana, whose displays of bright red berries are second to none.

Viburnum davidii is a hardy shrub with distinctly veined evergreen foliage that produces the most unusual metallic-looking blue-black berries, quite a talking point on the planteria.

To create seasonal pots for autumn colour, offer Gaultheria mucronata with its brilliant berries in pink, red or pure white. Combined with pansies and violas, trailing ivy, heather, carex or skimmia, pre-planted pots will retain their sales potential over a long period.

Trained against walls and fences, firethorn is a valuable evergreen shrub. Its thorny stems make it a great choice for producing secure garden boundaries, Despite their spines, they provide valuable nesting sites for birds, flowers that attract bees, and red, orange or yellow berries to feed birds into winter.

TOP FOUR SHRUBS WITH COLOURFUL FRUITS AND BERRIES

• Firethorn – (Pyracantha varieties)
• Skimmia – Many female varieties produce wonderful displays of berries including Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana, Skimmia japonica ‘Nymans’ and ‘Obsession’. Male varieties are equally appealing with great flower displays, like ‘Magic Marlot’ and ‘Rubella’.
• Gaultheria Mucronata (Formerly called Pernettya)
• Cotoneaster – wide range of berrying shrubs including Cotoneaster horizontalis, Cotoneaster ‘Coral Beauty’, C. ‘Cornubia’, C. lacteus, and many others.

TIPS FOR CUSTOMERS

• Many shrubs can be given a permanent home in large patio pots. Plant pots using a free-draining loam-based compost.
• Always stand pots on feet during winter to prevent drainage holes getting blocked and pots filling-up with water.
• Small berry-bearing shrubs included in seasonal patio pot arrangements can be removed and planted out in the garden next spring.
• Some plants have both male and female varieties, so it might just be the female one you buy that’s carrying berries. Be prepared to offer advice, as buyers may need to grow male forms alongside the females to ensure their flowers get pollinated and develop berries.

PLANTING PARTNERS

Try and create varied  planteria displays including evergreen shrubs, ornamental grasses, architectural plants with strong shapes and forms, and those with great autumn foliage colours. Some to consider:

•  Beauty Berry (Callicarpa ‘Profusion’ and many others)
•  Carex ‘Evergold’
• Heathers (Including Calluna varieties)
• Holly (Ilex varieties)
• Pansies
• Roses with colourful hips, like Rosa rugosa, Rosa canina and Rosa ‘Geranium’
• Skimmia ‘Magic Marlot’
• Spindle (varieties of Euonymus like ‘Red Cascade’)
• Viola
• Viburnum including Viburnum davidii and varieties of Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)

Pyracantha image - ©Adam Pasco Media

Fourteen members of staff staff at Tong Garden Centre near Bradford have raised almost £4,000 on an 18km (11-miles) walk to raise funds for a Shipley mental health charity.

Their trek around Ullswater in the Lake District took took four and a quarter hours hours. Marketing Assistant Pete Casci, who came up with the idea, said: “We're over the moon to have almost doubled the £2,000 target that we set ourselves. It was a fun walk and a great day with fabulous colleagues, and all for The Cellar Trust charity.”

Andrew McCarthy, Head of Fundraising & Development at The Cellar Trust, the centre’s charity of the year, is delighted with the £3,868.75 raised. The Trust needs around £300,000 a year to fund its life-saving and life-changing services in helping people recovering from mental health problems to get back into work.

Tong Garden Centre pledged to raise £10,000 for the charity in 2017 after one of the Cellar Trust's placement students, Dion Magyar, was employed as a permanent member of staff at the centre.

Above: The Tong walkers with Andrew McCarthy, centre.

Haskins Snowhill has donated presented £100 worth of daffodil bulbs to Caterham Oxted & Godstone Lions Club (COG Lions Club) to mark the centenary of Lion's Club International. The bulbs have been planted in the garden at St. Catherine's Hospice in Crawley.

The COG Lions Club, a charitable trust serving the local community in the Tandridge area of Surrey, has been helping to raise funds for local deserving causes and wider international appeals since 1978.

Thanking Haskins, COG Lions Club member Tony Carter said: “We regularly support the hospice and hope the daffodils will bloom next spring to bring the patients a great deal of pleasure.”

Pictured (left to right): David Matcham, Mark Smith (assistant general manager of Haskins Snowhill), Clive Martin, Tony Carter (COG Lions), Nicola Sayers and Angela Pearce

Urban gardening was the theme of Fleuroselect’s eighth Home Garden Conference in Paris, when about 75 seed breeders and distributors from 10 different countries enjoyed a programme of professional visits and speakers.

Compact or climbing Host of the Conference was the French seed breeder HM.Clause who, in addition to its professional activities, also specialises in flower and vegetable seeds for the hobby market. The company invited conference participants to discover its latest varieties in Le Grand Jardin, summer trials showcase set up on a magnificent roof top terrace in Montmartre.

In line with the urban gardening trend, Clause mainly showed compact and climbing varieties ideal for city balconies and patios. Echinacea ‘Feeling Pink’ and Lupin ‘MiniGallery Blue’, both Fleuroselect Gold Medal winners, are just two cultivars perfect for modest urban outdoor spaces. Climbing tomatoes and peppers were a real must-have for patios, and a new, single-serving sized climbing watermelon plant ‘Mini Love’ caught the eye of participants. A tasting session crounded off the experience.

Keynote speaker was Lodewijk Hoekstra, a Dutch TV gardener who shared his vision for urban gardening. Ghislain Bousseau of the Bureau Regional Horticole gave us interesting facts and figures on the French market and journalist/horticultural therapist Isabelle Boucq introduced the group to the many benefits and applications of horticultural therapy, including those for the sick and elderly. Antoine Jacobsohn, Director of Le Potager du Roi, gave an interesting presentation on the use of plants in the city, past and future.

From Zinnia to Marigold This year is the ‘Year of the Zinnia’ marketing campaign, so delegates visited the magnificent Jardin des Plantes where some 130 Zinnia varieties from Fleuroselect members were lined up. Wild varieties were added to the trial to underline the improvements in flower size, flowering period and disease resistance of the cultivated varieties.

The 2018 Plant of the Year campaign will focus on Marigold and Pepper. Fleuroselect will offer logos, images and banners, all free of charge, to promote the sales of existing varieties. Trials showing the entire membership’s Marigold varieties are again planned during 2018 at Wisley (UK) and three other gardens in France and Germany.

1. the safety claims “Safe to use around children and pets”, “Safe for children & pets” and “This product is safe for children and pets, however it is good practice to store out of reach in a dry, frost-free place” were misleading and could be substantiated; and
2. the comparative claims “the safer way to feed your lawn” and “Safety compared to lawn weed & moss killer fertilisers that contain pesticides” were misleading and could be substantiated.

• Fito Orchid Drip feeders hold the No 1 spot for the fourth week in a row.
• Growth Technology Orchid Myst 300ml moves up  nine places to No 2.
• Growth Technology Orchid Mist 750ml moves up even more places – 18 to No 25.

• French Garlic Cristo, Elephant Garlic and Garlic Early Purple Wight all saw sales increases to re-enter within the Top 10.
• Mr Fothergill’s Broad Bean Bunyards Exhibition was the highest climber in the chart, up 28 places to No 20.
• Suttons Speedy Seeds Salad Winter Mix re-entered at No 37 as gardeners look to elongate their harvesting season.

• Scotts Miracle-Gro Eco Sense Bulb Compost (20 litres) jumps up one place to No 2.
• Bord na Mona Growise Multipurpose With John Innes (56 litres) is the highest chart climber, up 23 places to No 21.
• Westland Gro-Sure Lawn Seeding Soil (30 litres) is the week’s highest re-entry, back in at No 29.

• Nerine are the highest re-entry this week, back in at No 26 with an increase in sales of over 180%.
• Air Plants are really on trend so it’s no surprise to see Tillandsia climb up the chart 20 places to No 29.
• Christmas is coming to plant sales too. Helleborus sales grew by 600% to re-enter at No 28.

• Suki’s Personalised Snowman/Snowgirl Ornament is the first No 1 of the season.
• Paper+Design Around the World Christmas Hearts Loo Roll climbed 26 places to No 5.
• Lotus Imports Frosted Fruit Pick was the highest placed chart new entry at No 7.

• Westland Peckish Natural Balance Energy Balls 50 Tub were the highest new entry at No 30.
• Tom Chambers Luxury Fat Balls-6 Pack No Nets debuted at No 37.
• Jacobi Jayne Rowena’s Hedgehog Mix 500g and Gardman Hedgehog Bites 650g both remained in the top half of the Wild Bird Care chart.

Ladies fashion brand Klass has opened a concession at Longacres’ Bybrook Barn, Ashford. The 400 sq ft unmanned concession is on the main walkway adjacent to the centre’s existing clothing offering.

“The invitation into one of the Longacres centres as their only clothing concession is a partnership that we are thrilled about and, along with all of our existing garden centre partners, we hope to grow and strengthen that relationship in the future,”  said David Cohen, Klass Retail’s operations director.

Klass has opened more 60 garden centre concessions in the UK and Ireland over the past five years. New ranges can be delivered on a weekly basis, helping to increase dwell time and customer re-visits.

In September, Klass opened Hetland Garden Centre, where initial sales have been promising.

Longacres director Julie Erridge said she was delighted with the the new Klass department. “We successfully trialed Klass in the spring so, to be able to introduce another fashionable element to our existing ladies wear offer in Bybrook for the autumn season is very exciting. The shop-fit provided by Klass really elevates the presentation of the product and raises the profile of the entire fashion and accessory department.”

For more information, call David Cohen at 01706 868 002 or email him here.

A new survey confirmed what the owners of the big garden industry brands knew all along – that consumers generally trust established brands.

Onbuy.com surveyed almost 1100 consumers to check out the importance of branding and consumer loyalty when a company has a name and brand overhaul.

The research revealed that 71% of consumers said it was very or somewhat important that they recognise a brand before they make a purchase. According to Reuters, investors too believe that brand strength and name recognition are becoming more important, 82% claiming it guides their investment decisions.

The survey revealed that changing a brand name could be the equivalent of pressing a reset button on your business. For example, one quarter (26%) of survey respondents stated that they were less likely to buy from a brand that has recently changed their name. Only 18% of consumers said they would look upon a brand name change positively. The main reason was because the consumer was less likely to trust the brand, with 34% of participants selecting this option. Indeed, recognising a brand name was selected by 52% of respondents as the most important factor leading to a purchase, followed by the packaging itself.

However, the study by OnBuy also revealed that brands shouldn’t shy away from change altogether, as 31% of buyers felt that more brands could do with renovating their image. McDonalds, Marks & Spencer and Boots were most often named.

Studies have revealed that it is more worthwhile to cherish the clientele you have, than to chase after shiny new millennial consumers. Indeed, it is reported to be 500% more expensive to convert new ones than to keep current consumers, with 82% of small business owners stating that loyal customers were the main way they grow their business. Loyal customers are believed to be more likely to spend more (up to 33% more) for products and services.

Click this link for the full survey results.

Zapper is a mobile app that makes payments and e-commerce quick, simple and secure for retail and catering operators and could make sense for garden centres.

More than 13,000 businesses across the UK, Europe, Africa and the US already use it, with a claimed 1 million-plus consumer downloads of the app. Zapper lets users pay quickly and securely with their mobile phone, collect loyalty points and instantly redeem vouchers, all when they press ‘pay’. Users can also leave feedback via the app, about their dining or shopping experience to help businesses improve their service.

Enabled by using the Zapper app to scan a unique QR code, the bill is instantly uploaded to the user’s smartphone for secure payments, bill splitting, tipping, voucher redemption, loyalty rewards and review features. Zapper enbles businesses to create bespoke promotions and reward loyalty through in-app offers, push notifications and beacon technology.

Current Zapper partners include Spar, Nisa, Booker and Londis and even a number of UK local authorities.

You can find out more by email  or call the UK enquiry line 0333 370 4414.

However, Glee marked a turning point in moving the watering market forward as M.D. Nick Davies explains.

“Garden Centres in particular were attracted to higher price point ranges which offer their discerning and often quite demanding customers, professional quality hoses, fittings and accessories. These are the sort of people who will happily invest over £100 in a hose reel and cart. We take a good, better, best approach and the quality and breadth of the Flopro+ and Elite ranges not only satisfies the needs of keener gardeners, they create significant incremental revenue for the retailer.”

The height adjustable Flopro Elite Tripod Sprinkler is a good example of products which appeal to keener gardeners. It has an area coverage of 415m2 from a heavy-duty metal head which easily adjusts from 0- 360 degrees, a serious product for serious gardeners.

The extensive range of Flopro+ and Elite spray guns, connectors and nozzles are manufactured using high quality materials to ensure that they will not damage easily in the rough and tumble of everyday gardening activity.

Communicating the benefits of products with higher price points is achieved through the use educational POS on back wall fixtures plus free standing promotional display units.

Getting the balance right is critical. Flopro offers retailers the opportunity to select ranges which meet their individual customer’s aspirations.

www.flopro-uk.com

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 newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2015 as well as 2016 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 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

Highlights of the GTN Christmas Porducts Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird Care 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.

• Trailblazer of the Year (nominated by the judging panel)
• New Casual Dining Concept of the Year
• New Pub / Bar Site
• Best New Restaurant Site
• Small Employer of the Year (under 20 sites)
• Large Employer of the Year (20+ sites)
• Menu Innovation Award
• Marketing Campaign of The Year
• Best Designed Pub / Bar of the Year
• Best Designed Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year
• Independent Pub of the Year (under 5 sites)
• Independent Restaurant of the Year (under 5 sites)
• Small Multi-Site Pub Brand of the Year (5-19 sites)
• Small Multi-Site Restaurant of the Year (5-19 sites)
• Large Multi-Site Pub Brand of the Year (20+ sites)
• Large Multi-Site Restaurant of the Year (20+ sites)
• Casual Dining Group of the Year