Our e-learning GROWs with festive modules

We have recently released two festive modules as part of our e-learning initiative Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW).

The latest modules for the scheme, which helps member garden centres keep their customer service at the highest standards, include real Christmas and artificial Christmas trees.

Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie said: “Christmas is one of the busiest times at our member garden centres. With Christmas trees being one of the main selling points it is important staff are able to competently help customers and answer any questions they may have, which is why we released these two modules ahead of this important selling period.

Hurry...to get your conference place!

IF YOU are wishing to attend our annual conference in January (2014) sign up soon to secure your place.

The conference, which takes place from January 26 until 29, 2014 at the Hilton Blackpool Hotel will include talks from top speakers, latest news from the industry and networking opportunities.

Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie, said: “We have had a great run on bookings and numbers so far and expect this year’s conference to be one of our biggest and best yet. Places are filling up fast so if you want to secure a place we suggest getting in touch soon to avoid disappointment.

Christmas displays that sparkle

Here are the regional winners of our annual Christmas display competition 2013.

Twelve garden centres have been named as having the best Christmas displays in their region. The two overall winners will be announced at our annual conference in January.

Expert in multi-channel retailing at our conference

AN EXPERT in multi-channel retailing will be presenting at our annual conference in January (2014) to help us all get behind the digital age.

David Oliver, a partner in PwC’s Retail Consulting team, will be focusing on giving attendees advice on how they can embrace digital transformation by integrating e-commerce with store channels.

More sponsors for our annual GCA conference

BORD na Móna and Hozelock have signed up as secondary sponsors for our annual conference taking place in January next year (2014).

The two companies join Davidson Richards and Westland Horticulture, which are the headline sponsors for the event.

Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie, said: “It’s wonderful having such well-known brands and names associated with our conference, which is fast becoming the best event of the gardening year when it comes to getting together with likeminded industry-folk.

We have a permanent Chief Exec

Iain Wylie, who until recently was our interim Chief Executive, has been confirmed in the position of Chief Executive.

Our Chairman, Peter Burks said: “We’re delighted Iain was available to continue in the role and are looking forward to the future. He has a great deal of expertise and knowledge and is very experienced in the ways of the GCA.”

Iain took the post of interim Chief Executive in October last year and has been helping to run the GCA during the past 12 months.

Peter added: “He’s done a great job in the holding role and there are lots of new projects to work on such as GROW. It promises to be an exciting coming year for the GCA.”

Top economist shares thoughts on outlook for garden centres

HSBC’S Head of Economics will be speaking at our annual conference in January (2014) about the outlook for garden centres and their suppliers.

Mark Berrisford-Smith, who is Head of Economics for HSBC’s commercial banking business in the UK, will be sharing his thoughts with attendees on Tuesday, January 28.

We dished up a cheerful October

DINERS and early Christmas shoppers turned to our member garden centres for their refreshments and festive purchases in October (2013) with sales in both categories up on the same month last year.

According to our (GCA) Barometer of Trade (BoT) catering sales were up by 7.35%, Christmas sales by 7.11% and gift purchases by 6.49% as compared to October 2012.

Our Chairman, Peter Burks, explained: “Although the figures are not stunning they are going in the right direction during what has been a tough year for all of us in retail. Catering is still performing well and anyone who doesn’t have a professional café or restaurant ought to be thinking about investing in one.

“Our customers may still need to feel more confident about the economy to spend more in other areas of the garden centre but they are definitely happy to eat out and to meet friends and family for a tea or coffee and cake in our restaurants.

“Christmas seems to have come early at our member garden centres too, which is very positive. We’re heartened to see the hard work of members, who have spent weeks creating wonderful, cheerful displays and special Christmas events, pay off this month.”

Sign up for Beach, Bingo and Boogie at our conference

We’re looking for people to sign up for our Beach, Bingo and Boogie event, which will take place on Sunday, January 26 at our annual conference.

To tie in with our seaside location for the conference, this year’s Greenfingers Challenge Cup will have a beach theme and will see a team of garden centre staff go head-to-head with a team of suppliers.

Iain Wylie, our interim Chief Executive, said: “The competition will include beach games, such as volleyball and cricket, followed by traditional seaside fish and chips and an evening of bingo. We’ll round off the night with a boogie.

Learn all about branding at our conference

Independent brand consultant and angel investor Alex Hunter will be speaking to delegates at our conference in Blackpool on Tuesday, January 28.

Alex, who was the Global Head of Online Marketing for the Virgin Group, will be sharing his thoughts on branding.

Iain Wylie, our interim Chief Executive, said: “Alex had an amazing career with Virgin, he started out working on digital strategy for Virgin America, conceived as a low-cost airline. When the company failed to gain the crucial certification from Congress, he and a handful of colleagues refused to sit back and do nothing.

“Facing enormous costs and a grounded fleet, they raced against time to find a way to highlight their plight. Deciding popular pressure was the best tool available, they started a grassroots campaign on social media and influential, independent websites. The campaign was a huge success and eventually the decision was overturned.

 “Alex then became Head of Online for the entire Virgin Group, overseeing a rapid expansion of the brand’s internet strategy and constantly adapting to new trends, technology and consumer requirements. The main site was very quick to embrace social media and user-driven content, underlining the company’s reputation for customer focus.”

Get the inside story on Bank of Dave at our conference

Channel 4’s Bank of Dave star will be speaking at our conference on Tuesday, January 28.

Dave Fishwick, the Burnley businessman who made policy-makers, industry regulators and multinational banks sit up and take notice, will be talking to us about entrepreneurial zeal.

Iain Wylie, our interim Chief Executive, said: “Dave has a fascinating story to tell. When the banking crisis hit, he was convinced he could do better. He asked himself how difficult would it be to offer savers decent interest and lend their money to local businesses at a slightly higher rate. Dave set out to do just that.

Peter goes to the House of Commons

Our Chairman attended an event at the House of Commons recently to help celebrate the horticultural industry’s successes.

Peter Burks went to a reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) last Monday evening (November 18, 2013).

For further information, please click here.

Garden centres get virtual offer for conference

Members wishing to attend our annual conference can now (November, 2013) sign up online and get a booking discount to boot. 

Garden centres hoping to go to our event in Blackpool in January 2014 can sign up via our website for the first time ever and receive a £50 price reduction too.

For further information, please click here.

Dr Steve Peters gives the inside track on achieving success

The psychiatrist behind the GB Olympic cycling team will be sharing his secrets of how to perform at the optimum level at our annual conference in January (2014).

Dr Steve Peters, who is a consultant psychiatrist, bestselling author and Head of Sports Psychology for UK Athletics, will be speaking at our conference on Monday, January 27.

For further information, please click here.  

The early bird catches…a conference discount

Delegates wishing to book up for our annual conference can take advantage of an early bird booking discount when they sign up online before November 15.

People who book a full conference attendance including accommodation will benefit from a £50 reduction in price for the event, which takes place in Blackpool in January 2014.

To find out more, please click here. 

Michael Heppell gives free talk exclusively to our members

Our members are being invited to sign up for a free online presentation from motivational speaker and success coach Michael Heppell.

Michael will be giving the Hearts and Minds for Customer Service talk, which will focus on improving customer service, exclusively for our members on November 13 at 11am.

To find out more, please click here. 

Paul elected to IGCA board

Paul Cooling has been elected to the International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) board replacing Sue Allen who is retiring from the role.

The Chairman of Coolings Nurseries has been a long-time supporter of the IGCA and his appointment continues the UK presence on the international board.

For further information, please click here.

Christmas comes early at garden centres

Garden centre customers started preparing for Christmas last month (September, 2013) with sales of festive products up on the same time last year according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

Christmas product sales were up 12.26% for the month as compared to September 2012. Seed and bulb sales were also up 9.75%.

For further information, please click here. 

Well done to our Ruxley Rose regional winners

We’ve recently announced the regional winners of our annual Ruxley Rose competition.

The Ruxley Rose award focuses on our members’ outdoor plant areas and recognises excellent quality and range of plants.

To find out who the winners were, please click here. 

EU proposal could be damaging to garden centres

We think a European Commission proposal regarding plants could be extremely damaging to garden centres if it is introduced.

The EU is proposing that new plants will require a scientific description and must be listed on an official register in order to be sold.

For further information, please click here.  

GCA awards Scotland winners

We revealed the Best in Area garden centre winners in Scotland during a presentation evening earlier this week.

Results for Scotland were announced during a ceremony on September 9 at Gouldings Garden Centre in Clyde Valley.

For the full list of winners, please click here.

Our 2014 conference will be held at…

We are delighted to reveal that our 2014 conference will be held from January 26 until 29 at the Hilton Blackpool Hotel, which is located on the North Promenade Sea Front.

Fifteen people guessed the correct venue and will receive a bottle of champagne in their room at the conference.

For further information, please click here.

Come and see us at GLEE

We will be hosting a stand at GLEE and we are hoping to see lots of our members there. We’d also love to meet anyone interested in finding out more about the GCA.

GLEE takes place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from Sunday, September 15 until Tuesday, September 17. 

For further information, please click here. 

Furniture and BBQs fly out of our members’ doors

People continued to make the most of the sunshine by improving their outdoor living spaces in July (2013) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results for the month.

Barbecues and furniture sales were up 72.75% for the month as compared to July 2012. The category now stands at 12.22% up for the year to date.

For further information, please click here.  

Our guess the venue competition continues

We have released the second clue in our competition to guess the venue for our next annual conference (January 26 until 29, 2014).

Our 2014 conference will be held at a new location and we are asking people to guess where.

For further information, please click here.  

What are your thoughts on peat?

Our members recently attended a meeting to discuss the future of peat. It took place at William Sinclair in Ellesmere Port and included a tour of the manufacturing facility and a chance for members to discuss the use of peat.

Our Chairman, Peter Burks explained: “It was great for our members to have the chance to meet up and have a discussion about peat and peat alternatives.”

For further information, please click here.  

First clue released for guess the venue competition

We have revealed the first clue in our competition to guess the venue for our next annual conference (January 26 until 29, 2014).

The event has been held at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park for the past three years but the 2014 conference will be at a new location.

For further information, please click here.  

Westland rising stars battle it out to win the title

Our four Westland Rising Stars finalists have recently (May, 2013) successfully completed their second workshop as part of the competition.

George Bishop, Will Michieli, Charlotte Prentice and Matthew Schindler experienced a guided tour of the Westland Packaging Unit at Alconbury in Cambridgeshire and visited Notcutts Peterborough Garden Centre. 

For further information, please click here.  

New catering award to be presented at our next conference

Our members are competing to win the first ever catering award, which will be presented at our annual conference next January (2014).

The new award, which is sponsored by the International Food Service Equipment Ltd (Ifse), will be presented to the garden centres with the highest scoring catering operation from the annual inspections.

For further information, please click here.