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.