GCA delegates to get ‘fascinating explanations for everyday numbers’

A world-renowned behavioural economist, award-winning Financial Times columnist and BBC broadcaster will be offering delegates at our annual conference in January (2017) an insight into the economics of daily life.

Tim Harford will be bringing storytelling, humour and intelligence to the oft-maligned discipline of economics when he appears before delegates at the event.

With a knack for finding fascinating explanations for everyday numbers, Tim’s first two books, ‘The Logic of Life’ and ‘The Undercover Economist’, have been translated into 30 languages and sold well over a million copies.

His Radio 4 show ‘More or Less’ looks at the truth behind dubious statistics and manipulated figures, which is a fascinating subject. We feel he’ll be a wonderful addition to our line-up of speakers for our 51^st annual conference and are sure he’ll entertain and inspire all those who attend.

While he’s a ‘serious’ economist with a career spanning Oxford, Shell and the World Bank, Tim’s Financial Times columns dwell on the economics of daily life and offer tongue-in-cheek solutions to readers’ problems.

His first book built on these themes and ‘The Undercover Economist’ was likened to ‘Freakonomics’ in its examination and explanation of the workings of everything from coffee shops to organised crime, to development aid.

Tim’s other titles include: ‘The Logic of Life’, which applies economic theory to the world to explain how rational, or otherwise, decisions are.

He also wrote: ‘Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure,’ which shows how challenges of all types and sizes can’t be solved with simple ready-made solutions.

His most recent work ‘The Undercover Economist Strikes Back’ is a look at the truth behind the headlines now that economics has become front-page news.

A regular speaker with TED, which is a not for profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks, Tim also looks at why it’s so hard, yet so important, to learn from mistakes, the importance of obstacles and interruptions to creativity, how forecasting works and what to do when it doesn’t, and what innovation means and why the wrong sort of innovation can be a distraction.

Taking in everything from the military to game shows, aviation to ballet, global catastrophes to finding the right socks, Tim questions received wisdom, common sense and statistical certainty. His accessible, easy style provides entertaining, thought-provoking insights relevant to every garden centre owner, manager and employee and to all our member garden centres whatever their size.

Our conference speakers are selected to supply our delegates with entertaining and intelligent concepts that they can use within their daily roles. The industry is everchanging and we want to give our members the tools to be able to lead from the front.

The idea behind the conference is to share information on a wide range of topics such as merchandising, marketing and management. There are always plenty of opportunities for delegates to network and socialise too, and there are still places available for anyone interested in joining us.

Tim Harford will be speaking at our 51^st annual conference on Tuesday, January 24.

Conference dinner compere announced oh-aye!

Radio and TV comedian Fred MacAulay will be compering our annual conference awards’ dinner next month (January, 2017).

The Highland wit and BBC Scotland stalwart will host the annual event on Tuesday, January 24 at St Andrews.

Fred originally studied at the University of Dundee and graduated with an MA in Accountancy and Jurisprudence. He was also a Rector of the university, so you might think he’d be an unlikely candidate for becoming a comedian, but not so!

He took the stand-up comedy scene by storm in the early 1990s and has gone on to become a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe and at comedy festivals worldwide.  

He has also appeared on many Radio 4 comedy panel shows including ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, ‘Just A Minute’, ‘The Unbelievable Truth’ and ‘The News Quiz’ and has hosted live stand-up tours nationwide.

For nearly 18 years he presented ‘MacAulay and Co.’ on BBC Radio Scotland and can boast a string of TV appearances on both sides of the border.

Fred’s on air witticisms and on screen reputation are the product of years of experience on the live circuit, including a stint as the first ever-Scottish compere at the Comedy Store in London.

He has also been a panelist on TV shows including ‘Mock the Week’, ‘QI’ and ‘Have I Got News For You’.

We’re really pleased Fred has agreed to compere our awards, which will have a real Scottish flavor this year. It’s not too late to book if you are hoping to attend, please visit the members’ section of our website via www.gca.org.uk to secure your place.

With a super venue, a great line-up of speakers and plenty of opportunities to catch up with old friends from the industry, this year is definitely the conference to attend if you’ve never been before.

Sponsorship slots have filled up well too but there are still one or two left so if any companies are interested in this, please give Chief Executive, Iain Wylie, on 01244 952170.

Alex Polizzi’s Fixer Karl to speak at our conference

Retail consultant Karl McKeever who appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Alex Polizzi – The Fixer’ will be speaking at our annual conference in January (2017).

Garden centre chiefs and their teams who attend the event on January 23 will be offered advice by Karl on how to improve their customer experience and their commercial performance.

Following his work helping to transform the fortunes of the Wimbledon-based pet store, Creature Company, on the well-known BBC 2 TV show ‘Alex Polizzi – The Fixer’, Karl has gone on to share his visual merchandising tips to help improve other retailers’ businesses nationwide.

Karl is very well-known in the retail world and has worked for some of the world’s biggest brands. He was established as the retail consultant that global brands trust before his TV appearance but has reached an even greater audience since working on the programme.

He’ll be sharing his inspirational expertise on shopping psychology and giving us all an insight into what our customers actually want and how we can provide it.

His presentation to delegates will include the importance of thinking like a shopper and helping shoppers avoid choice and navigation angst during their purchase journey. He will also give his advice on how to create some instore theatre and the value of upcycling existing fixtures, for those on a small budget, to revitalise the shopping experience they offer.

Booking now open for our annual conference

Booking has now opened for our annual conference next January (2017).

The conference, which will include talks, industry updates and opportunities to socialise, takes place at St Andrews in Scotland from January 22 until 25.

If you are hoping to attend, please visit the members’ section of our website via www.gca.org.uk to book your place.

With a great venue, a great line-up of speakers and plenty of opportunities to catch up with friends from the industry, our 51^st annual conference looks set to be a fantastic event.

Sponsorship slots have filled up well too but there are still one or two left so if any companies are interested in this, please call our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie, on 01244 952170.

   

The conference kicks off on Sunday, January 22 with an afternoon of fundraising activities for the charity Greenfingers. Two teams will go head-to-head to battle it out for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup.

Monday’s (January 23) part of the conference will focus on the operational side of our industry and will include talks from a range of inspiring and engaging business speakers to help motivate us for the year ahead.

During the day on Tuesday (January 24) there will be more of a focus on the strategic element of business, with opportunities to listen to some inspirational speakers and a chance to experience the associate’s exhibition.