Clothing sales were on the up at member centres

Garden centre customers were preparing their wardrobes ahead of the change of season according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results for August (2014).

The results show clothing sales were up 25.85% as compared to August, 2013.

Rising Stars final masterclass

Our Rising Stars candidates recently delivered outstanding presentations on merchandising during their final masterclass (September, 2014).

The final five are still being discussed as judges were so impressed. Once chosen, the five will go on to present at our conference in Chester in January and the overall winner will be chosen by delegates.

The candidate’s presentations were full of success stories including some who had quadrupled sales overnight through merchandising and creating themed displays for events such as Mother’s Day and food retail.

Scotland and N.Ireland award winners unveiled

We revealed the winners of our Scotland and Northern Ireland regions at a presentation last night (Monday, September 22, 2014) at Garden Wise Plant & Garden Centre in Dumfries.

Garden Wise Plant & Garden Centre was named Best Garden Centre and Simpsons Garden Centre Best Destination Garden Centre in Scotland. Creative Gardens Donaghadee scooped Best Garden Centre in Northern Ireland.

GLEE visitors invited to GCA’s stand

We will have a stand at GLEE this month (September, 2014) where existing members and those interested in finding out more can drop by.

GLEE takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from Sunday, September 14 until Tuesday, September 16. Our stand is located in hall 20, near the business lounge. The stand number is G38.