Garden centres sparkle with Christmas displays

We’ve revealed the regional winners of our annual Christmas display competition this week (November 23, 2015).

Fifteen garden centres have been named as having the best overall Christmas displays in their individual regions.

Iain Wylie, our GCA Chief Executive, says: “I am delighted to announce the area winners of our Christmas competition. The centres are now being judged to determine the national winners. Congratulations to all the winners so far and thank you to our band of judges who volunteered to visit them. I’d like to wish all the area winners good luck in the next round!”

The two overall national winners will be announced later this month and presented with their awards at our annual conference in January.

The results are as follows for the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) and Garden Centre (GC) categories: Barton Grange (DGC) in Lancashire and Burleydam Garden Centre (GC) in Cheshire came top in the North West. Squires Badshot Lea (DGC) in Surrey and Millbrook - Gravesend (GC) in Kent were the winners in the South Thames region. 

Also going through in the North West region is Bents (DGC) in Cheshire and from South Thames, Castle Gardens (GC) in Dorset. They both go through to the national finals as they were last year’s overall winners, giving an additional finalist from their respective areas.

Meanwhile in the Wales and West area, Whitehall Garden Centre (DGC) at Lacock in Wiltshire and Brimsmore Gardens (GC) in Somerset are in pole position with Van Hage Great Amwell (DGC) in Hertfordshire and Frosts – Brampton in Cambridgeshire coming out top in the North Thames region.

In the North East, Langlands Shiptonthorpe (DGC) in Yorkshire and Langlands (GC) Leeds, West Yorkshire came first and in the Midlands the winners were St Peters (DGC) and Pennells – Lincoln (GC), Lincolnshire.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the overall winner was Glendoick Garden Centre (GC) in Perth.

The national judging begins now (November 23, 2015) and, this year, Andy Campbell will be visiting all the centres over a two week period. Good luck to everyone in the national competition. There has been some excellent feedback about the wonderful Christmas displays across the country from the area judges so it’s going to be an interesting competition this year.

We will be announcing the overall, national winners later this month and they will then receive their prizes at our annual conference, which takes place at The Grand Hotel in Brighton from January 24 until 27, 2016.

Retail guru from Germany to inspire our members

A retail expert will be flying in from Germany to speak at our annual conference in January and he says the future for garden centres is bright.

The General Secretary of both the DIY-Retail Association (EDRA) and the Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN), John Herbert will be at our golden jubilee event from January 24 until 27, 2016.

John explained: “I will be presenting on topics based on my lifetime experience in retailing and my presentation to delegates will be entitled: ‘The huge difference – dedicated employees’.

“I will go through why some retailers are successful and others are not. How inspirational leadership can make the difference and where the family-owned business has a huge advantage over other retail conglomerates.

“I speak from personal experience having enjoyed managing a family business, Knauber, which was voted one of the best stores in the world by a USA leading trade magazine and then having worked in the world’s fourth largest retailer, Home Depot EXPO Design Centre, as President, West Coast USA.”

John will also give an insight into the future of retailing based on his knowledge of the sector during the past 11 years. 

   

“I’ve been visiting retailers all over the world for more than a decade, on average 35 times a year, and moderating annually a global congress with 750 delegates from more than 50 countries.  

“I will touch on how the Internet will continue to effect shopping habits and what the stores of the future look like…and it’s not all for the best. But in my opinion there are huge advantages for garden centres going forward”

Our annual conference will be held at The Grand Hotel in Brighton from January 24 until 27, 2016. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend the event.

Iain Wylie, our Chief Executive, said: “We’re really looking forward to hearing what John has to say. He has a wealth of knowledge having started his retail career as a trainee in retailing in York, shortly before his 15th birthday, almost 60 years ago.

“He joined the Army in 1962 and in 1965 joined NAAFI Germany as a trainee store manager, leaving as District Manager in 1975. During this time, John was awarded the Queen’s Commission. John joined German Hypermarkets and in 1977 was appointed Director of Sainsburys/BHS first SavaCentre Hypermarket in Washington, which at the time was on the first of its kind in the UK.”

In 1983, he joined Knauber as CEO a small retail German company. In 2000, John was appointed Divisional President of the Home Depot EXPO for the West Coast USA.

By 2002 he was the Managing Director of the BHB, the German DIY Retail Association, and just two years later he took over the recently formed European DIY Retail Association EDRA, which became an independent Association in 2009.

He later founded the Global Home improvement Network, which became an independent association in 2015.   

Iain added: “Today, John is the General Secretary of both the EDRA and GHIN with 127 of the largest home improvement retail companies from around the world as members operating in 99 countries with over 22,000 stores and members sales in excess of $250 billion.”

To book a place at the conference and hear John speak on January 25, 2016, please visit the members’ area on our website www.gca.org.uk or please call us on 0118 930 8918.

Alternatively, log on to our www.facebook.com/GardenCentreAssociation or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.

Outdoor categories and Christmas performing well in October

Customers at our member garden centres were buying furniture and outdoor plants during October and early indictations of Christmas sales are good according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

There was a 26.82% rise in sales of furniture and barbecues compared to 2014 and outdoor plants were up 17.59%. Clothing was also a good seller at 9.20% up.

As the festive season approaches, the early indications show Christmas sales are looking positive and there is the potential for a good season ahead. While the headline 10% increase may not be as high as other categories such as furniture and barbecues, the average sales value for the Christmas category is seven times greater and the value of the increase is three times as great.

It’s interesting to see sales of furniture and barbecues up at this time of the year. Because of the season we expect people to be purchasing items such as fire pits, outdoor heating and lighting and cosier seating so they can still enjoy their gardens before the very bitter weather sets in.

Strong outdoor plant figures show people have potentially been busy preparing their plots with plants ideal for colder weather and that produce some much needed winter colour such as shrubs and evergreens.

Clothing has been one of the top selling categories for the past few months, which is proving how garden centres are becoming real destinations with an increasingly diverse product range.

For the month of October the overall garden centre performance was up by 11% with a Year to Date change of 7.5%.

Sales in catering were 14.48% up compared to the same month in 2014 while Food Hall and Farm Shop sales were 11.51% up. Sales in gifts were up 9.74%.