Members invited to compete for the Worrall Cup

We are inviting our members to put their marketing campaigns to the test and compete for the chance to win the Worrall Cup.

The cup will be awarded to the garden centre that has the best marketing campaign or initiative during our annual conference in January (2015).

Headline sponsors for our conference revealed

We are pleased to announce that Scotts and Westland Horticulture will be the headline sponsors for our annual conference taking place in January next year (2015).

Scotts is a leading producer and marketer of products for do it yourself lawn care and gardening and Westland Horticulture is a market leader in garden and environmental products.

Early birds can catch a discount for our conference

We’re giving our members a chance to take advantage of an early bird discount when they book their place at our annual conference this month (November, 2014).

Anyone who books to attend the conference before November 30 will benefit from a 10% reduction in price for the event, which takes place in Chester in January (2015).

Hard landscaping sales paved the way in September

The continued dry weather last month (September, 2014) saw garden centre customers investing in improving their outdoor spaces according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

Hard landscaping sales were up 27.12% for the month as compared to September, 2014 according to the results.

Regional Ruxley Rose winners announced

We have announced the winners of our annual Ruxley Rose competition.

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

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.