Catering departments serve up good sales for May

Our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results for May have revealed that our member garden centres saw catering sales rise.

Compared to the same time last year (2014) sales in catering departments were up 14.46%.

It’s great news that catering sales were on the up during May. Garden centres have so much more to offer than just plants these days and people often make a family day out of visiting their local centre as there’s something for everyone.

Has your inspector called yet?

MEMBER garden centres who have not yet had their annual inspections will receive a visit soon (up to and including June 19, 2015).

Since March member garden centres have been assessed across all departments and awarded an overall score. Those who have not yet had their visits will do so very soon.

The inspectors are reporting back so far that they are delighted with what they are seeing and that standards are especially good this year, particularly at the top end.

We are urging all garden centres yet to be visited to be prepared for their inspection. Inspectors drop in unannounced and you can’t put them off and ask them to come back another day. Inspections cannot be delayed or deferred because of any ongoing display or building work – customers see this when they visit! Garden centres will not lose marks because of such activities provided they are carried out safely and disruption is minimised with the customer in mind.

The venue for our 50th anniversary year conference is revealed

We’re thrilled to announce that our grand golden jubilee year conference will be held at The Grand Hotel in Brighton from January 24 until 27, 2016.

Next year is an extra special one for us. 2016 will see the association celebrate our 50th anniversary so the annual dinner in particular will be a very special event.

As well as the celebrations the conference will be the usual mix of top quality speakers, analysis of inspections and garden centre best practice and announcements of competition and awards. We will be announcing more details shortly and information on how to book in due course via our website www.gca.org.uk.


The schedule for the golden jubilee conference will be as follows:

Sunday – Greenfingers Challenge Cup

Monday – inspection and competition round ups plus keynote speakers – based around operational issues. An evening dinner themed, networking event for garden centres and associate members.

Tuesday – a day of strategy with keynote speakers on subjects such as the economy, challenges facing business and direction of future market trends with an emphasis on maintaining and enhancing profitability. In the afternoon there will be the supplier exhibition. In the evening we will host our Annual Gala Dinner and awards presentation, plus a special celebration of our 50th anniversary.

Comfy furniture & sizzling BBQ sales boost April’s figures

Our April (2015) Barometer of Trade (BoT) results are in and it looks like furniture and barbecue sales at garden centres across the country were on the rise.

Compared to the same time last year (2014), sales in these categories were up 26.73%.

The Easter holidays at the beginning of the month had the potential to boost sales as families had the time and opportunity to spend their time browsing at garden centres.

The weather was not as kind as we would have wished on the first two days of the Easter weekend and of course centres were closed on Easter Sunday but the fantastic weather on the Monday seemed to make up for any shortfall in earlier footfall and spending.

Weather affects plant sales while non-traditional categories soar

Our members saw sales of clothing and catering soar while fluctuating weather saw plant sales rise and fall during March (2015) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

Houseplants were up 5.50% while sales of outdoor plants fell -13.76%. Clothing sales were up 9.16% compared with the same month in 2014 and catering was up 5.87%.

This time last year we experienced some fantastic weather, which led to some impressive sales figures at the garden centres. It was always going to be tough to beat this year as the great British weather is so unpredictable so we have seen sales of plants rise and fall throughout the month.

When our traditional categories are being affected like this it’s great to see sales of our non-traditional categories pick up the pace. Despite the rain it looks like garden centre customers made sure they were kitted out in the latest gear and stopped off at cafés and restaurants during their visits for a spot of lunch, dinner or a cuppa and cake.

Core gardening categories spring into life

Our members saw sales in core gardening categories increase during February (2015) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

Sales of outdoor plants increased 9.42% compared with the same month in 2014, sundries increased 10.27%, but it was seeds and bulbs that saw the biggest rise at 14.33% up.

Iain Wylie, our Chief Executive, explained: “It looks as if garden centre customers spent the majority of February preparing for the new season with purchases of new plants, sundries and seeds and bulbs.

“At the moment we have no idea what the year ahead is going to hold for us but it looks as if gardeners have high hopes for good weather and are eager to get back into their gardens and get growing again. It’s great to see sales of core gardening categories on the rise consistently since the beginning of the year and I only hope this continues.” 

We’re pleased to announce our new area chairmen

We’ve appointed our new area chairmen who will represent member garden centres in each region this month (March, 2015). 

Under Will Armitage’s chairmanship, the regions have been tasked to help improve opportunities for members and assist them to get more from us.

Will explained: “We’re very pleased to have our new area chairmen for 2015 now in place. Each one will take over the representation of the member garden centres in their area.

“I hope to see more activity from each region in the coming year and stronger regional groups.”

In the South Thames region Jolyon Martin from Chessington Garden Centre has taken over the role of chairman from Tim Mason from Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres.

Peter Self from Whitehall Garden Centre follows Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre’s Managing Director, Mike Lind, as the chairman for the Wales and the West region. Mike has become a directly elected member of the GCA Executive Committee.