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.

Record turnout at GCA regional meetings

Five-hundred people turned out for our regional meetings last month (July, 2014), which is a 25% increase in the amount of attendees at meetings held at the same time last year (2013).

We held the meetings in locations across the country to announce the results of our annual inspections.

GCA reports good sales for July

Our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results for July (2014) have revealed strong sales at member garden centres during the month.

The results show the year to date figure currently stands at 8.97% up.

South Thames results out

We have unveiled the winners for our South Thames region during a presentation this evening (Wednesday, July 23, 2014) at Chessington Garden Centre.

Squires Garden Centre – Hersham took home the title of Best Garden Centre and Haskins Roundstone Garden Centre was presented with the award for Best Destination Garden Centre.

The awards included Best Customer Service, which went to Thompsons, Isle of Wight, and the Best Environment and Community award was scooped by Thompsons, Canterbury.