Our Wales & West winners receive awards

The Old Railway Line Garden Centre scooped the most awards during our Wales & West regional awards evening yesterday (Thursday, July 13, 2017) at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre in Somerset.

The Welsh garden centre took home seven awards including Garden Centre of the Year in the Garden Centre (GC) category while Bernaville Nurseries in Devon won the same accolade in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category.

The first of our regional awards meetings was a great success and we’d like to say a huge ‘congratulations’ to all of the very deserving winners as well as a massive ‘thank you’ to Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre for being the perfect hosts for the evening.

Other awards on the night included the Dick Allen Award for Most Improved centre, which was won by Plymouth Garden Centre, and the ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant, which saw Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre take the crown in the DGC category and The Old Railway Line Garden Centre in the GC category.

We’re now very much looking forward to the next meeting for the North West/North East region, which takes place at Klondyke – Wilmslow Garden Centre on Wednesday, July 19.

The full results for the Wales & West region area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Bernaville Nurseries (DGC)

Best Customer Service: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

Environment and Community Award for Best Environmental Practice: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Barton Grange Trophy for Innovation and Creativity: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Plymouth Garden Centre

The ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre (DGC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre (DGC)

Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC)

Best Outdoor Living Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC) and Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC) joint winner with Trelawney Garden Centre (DGC).

Weather divides North and South in May

Results of our Barometer of Trade show that the weather was a big factor in sales during May (2017) and divided the country.

Compared to the same month last year (2016) sales in the southern part of the country were between 9% to 13% down, whereas the north fared better with sales down by between 2% and 6%.

The weather played a big factor in our member garden centres’ May sales figures, with, contrary to the norm, the north having better weather than the south. However all of our member garden centres had a tough job trying to top the figures from May 2016, which was the highlight of last spring.

Clothing sales were up 35.18% compared to the same month in 2016. Catering sales were also up 7.4% and houseplants at 2.95%.

Outdoor plant sales were -7.5%, seeds and bulbs -16.37% and garden sundries -7.32%.

Furniture and barbecue sales were -12.47%, gifts up 1.22% and hard landscaping -14.39%. Food hall and farm shop sales were up 0.23%.

Martin Cowell, Director at Cowell’s Garden Centre, said: “After a buoyant start in May, which included a bumper bank holiday weekend, the second week in May was a disaster. The daily average temperatures were between 12 and 14 degrees, which certainly hampered sales, however the last two weeks saw the weather improve and sales were flying again.

“We ended May -1% down on 2016, which considering the weather, and record sales the previous year, we were very pleased with. It could have been much, much worse. Our top five performing departments in May were bedding at +6%, perennials +12%, shrubs +6%, garden lighting +88% and irrigation up +24%.”

Member garden centre sales showed an average overall decrease for the month of 4.64% and an average overall Year to Date increase of 6.4%.

Bookings up at our Plant Area Forum at Ball Colegrave with more places now available

We’re hosting our second annual GCA Plant Area Forum for plant area managers and plant buyers at Ball Colegrave in July.

The event on July 20 will once again be facilitated by our inspector, Roger Crookes, who is also our Ruxley Rose plant area competition judge this year and believes passionately in the power of plants.

Our first Plant Area Forum last summer was a big hit with all those who attended. It was a highly motivational day and this year’s event promises to be just as inspiring. Bookings, so far, this year are ahead of last year’s, but we can now take more people if others would like to join us.

The day will give delegates the chance to see the Ball Colegrave trials grounds and the opportunity to network with like-minded people from garden centres across the country. The event includes a comprehensive agenda covering ways of maximising plant sales, stock management and benchmarking sales.

Delegates will be asked to share ideas and information, discuss the challenges they face, as well as analyse sales and profitability and discover potential opportunities.

There are still some places, which cost £79 per person, available for the event and members can find a booking form on our website www.gca.org.uk or contact us direct on 01244 952170.

All the delegates will be asked to carry out some pre-Forum homework because part of the day will include a session to benchmark key performance indicators to help people assess their own centre’s performance against others. They’ll share information and come away with new ideas and be challenged to think differently.

Using the information they bring, delegates will analyse the space occupied by a category in relation to the value of sales for that category. So, it might be that we find some plants occupy a great deal of space but that doesn’t justify the sales they generate or vice versa. It promises to be an enlightening and profitable day all round.

It’s also a wonderful opportunity to see the Ball Colegrave trial grounds in all their summer glory, be one of the first to see their new introductions for 2018 and the day offers the chance to network with colleagues from centres from all around the country.

Our Plant Area Forum takes place at Ball Colegrave in Oxfordshire on July 20 from 10am until 4pm. Food and refreshments will be provided.

To book you place, please call 01244 952170 or visit www.gca.org.uk.

Is Stratford-upon-Avon ‘to be or not to be’ home to our January 2018 conference?

We have announced that the location of our annual conference is to be held in the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel from January 21 until 24.

It will be hard to top last year’s annual conference, which took place in the picturesque St Andrews in Scotland, as it was such a success but this year we have chosen a location that is steeped in history, Stratford-upon-Avon.

We are thrilled that the conference will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It is set in beautiful landscaped gardens next to the River Avon and for the entirety of the conference we will have 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, but for now, be sure to keep the dates free in your diary.

Briefly, the schedule for the conference will be as follows:

• Sunday – Greenfingers Challenge Cup 
• Monday – inspection and competition round ups plus keynote speakers – based around operational issues. A themed evening dinner, 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.

We’ve announced our regional award meetings

Our members will find out who has come out on top in our annual inspections this year at regional award meetings taking place this July (2017).

Garden centres are encouraged to attend the event in their area and to bring as many of their team members along as possible.

Our annual inspections are drawing to a close and early feedback is looking positive, but if members want more information on how they fared they will need to go along to their nearest area awards meeting.

During each meeting the inspector for that particular area will present their findings from the area, highlighting best practice and new ideas, and will announce all the category winners.

The Wales & West region award meeting will take place at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre near Taunton, Somerset on Thursday, July 13 and the inspector attending is Andy Campbell.

Roger Crookes will be presiding over the North West/North East regional meeting on Wednesday, July 19 at a venue still to be confirmed.

The Midlands region will meet at Planters, Tamworth on Tuesday, July 25 with inspector Alyson Haywood, while the South Thames region will meet with Michael Cole at Castle Gardens in Sherborne, Dorset on Wednesday, July 26.

On Thursday, July 27, Gordon Emslie will present his findings at the North Thames meeting at Ayletts in Hertfordshire.

The Scotland and Northern Ireland area awards meeting will follow later in the year on September 7 at Klondyke Mayfield with inspector Gordon Emslie.

Our round of annual inspections started in March. Many of our members have said that the unique annual inspections and constructive feedback sessions are one of the biggest benefits of membership. It is a fantastic motivational and management tool and really keeps staff on their toes, making sure they are always doing their absolute best.

Garden centres receive no advance warning about when their inspection will take place and they do not have the option to turn away the inspector. It is all about making sure they are offering a consistently excellent service and improving their customer service standards, which is what all GCA garden centres must do to remain members.

The results of the inspections form the basis for many GCA awards, including Destination Garden Centre of the Year, Garden Centre of the Year, Area Winners, Highly Commended and Most Improved Garden Centre. The top 10 centres will receive a Garden Centre of Excellence Award and all centres scoring 75% or above receive the Highly Commended certificate.

Garden centre customers geared up for good weather in April

Customers at garden centres across the country prepared themselves for the good weather by buying furniture and barbecues for their outside spaces according to our Barometer of Trade results.

Furniture and barbecue sales in April were up 37.46% compared to the same month last year (2016) with outdoor plant sales close behind at 33.22%.

We love nothing better than when the sun is shining. Lots of householders have been busy getting their gardens ready in order to enjoy the sunshine. They’ve been purchasing garden furniture and barbecues, so they can make the most of their outside spaces as possible and this has been reflected in the figures recorded by our members.

Garden sundries sales were up 27.65% and hard landscaping up 20.88%. Smaller garden centres showed a greater increase in plants as they make up a greater percentage of their sales.

Clothing was another good seller with sales up 17.36%.

All that shopping must have made customers hungry, as they spent time in our members’ food halls and farm shops too, where sales were up 13.74%. Catering sales were also up 7.40%.

The results are reasonably consistent across the country, but we expect it will be a completely different story with May’s results.

Pets and aquatics sales were up 6.68%, seeds and bulbs were up 3.27% and houseplants were up 9.70%.

Sales showed an average overall for the month of 21.86% and an average overall Year to Date increase of 11.07%.

Our BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.

Two garden centre staff sponsored for IGCA Congress

Our GCA Trust has announced this month (March, 2017) that not one but two candidates this year will go to the International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress.

The Trust recently invited applications from employees of member garden centres to receive a sponsored place at the IGCA in September.

Sue Allen, Trust Chairman said: “Eight candidates applied and all were of exceptionally high standard, making the choice very hard for the Trustees, to the point where they decided for the first time to send two lucky delegates to the IGCA, which will be held this year in the Niagara Falls region of Canada. I’m delighted to reveal that Zoe Willis of Perrywood Garden Centre and Liz Dowling of Millbrook Garden Centre were both selected.

“As a regular attendee of the IGCA Congress for many years, I appreciate just how much can be gained from the experience, not just in learning about how garden retailers in other countries respond to challenges in their own market place, but also in meeting and sharing knowledge with delegates from the other 18 member countries.

“It continues to surprise and dismay me when I realise how many strong members of the GCA do not take advantage of the unique opportunity offered by the annual Congress. It is telling that all this year’s applicants for the award came from centres who already fully appreciate the benefits of the international organisation.

“Mark Scott from Gordale, who won the place in 2016, can confirm that the experience was truly life-changing and his employers Jill and Peter Nicholson were delighted to benefit from his enthusiasm and new ideas upon his return.”

The object of the Trust is to advance among the general public and, in particular among horticultural students, education in horticulture, and particularly garden centres, by the provision and administration of scholarships and bursaries, including prizes to foster such education.

A delighted Zoe explained: “I'd just like to say how excited I am with getting a place to go to congress, it is fantastic opportunity.”

Zoe is now looking forward to liaising with Liz, who is a Brand Manager at Millbrook Garden Centre, to discuss their forthcoming trip together.

Simon Bourne, Garden Centre Manager at Perrywood Garden Centre, said: “We are so happy for Zoe. She loves travelling and meeting people and is potty about plants, so we know she is going to love the Canada trip. We can’t wait to see what she posts on social media and the ideas she then brings back to the rest of the team. It’s an amazing opportunity - huge thanks to the GCA Trust.”

The Trust also aims to assist horticultural students to study, research into and gain experience of horticulture and landscaping.

Liz, who is based at Crowborough, said: “I am so excited to have won a place on the trip to Canada, the itinerary looks amazing and I can’t wait to go! I am looking forward to meeting other people within the industry and seeing the garden centres and nurseries in Canada. What a fantastic opportunity!”