Features

Hillmount Ards has opened its doors following a £1 million investment in transforming the site of the original Thriving Life Church at the junction of Movilla Road and Ballyreagh Road into a 10,000sq ft lifestyle garden centre with the creation of 25 jobs for Newtownards.   Robin Mercer, Hillmount Ards, said:  “I always promised my wife Edith that I’d open a garden centre in her home shopping town of Ards and after we opened Hillmount Bangor we began to search for a site.  Developing Hillmount Ards has been a real labour of love for Edith, our son Alan and I, and we believe we have created…

Choice Marketing held their Annual Conference & Trade Show over 3 days in early October at Jurys Hinckley Island Hotel. A total of 160 delegates representing members, suppliers and the Greenfingers charity came together in an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation. The Trade Show hosted 90 suppliers covering core gardening, plants, gifts, Christmas and catering. Key industry personalities from all sectors of the industry were in attendance. Choice announced the winners of their supplier of the year awards with Whartons scooping the Plant supplier accolade and Woodlodge winning the…

Twenty-two companies in the pet care industry were honoured on Sunday 24 September 2017 at the PetQuip Awards Dinner & Party, which took place in the Ludlow Suite at the Telford International Centre, in association with PATS Telford.     Also presented was a Lifetime Achievement Award for Terry Brown, the founder and current chairman of Pedigree Wholesale Ltd, one of the UK’s largest wholesalers in the independent pet and aquatic trade.   In front of a packed UK and international retailer and supplier audience that represented all sectors of the pet trade, the names of the finalists,…

PetQuip Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 Introductory speech by Amanda Sizer Barrett, MBE director general of PetQuip   The winner of this year’s PetQuip Lifetime Achievement Award is the owner of a family business founded in 1926 by his grandfather as boarding kennels, a farm was acquired and the business expanded again into breeding farm livestock.  Our award winner, the founder’s grandson, helped out on the farm from an early ageand on the day he passed his driving test he was sent by his father to work at the kennels. In 1963 the business launched one of the first dog insurance…

MEMBERS of The Garden Centre Association (GCA) in Scotland and Northern Ireland are celebrating after picking up awards during a presentation evening yesterday (Thursday, September 7, 2017) at Klondyke Mayfield.   In Scotland The Mains of Drum Garden Centre was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Garden Centre (GC) category and Simpsons Garden Centre in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category. In Northern Ireland the award for Garden Centre of the Year (GC) went to Creative Gardens Donaghadee.   Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “The final regional awards…

Liberon, the leading woodcare brand, is bringing a splash of colour to the garden with its new Garden ColourCare range. Featuring four products, all benefiting from the same advanced formulations as Liberon’s standard exterior woodcare range, the new collection has been developed to introduce a choice of colours to any exterior wood, from decking to garden furniture.   Garden ColourCare Decorative Furniture Oil Ideal for teak, exotic wood or pine, the Garden ColourCare Decorative Furniture Oil can revamp all exterior woodworks and garden furniture. The durable oil protects against damage…

The team from the Gardenex and PetQuip associations will be promoting and supporting Glee in 2017 with a wide range of activities to help boost business for Glee’s UK exhibitors.    The Gardenex and PetQuip team will be based on the International Buyers’ Centre which is located in Hall 18 (StandM60/N61).  The facility provides a hub for visiting buyers who attend the show from around the world.  As well as meeting with international buyers and addressing their UK product sourcing enquiries, the team will be available throughout the show to meet with existing member companies and UK…

Garland / Worth Gardening will be making a major statement with the launch of over 70 new products on its Stand Hall 18H10-K11 at Glee in 2017.   New products to be launched include: A self-watering grow pot tower that has an 11ltr planting capacity.It stands 1.5m high and has an aluminium tube top frame with four plastic rings that fit securely into the main base pot.The towers are ideal for growing tomatoes, peppers sweet peas etc. Hanging basket liners, consisting of capillary matting and universal liners. A leaf and garden rake with a polypropylene head and sturdy wooden handle. A…

RHS and licensees out in force at major UK garden and outdoor living trade event   This year’s GLEE — the UK’s most valuable garden and outdoor living trade show for the retail industry, taking place at the Birmingham NEC from 11-13 September — will see a major RHS undertaking to raise awareness of its home and gifting offering to the gardening products retail trade.   The RHS stand (17p01) will be featuring licensed merchandise from no fewer than 15 RHS licensees and endorsed partners in the home and gifting sectors as well as the gardening category. Buyer and retailer visitors to the…

The growth of the Garden Lighting category shows no sign of abating. This continued increase is, in part, due to the enduring trend to invest in outside spaces, treating them as an extension of the home. More recently however, it has been fuelled by the dynamic expansion of lighting options made available to consumers, in particular solar lighting where there are no cables or connectivity issues.   Smart Solar – the market leading brand from Smart Garden Products - has a rich heritage in the design and manufacture of high quality solar powered lighting, and at Glee 2017 will be introducing…

Joining Glee’s keynote roster in 2017 will be well-known naturalist, film maker, author and co-designer of several award-winning garden wildlife products, Simon King OBE.   Simon will be presenting a special off-one session on Tuesday 12th September (2:10 – 2:30pm within Glee’s seminar theatre, Retail Lab) entitled ‘The Secrets to a Successful Wildlife Garden’.    Never before has there been such a wide choice of products to help attract and support wildlife in your garden. Whether you have a square metre in the heart of the city or a rambling spread in suburbia, there are a host of…

This year Glee will be home to its strongest pet contingent for many years. From the PetQuip Business Village that has doubled in size, to the wealth of UK and international exhibitors and the newly introduced Buyer Connect event, pet buyers and garden retailers will be spoilt for choice.     With a recent report suggesting that 70% of UK garden centres now feature a dedicated pet care section, it is clear that the UK’s love for their pets shows no sign of slowing.  In fact, total spending on pet care in the UK reached a record high of around £5.08bn last year as the role of the ‘pet’…

One of the most innovative features at the annual Glee exhibition, the Retail Lab @ Glee – new for 2017 - has secured backing from a wide range of leading suppliers, who have come on board as ‘Preferred Supplier Partner’ and ‘Selected Supplier Partner’ of the Retail Lab’s four trend-lead areas.  Here, ‘Preferred Supplier Partner’ Elho’s Sales Manager UK & Ireland, David Nicholson tells us more about Elho’s plans for the Retail Lab @ Glee.   Can you tell us more about what products you will displaying? We’ll be displaying a selection of Elho’s new and best-selling pots. What we’ve found…

On Monday 11th September, Glee will be welcoming award-winning gardening journalist and TV presenter, Nick Bailey, to the stage as this year’s keynote speaker.   Leading not one, but three sessions as part of Glee’s ever-popular seminar programme, Nick’s keynote speech will focus on the latest emerging trends in gardens, how garden centres can utilise garden shows as a way of promotion, and the diverse ways that the younger generations can engage with horticulture.   With 25 years’ experience under his belt, Nick has carved out a career within both the publishing and broadcasting worlds. …

THE TEAM at Wyevale Nurseries are gearing up this month (August, 2017) ready for Glee from September 11 until 13 at the NEC in Birmingham.   The Hereford-based nurseries will be at the garden and outdoor living trade show to promote its new catalogue and to give attendees the chance to see its new plants for the coming year.   Adam Dunnett, Sales & Marketing Director at Wyevale Nurseries, said: “We are exhibiting at GLEE again this year armed with our Promotions Catalogue for 2018 and samples of the new promotions we have launched within it.  “Featured on the stand (NB21 – NB24)…

Alex Marsh, Managing Director at Close Brothers Retail Finance, reveals the latest trends in garden purchasing and highlights the value of being able to spread the cost of big ticket items for the garden through retail finance. Looking at the latest ONS retail sales figures, it seems that retailers are managing to hold their own in an extremely challenging economic environment. As we progress through the summer it is clear to see that retailers are under constant attack from the repercussions of inflation outstripping wage growth. However, retail sales have shown unexpected resilience…