association comment Gardening, lifestyle and home


British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) home improvement director Paul Grinsell looks at cross over opportunities for garden centres


I’ve just walked the halls at Glee and Autumn Fair, will soon be visiting Spring Fair and Totally DIY and then Exclusively Housewares and there is and will be a significant quota of garden retail relevant products at each of these shows. As the ‘official’ industry show, Glee, according to most of the reports I read, has been well received. There were some noticeable traffic variations between the halls but generally the new format continues to turn the corner positively and that’s really good news for us all.


Having said that, it did strike me that just as more and more garden products appear in shows that do not include the word garden in their title, so the old garden-specific product integrity of Glee continues to be eroded. Compared with years gone by it is much more of a gift and even housewares event, including product selections that I would definitely not have viewed as typical purchases from a trip to the garden centre.


As an exhibition organiser in a former life, I could take a cynical view of some of the


reasons behind the amount of crossover between the various shows, but on the other hand I would also recognise that this trend is reflective of the way that many buyers now buy - no longer listing simply by the conventional categories of housewares or gift or garden or tableware or DIY or small domestic appliances. In fact, today’s buyers – and more importantly today’s consumers - can be quite disappointed when products are ‘boxed off’ in this way. In these days where categories merge and cross over, product presentation that adheres strictly to the old rules may no longer be the best – or at least not the only - way forward.


So how should traditional garden industry players react? Well one useful move is at least to investigate this cross category trend a little further. The British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) has long represented the connection between DIY and housewares, but in the light of what our retailer connections are telling us, we are now embracing as many garden players and small domestic appliance experts as we are mainstream DIY and


housewares suppliers. And the cross category co-operation is benefiting everyone. Garden suppliers embracing the new crossover approach to retailers are as a result joining the ranks of BHETA knowing that we can put them in front of department stores, discounters, builders’ merchants, supermarkets and other mass retailers as well as garden centre groups.


It’s not surprising therefore that at BHETA we are seeing an increasing coming together of the various home and garden sectors and we are responding to it in both our forums and our Meet The Buyers programmes. • For more information, contact BHETA on 0121 237 1130 or visit the website at www.bheta.co.uk


Plans for a collaborative industry venture at Chelsea 2016


The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is behind plans for an industry display at RHS Chelsea 2016, highlighting what can be achieved in small spaces


Plans are afoot for a garden industry presence at The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in 2016, with a four part exhibit highlighting different looks that can be achieved in small spaces through container gardening.


The idea is being


championed by industry stalwart and The Sun’s gardening editor Peter Seabrook in association with the HTA and GCA and their members. Linking in with the ‘Love the Plot You’ve Got’ campaign, schools and horticultural colleges ‘The Sun Flower Square’ will focus on: • A landscaped front garden • A hanging garden • A living seed catalogue • A schools home grown display


Speaking about the initiative, Peter Seabrook said: “The plan is that this collaboration will really bring together key players in the industry


14 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


– both growers and retailers and highlight not only the variety of plants available in the UK but also the innovative ways in which they can be displayed.” HTA chief executive Carol Paris commented: “This represents a wonderful opportunity for the industry to come together and showcase its work at such a high profile event such as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – fingers crossed that we get the go ahead.” The project will find out whether their bid has been successful in mid-November. Anyone wishing to find out more about getting involved should contact Martin Simmons or Gill Ormrod on 0118 9303132 or at martin.simmons@the-hta.org.uk or gill.ormrod@the-hta.org.uk.uk. • The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is the trade association for the UK garden industry. It is dedicated to helping develop the industry and its member businesses, including most garden centres and other garden retailers, growers, landscapers, manufacturers and suppliers


GCU November 2015


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