contents Spring into step


Whilst the weather in deepest January is always cause to look ahead to sunnier climes, thankfully our latest issue provides a refreshing antidote to the post-Christmas blues.


Spring is very much on the agenda, as we preview the upcoming Spring Fair trade show, and the latest on how retailers can make the most of the increasing popularity of barbecuing as an all-year round pursuit. This issue is very much a look ahead, as we examine the garden retail trends mostly likely to figure in 2020.


With sustainability, and anti-plastic sentiment not going to go away, it’ll be interesting to see how the industry endeavours to capitalise on these issue becoming noticeably mainstream. So far, whisper it quietly, the industry is in a good place. Recent figures pre-Christmas suggest the industry is outrunning its odds, with notably clothes and houseplants performing well. The acid test will be to see how garden retailers have performed against other retailers, as recent retail figures suggest the worst Christmas on the high street for 20 years, in part down to online retailers, but also due to consumer burnout.


CONTACTS Editor:


Alex Fordham Email: afordham@datateam.co.uk


Publication Manager: Sallie Payne - Tel: 01622 699 151 Email: spayne@datateam.co.uk


Product News Coordinator: Ed Waugh - Tel: 01622 699 153 Email: ewaugh@datateam.co.uk


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Claire Noe - Tel: 01622 607963 Email: cnoe@datateam.co.uk


Publishing Director: Paul Ryder


Email: pryder@datateam.co.uk


Curwood CMS Limited Datateam, PO Box 35, Robertsbridge TN32 5WN Tel: 01580 883844 Email: datateam@c-cms.com


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@ GCUpdateUK Obituary Industry news Greener Gardening Company feature


12 2020 trends 16 Garden tools 18 Barbecue retailing 20 Spring Fair feature 22 New products 24 Association comment


16 @ GCUMagazine


Retailing is now a never ending cycle of sales – Black Friday, pre-Christmas, post-Christmas, New Year sales, and that’s just in the past quarter. Despite the recent cautious optimism, it’ll be fascinating to see how retailers in the garden industry cope with the possible burnout of consumers, and whether the desire to shop and consume less also hits our industry. With such a positive sustainability story, let’s hope we remain unaffected. I hope you enjoy the issue.


Alex Fordham, Editor afordham@datateam.co.uk


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