association comment Motivation and inspiration


NewGarden Centre Association (GCA) chairman Mike Lind looks back at a successful conference for the GCA and ahead to his hopes and plans for two years in the role


Aſter a wet and windy start to the year, interspersed with some very cold snaps, spring is at last here and with it comes a welcome upturn in activity at all our garden centres as people get back into their gardens. But it’s not just our garden centres that are


busy, we’re also working hard behind the scenes at GCA HQ to fully support our existing members and to also attract more new ones to help further strengthen our amazing organisation. For those that don’t know me, I’m Mike Lind and I’m the managing director of Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, which is an award- winning, family-run business in Somerset. Julian Winfield finished his term of office as GCA Chairman at our annual conference in January and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for the work he has done for the organisation in the past two years. I have now been handed the baton for 2018 and 2019 and I am delighted to be taking on the role. Thank you to everyone who joined us at our conference, which was held at Stratford-upon- Avon this year. It was thoroughly enjoyable and


inspirational. It is one of the many benefits of being a GCA member and, during my tenure as chairman, I aim to raise greater awareness of all the advantages membership brings. It will always be a challenge to find speakers for our conference who have something new and insightful to say, but this year we seemed to get it just right. This will make next year's conference even more of a task to organise, but this also represents a wonderful opportunity for us to create something extra special in 2019.


My highlight for this year’s event was the speaker Shark Warrior, Lesley Rochat. Her presentation about fearless leadership and the power of positive thinking, all linking in with the natural world, was truly inspirational. I also enjoyed being part of the team that put the conference together. Our chief executive, Iain Wylie, and his assistant, Kate Halliwell, did a fantastic job making it all happen. However, the best part of all was the stream of emails, social media posts and phone calls after the event from delegates telling me how motivational the speakers were, how


Time to stimulate the market


British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) housewares director Will Jones sees opportunities across market sectors


As someone who consistently advises the BHETA membership to explore the incremental sales opportunities outside of the core of High Street, multiple retail, and department store, I have come back from Spring Fair and subsequently Ambiente cautiously optimistic.


Inevitably the overall response to exhibitions is mixed, with general exhibitor feedback to me being summarised as ‘fair’. I am, however, pleased by the numbers of buyers seeking – and finding – inspiration from suppliers they might not have previously considered – and by the suppliers and supplier-led organisations enabling them to do so.


At Spring Fair, we saw the opening of a Glee concession show and it was good to see the UK’s number one home and gift event now including garden retail - as well as DIY/home improvement which arrived last year. 37 garden suppliers exhibited in Glee at Spring Fair and no doubt one of their objectives was to enable garden retailers to top up their listings as peak season approaches.


GCU March 2018


One of the most interesting outcomes from my perspective, however, was the number of retailers from outside of core gardening who came along to see how ‘Glee products’ could integrate and invigorate their traditional stocking policies.


When we get to June and the Exclusively Housewares and Exclusively Electrical exhibitions open, I’m sure we will see the same phenomenon in reverse. Garden retailers will be out in force looking to boost their product offer with housewares and gift and it’s good to see the industry helping this to happen. Talking of which, the other reason I have been encouraged by my recent exhibition visits is the very positive reaction BHETA received from both buyers and suppliers to the launch of its new online product, brand and supplier directory aimed at retail buyers. Called the Retailer Zone www.bheta.co.uk/retailer- zone and located on the new BHETA website, it features information from suppliers across housewares, home enhancement, home improvement, garden, DIY and small electrical.


The


directory provides a real-time search


function, perfect for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Visually stimulating and interactive, it’s a fantastic tool for the whole industry, enabling retailers to find not only practical product and supply details, but a real shop window for future listings, populated and updated in real time – and all from a laptop, tablet, or phone. So, thanks to observation at these two shows, I am still certain that cross-fertilisation of products and ideas is the way forward for suppliers and retailers looking to woo the consumer into maximising spend. Everyone in the market can benefit from the stimulus of new ideas. It’s the role of the industry to make sure these are continuously available. • For more information about BHETA, contact the Member Services Team on 0121 237 1130 or visit the BHETA website www.bheta.co.uk


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useful the content was and how they are going to apply it to their businesses. During my


time as


chairman, I will continue to


focus on the core benefits of membership and our strategy, which includes delivering an aspirational members’ conference, sharing our monthly barometer of trade, developing further our GROW e-learning initiative ensuring greater acknowledgement of our annual standards inspection process and promoting regional activities and networking between members that help with the sharing of best practice. I’m also looking forward to growing our membership.


Above all, I want to strive to ensure the GCA remains relevant to the interests of our members and is seen as an association that is beneficial to all but is also fun to be part of.


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