association comment Plan ahead for 2020


It’s been a busy time for the Garden Centre Association, as its chairman Mike Lind explains, with a reflection on September’s IGCA Congress, and a look ahead to the organisation’s annual conference in January 2020


What an interesting summer it’s been for the garden centre industry. We’ve seen torrential downpours and even flooding, as well as heat waves and some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK. It seems to go from one extreme to another. During the summer we also had some great get togethers at our regional awards meetings. Staff from our member garden centres were able to hear vital feedback from our inspectors and we handed out awards to those who impressed the most. It was wonderful to see such good attendance and to see everyone taking all the feedback on board. Many centres have already started making changes in a bid to improve their scores next year. While our annual conference is possibly our biggest event of the year, in September we welcomed 250 delegates from around the world to this year’s IGCA Congress in Windsor, UK, and what a fantastic event it was. Attendees spent time visiting some of our


top member garden centres, other retailers and historic gardens. They even had time for a visit to the Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery, the


London Eye and a cruise on the Thames. They were also lucky enough to pay a visit to the world-famous Kew Gardens and receive a tour of Windsor Castle.


It was an excellent congress and all sorts of issues affecting our industry were discussed, friendships were formed, and important contacts made too. After a wonderful week away, delegates went back to their own garden centres full of drive and determination to have another successful season.


Meanwhile, before the countdown to Christmas starts in earnest, it’s worth remembering it’s autumn, which is just as good for outdoor planting as the spring; with the soil remaining warm, we need to make our customers aware of this fact. Hosting an event such as an apple weekend, which could also tie in with Apple Day on 21 October, is a wonderful way of encouraging sales of new fruit trees, while also celebrating harvest time. You could even hold planting demonstrations and give out information on aftercare. Finally, for those of you keen to come to our next Annual Conference, we’ve booked the


Mercure Grand Hotel in Bristol, UK, as the venue for the event, which takes place from 26- 29 January, 2020, and members will be able to book their places very soon via our website www.gca.org.uk. We’ll also start announcing speakers shortly too.


But 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.


I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.


Making the most of the golden quarter Will Jones, chief operating officer of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA), provides the latest industry round-up


They call this ‘the golden quarter’, and back in the day when economic conditions were more predictable, it was the time of year when tills would ring louder than ever and pretty much everyone in retail could expect to cash in. Even the garden sector which might once have viewed winter as the low season could use Christmas trees, then the full- scale grotto and then giſting in general as the way to join in the fun. This autumn there are some gloomy predictions around – especially in some sections of the media. Official statistics on falling orders from suppliers and a mixed picture in terms of consumer footfall both in the high street and in the out of town ‘destination’ stores are creating disquiet. I have been dismayed to see evidence that pre- Christmas discounting has started much earlier than normal this year and it’s not helpful to see national newspapers quoting one big name retailer predicting “the worst Christmas for retail since the collapse of Woolworths”. The fact of the matter is that not everyone is


suffering. It’s also the case that not every sector and not every category within every sector is experiencing problems. Fashion, even online


24 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


fashion, may be having a horrible time – but garden centres, by and large are not. We must be very careful we don’t let pessimists talk us down, just when there are some great opportunities around for those prepared to put in the effort. As is so often the case with statistics, we need to drill into the detail. Yes, it’s true that on every day of the first half of 2019, there were 16 store closures and only 9 openings, but of the top 10 categories for closures, garden centres figure precisely nowhere. Yes, international sourcing may be more challenging thanks to Brexit. Yes, the garden and outdoor leisure markets are mature and garden centres are of course not immune to the challenge of online, but garden and leisure is still in growth, and the adapters and the innovators are not only surviving, but thriving. Yes, it can be a struggle to attract generations of younger adults into the garden centre, but even ‘generation rent’ can be sold on indoor plants and smart gardening and there is a thriving niche in balcony, small outdoor space and portable products. Conversely, the proportion of older adults within that three quarters of the population with a garden or allotment drives a whole range of categories from labour-saving devices


to mindfulness and the therapeutic potential of the outdoor space, to birdfeeders. Moreover, the wildlife card can be played very successfully with the increasing audience of young families, alongside grow your own and garden tools for children.


So, do not let any statistic or prediction talk the garden centre out of the opportunity that is now in this run up to Christmas – and I haven’t even touched on the gifting potential of housewares, instore cookshops and fine food emporia.


The trick is to refresh and re-invent pretty much continually and to take high quality, knowledgeable and personable service very seriously. Garden centres are delightful destinations where indulgence, whether in the café or the retail aisles is key. And indulgence requires support and information in order to make purchasing decisions which make consumers happy – no matter what might be going on elsewhere in the outside world. The golden quarter is upon us. Make sure to tackle it with innovation, enthusiasm and optimism.


• Further information about BHETA and the trends to look out for can be found at www.bheta.co.uk or by calling BHETA Member Services on 0121 237 1130.


GCU October/November 2019


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