RANGE REVIEW: CHRISTMAS


WINTER WARMERS


present great gift opportunities.” She suggests creating lifestyle displays to inspire customers and show them used in a different setting. “You can do more by creating mini home set displays in your store or garden centre. “Something we see with retailers


As Christmas lines are already starting to take over the shopfloor, be sure you’re not missing a trick by shelving categories that could still provide opportunities over the winter months. Fiona Garcia reports.


– garden centres in particular – is that they lay down paving areas during the summer to showcase outdoor furniture ranges on, and those paving areas are kept there in the winter months but they just use them to put Christmas products on. “They don’t think about re-doing it as an outdoor display for the colder months. Rather than re-purposing it, it’s about re-imagining the same space and showing consumers what they can do with these products in the autumn and winter.”


Give Santa a grilling And, if the great British public is out making the most of the garden during the winter, it makes sense they might be thinking about doing some cooking as well, meaning barbecues and accessories could prove a great category for Christmas. Weber marketing director Chris


M may


any DIY/home improvement retailers and garden centres are already getting shoppers in the


festive spirit, with Christmas lines starting to make an appearance You


have planaograms


and store displays in mind as you prepare to reorganise the shopfloor, window display, or whatever you’re working with but, before you start packing away your outdoor living ranges and so-called classic summer lines in favour


of decorations,


lighting, novelty items and various gift lines, it might be worth taking a moment to think differently and make sure you’re not missing a golden opportunity.


10 DIY WEEK 26 OCTOBER 2018 Turn up the heat


Of course, we all expect heating products and fireside accessories to start seeing growth when the cold creeps in but, with Brits choosing to spend more time outside and reports that the key season for outdoor


living is stretching into


colder months, it’s not just indoors that consumers are keen to keep cosy and warm. In fact, in a recent survey on Diyweek.net, 21% of respondents said the trend for more outdoor heating and lighting products mean they are selling outdoor living lines almost year-round now, while 42% said sales in the category are now starting earlier and extending later into the year. AMES group marketing director


Sarah Winn believes there are big opportunities for retailers selling outdoor heating products like firepits and chimeneas during the winter months. “Last year we had a bit of an Indian summer, and we also seem to be having milder winters, which are encouraging people to think about extending the season and being outdoors more.” She continues: “Some retailers are


savvy about that and they create great displays in store but, on the whole, the category does tend to get shelved after summer and there are some missed opportunities there. Even on colder nights, more and more people are starting to enjoy being outside using their firepit or chimenea, so it is not just a summer product. These


products also


Trewhitt says: “The UK has quite a temperate climate compared with the US and Australia, who barbecue all year round. But, as a nation, we love being outside – you can see the minute the sun comes out – so, it is quite natural for us to be making the most of the outside space.” Chris maintains that, as well as the grills themselves being popular choices over Christmas – with shoppers either buying for themselves or as a gift for someone else – there is also a lot of value to be had with associated accessories, from barbecue tools and cooking utensils, to cookbooks, gift and specialist products like smoking chips or cooking planks. “BBQ and smoky flavours are very on trend in restaurants at the moment, and this is filtering through to our market,” Chris


explains.


“There is a real interest in smoking. We are seeing good sales in this


www.diyweek.net


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