PATS Telford

F ro m s w e l t e r i n g s u m m e r i n t o C h r i s t m a s

After a sweltering summer its full steam ahead for Christmas

now.

The heatwave, drought conditions and holidays contributed to a relatively poor start to sales in August. One week was 30% down year-on-year compared to 2021 and even down on 2019 sales volume levels. But by the end of August sales had started to pick up and as you’ll see from the graph below volumes matched 2020 August levels and were well ahead of 2019.

With the autumn gardening season about to kick in year-to-date volume sales in the GTN Bestsellers weekly Epos data sit at 2.3% down on the exceptional levels seen in 2022, but most importantly at 15.2% up on 2019. Even after the driest summer for years we can acknowledge that gardening activity is certainly holding up post the pandemic.

Hopes are that autumn lawn care will see a boost in the next month, plant sales will benefit from replacement purchases and that customers seek out Christmas cheer when displays open across the country.

We’ve already seen that Christmas products are being purchased as soon as they go on display. Let’s hope that continues. With energy costs increasing we expect to see another surge in the sale of battery-operated Christmas lights. Watch out for the GTN Bestsellers Christmas Top 50 charts from the end of September. As expected, DEFRA has announced the ban on sales of peat in growing media from 2024. Having presented ideas for making the most of the ‘opportunities this creates in previous issues of GTN this year we will now be making a concerted effort to get underneath the supply issues that will exist for 2024 and beyond. Growing media sales are fundamental to current day gardening and the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 growing media lines accounted for 6% of all volume garden centre sales in the first half of 2022. It’s an area we have to get right for the future of our industry.

for making the most of the ‘opportunities this creates in

In this issue...

4 Problems solved with STV - GTN interviews Edwin Allingham 8 Choice Marketing – Stronger together 10 Lawns are eco-warriors

12 Happy plants, happy planet by Sipcam 13 The Fandango wood splitting revolution

14 Harmonious gardening at Southern Trident

16 Solex moves with the times

18 Garden centres making Cultivation Street community connections 20 Hex Living – LOFA Member profile 22 GCA Regional Awards – Wales and West plus Scotland and Northern Ireland 27 Glee New Product Awards – A judges behind the scenes perspective 32 Glee New Product Directory, Part 1 44 PATS Telford Preview 46 HTA Column – Hasta La Vista from Boyd

Advertisers in this Issue

2 PATS Telford

7 The Real Soil Company 11 Patio Black Spot Removal 15 STV International 20 GIMA Awards 2022

21 Vitax

23 Evergreen Garden Care 31 Mr Fothergills 33 Meadow View Stone 33 Apsley Farms 34 Pot Mate

34 Algon 35 Altico 36 Hydria Life 37 Garden Girls

38 Fandango Fire Tools 39 Mr Fothergills 40 Sipcam 40 Apsley Farms 41 Hozelock

42 The Real Soil Company 42 Vitax

43 Primeur

45 UK Greetings 47 Fordingbridge 48 Solex 2023

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING

Garden Trade News Potting Shed Press Ltd Dairy Drove Thorney Peterborough PE6 0TX Tel 01733 775700 www.gardentradenews.co.uk

THE GTN TEAM

Editor Trevor Pfeiffer trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk Advertising Sales Alan Burdon Alan@pottingshedpress.co.uk Features Editor Anisa Gress anisa@pottinghsedpress.co.uk Associate Editor Mike Wyatt mike@pottingshedpress.co.uk Digital Editor Neil Pope neil@pottingshedpress.co.uk Subscriptions Karen Pfeiffer karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk

Design & Production

AT Graphics Ltd www.atgraphicsuk.com Kirsty Craner – Design Alun Jones – Production Manager Robert Tipping – Managing Director James Tipping – Technical Director Printing CG Print Ltd

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If you’d like to be added to the GTN distribution list, please send your details to Karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk to see if you qualify to be included. Alternatively, if you prefer your Garden Trade News digitally, sign up for GTN Xtra, our weekly e-mail newsetter at www.gardentradenews.co.uk And, if you want the fastest garden centre sales analysis, take out a subscription to GTN Bestsellers our printed weekly sales data newsletter. For just £145.00 per year you get Top 50 sales charts created from weekly garden centre epos data. Contact trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk for more details and to subscribe.

Potting Shed Press Ltd

Garden Trade News is published by Potting Shed Press Ltd who also publish: GTN Bestsellers, GTN Xtra, Glee Daily News and the Glee Catalogue, and the Solex Sun. Potting Shed Press also supply Garden Radio to over 100 garden centres across the country.

Director Trevor Pfeiffer

SMALL PRINT: All material © Potting Shed Press Ltd 2022. No part of this publication may e reproduced in any form whatsoever, either for sale or not, without the express permission of the publishers. The information supplied in this publication is published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. Potting Shed Press Ltd cannot accept responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on information contained in this publication or in the vent of any bankruptcy or liquidation or cassation of the trade of any company, individual or firm mentioned, is hereby excluded.