A ‘buoyant’ August for members
Our August Barometer of Trade (BoT) figures out today (October 1, 2024) show some ‘really strong’ results.
From the figures submitted by our member garden centres for the month, it was revealed that 12 of the 13 categories recorded were up, when compared to August 2023.
Strong August
Our CEO, Peter Burks explains: “Our members were very pleased to have had a really strong August; with gardening, especially the sales of late summer colour, particularly buoyant.
“It was also good to see a significant increase in sales in the furniture and BBQ departments for the first time this year.
Excellent increases
“Once again, we saw excellent increases in members’ food offering and clothing also carried on with its good progress. We now look forward to a strong start to the Christmas season, which began in earnest for many members in September.”
Furniture & BBQ sales up
The best recorded category for August 2024, when compared to the same month in 2023, was clothing at +24.2%, with garden sundries next at +22.5% and furniture & BBQ sales in third place at +21.2%.
Catering up
Catering came in next at +16.66%, then food hall/farm shop +15.81%, outdoor plants at +14.57%, seeds & bulbs at +12.47% and the miscellaneous category was +3.67%.
The final two categories were pets & aquatics, which recorded +1.5%, and houseplants down at -3.79%.