We are hosting two webinars for our members on sustainability and catering this month (July 2022). The first webinar on July 20 will be to discuss challenges and the impact the past two years has had on restaurants and the second on July 27 will aim to find out what centres are doing to reduce…
Clothing was one of the top selling categories at garden centres across the country in May (2022) according to our latest Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Sales in the department were 22.63% up compared to the same month last year (2021). Catering was the top selling category up 75.69%. It’s no surprise that catering is…
Our GCA Trust recently selected Laura Matheson from St Peters Garden Centre and Holly Byrne from Millbrook Garden Centre Gravesend to attend this year’s International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress. The two candidates will receive a sponsored place at the IGCA Congress in August as part of the Dick Allen Scholarship Award Scheme. Sue Allen,…
Poor weather in April (2022) affected sales in core categories at garden centres across the country according to our latest Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Sales in outdoor plants were down -15.21%, houseplant sales were down -17.16% and seed and bulb sales were also down -14.99% compared to the same month in 2021. We have…
Catering sales at garden centres across the country have performed well in March (2022) according to our latest Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Sales in the department were 3,679.31% up compared to the same month in 2021 and have been up throughout 2022 so far. Our Chief Executive, Iain Wylie explains: “We’ve seen an understandable…
We will once again be running our Rising Stars programme, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, focusing on core gardening, and are encouraging our members to put forward their employees. The application process for our Rising Stars programme is now open and if garden centre managers or owners feel they have a member of staff who is…
Garden centre staff across the country are celebrating after receiving awards at our virtual presentation day held yesterday (Tuesday, February 15, 2022). The live streamed event looked back on best practice in 2021 and included a pre-season inspection area presentation. Following the understandable decision to cancel the January conference, we felt it was important to…
Tammy Woodhouse was officially named as our Chairman for 2022 – 23 with Will Blake becoming Chairman Elect, during our virtual AGM meeting, which took place on February 10. Tammy, who is Managing Director of Millbrook Garden Centres, which has centres in Gravesend and Staplehurst in Kent, said: “I am thrilled to have taken on…
Garden centres were rallying and recovering from the pandemic in 2021 according to our overall Barometer of Trade (BoT) figures for the year. Excluding catering, retail growth stands at 30.47% up during 2021 compared to 2020 and up 29.77% compared to 2019. The growth in retail sales during 2021 demonstrates the increased popularity in gardening…
We are hosting some of the first elements of our annual conference virtually for members next month (February 2022). Our annual general meeting (AGM) will take place on February 10 for full members only. A virtual awards presentation will take place on February 15, which is open to all GCA garden centre and Associate members.…