Shark Warrior to get jaws wagging at our conference Following the BBC’s successful Blue Planet II series, we have secured a guest speaker passionate about shark conservation for our annual conference in January (2018). Lesley Rochat, known as the Shark Warrior, is the founder of Shark Warrior Adventures and AfriOceans, a non-profit organisation, and she…
Bank of England economist to speak conference World-renowned economist, Roger Martin-Fagg will be speaking at our conference in Warwickshire this January. Roger, who also presented to attendees in 2014, will be focusing on making economics accessible for non-economists and helping management teams think through their strategy during his session with delegates on January 23. We’re…
Entrepreneur & Sewing Bee judge backs creativity at our Conference The dapper-suited entrepreneur made famous for his role as a judge on BBC’s ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ is speaking at our 2018 conference. As well as appearing on TV, and despite having no fashion experience and being an engineer by trade, Patrick Grant is…
Our festive display winners are announced Bents Garden and Home and Castle Gardens have recently (November, 2017) been announced as the national winners of our annual Christmas competition. The garden centres were judged to have the best festive displays in the country by us and will receive their awards at our annual conference in January.…
Houseplants see a resurgence with younger generation Houseplants have seen a resurgence within the younger generation according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) report for October (2017). Compared to the same month last year (2016), sales were up 14.27%. Houseplants have become fashionable again with the younger generation as they need a lot less care…
Former UK Ambassador 1st speaker unveiled for our 2018 conference Former UK Ambassador Charles Crawford has been announced this month (November) as the first speaker booked for our 52nd annual conference in Warwickshire in January (January 21 until 24, 2018). Garden centre owners, managers and their teams who attend the event in Stratford-upon-Avon will be offered…
Ruxley Rose judge sees ‘plant area confidence’ THE 20 finalists in our Ruxley Rose competition have recently (November, 2017) been judged and there is strong evidence of continued enthusiasm for selling plants at member centres. The two winners, judged to have the best plant areas, will be announced during our annual conference at The Crowne…
Garden centre customers update their wardrobes for new season The new autumn/winter season saw garden centre customers stocking up on warm clothing and accessories during September (2017) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Total sales in clothing departments across GCA member centres was up 32.24% compared to the same month last year (2016).…
Worrall Cup for garden centres launched for 2017 We have launched our Worrall Cup competition this month (November, 2017) that is designed to find the member garden centre with the best marketing expertise. The garden centre with the best marketing campaign or initiative will be awarded the prestigious cup during our annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon…
Trust’s delegates report back from the IGCA Congress The two young delegates sponsored by our Trust to attend the 58th International Garden Centre Association (IGCA) Congress near Niagara Falls in Canada have reported back this month (October, 2017). Zoe Willis from Perrywood Garden Centre and Liz Dowling from Millbrook Garden Company were both selected by…