The expectations of visitors and retailers are running high for Glee 2018 which opens at 9:00am on Monday 10th September.

The first preview issue of Glee Daily News has been opened 78% more frequently than last year – and by 42% more readers.

Similarly, entries for the Glee New Product Showcase, in association with GTN, are at record levels.

With a new layout across Halls 6, 7, 8, 19 and 20, the refreshed event has the potential to re-energise the industry as this year of extremes continues.

GTN’s Trevor Pfeiffer asked several garden centre retailers and exhibitors about their Glee Expectations for 2018.  Let’s start with the retailers first:

Adam Wigglesworth, Aylett Nurseries: "I always look forward to seeing the innovations that suppliers have brought forward which give optimism for the season ahead.  In the current retail climate, the right product selection is probably more important than ever."

Paul Emslie at Wyevale Garden Centres: “Glee is definitely one of the highlights in our calendar and comes at a perfect time when we are planning ahead for the following years trade. It's an event that our Buyers, Marketing colleagues and Visual Merchandisers all find exceptionally beneficial. Being able to network across the supply base whilst seeing existing and new product displayed in inspiring ways and all in one place really helps our teams to 'visualise' how they want to bring our next year ranging to life for our customers and provide valuable solutions to their garden needs. Every year we expect the event to improve and it doesn't disappoint. We will be particularly interested to see how suppliers are visually representing their ranges as well as understanding new and emerging themes/trends which are likely to motivate customers to do more in their gardens.”

Boyd Douglas-Davies at Hillview Garden Centres: "I expect Glee will continue where it left off last year. Strong inspiration through the Retail Lab, new product introductions from the major players and an interesting mix of new opportunities presented by first time exhibitors. There is no doubt in my mind that Glee will yet again prove to be the most important trade show in the industry calendar."

Julian Winfield at Haskins: “Simple, we need our suppliers to innovate which will help suppliers and our garden centres grow and be stronger for the future!”

Gerald Ingram at Planters and Garden King Garden Centres: “Were looking for new products that will sell well.  Also revisiting old or existing suppliers to see what they have developed.  We will be looking at all areas of our business.”

Heidi Bisset at Munros, Inverness: “After leaving this season on such a high at Munro’s we hope Glee will bring us a new range of innovative products and positive buzz for 2019.”

Martin Stewart at Stewarts Garden Centres:  “After a tough year we have to say thank goodness for the innovation suppliers are bringing in, that’s what we will be looking for as well as enjoying the conviviality of a fantastic trade.”

Matthew Bent at Bents Garden & Home: “It will be an interesting Glee.  Our customers are looking for more and more gardening related gift and decoration lines, plus we need to provide them with more environmentally friendly solutions for the garden.  A lot of gardening companies have had a difficult year with all the extremes, so it will be good to see how they innovate to drive business forward. One thing is for sure, next year will be different, so we have to find lines to create more interest in the garden.”

Justin Williams at Fron Goch: “We will be desperately looking for innovation.  Our customers have a thirst for the new and a thirst for problem solving and we have a thirst for environmental factors that are of interest as to how people are living now, being time poor and much more thoughtful about their environment.”

James Ducker at Langlands: “I am very excited and really looking forward to visiting Glee with my team this year. We are hoping to find some new and exciting products for the 2019 season. Glee is a great place to see what is available and what trends are in store for us next year”

Andy Bunker at Altons: “As always the expectations of Altons are high and looking forward to seeing the new branding from the likes of Scotts to `Evergreen Garden Care’ and Cadix to CAPI,  which I’m hoping have some great news for the 2019 season.  I always really look forward to seeing both Apta and Woodlodge stands with some great new ranges to get your teeth into.  It will also be interesting to see developments in outdoor garden décor which while it's a big and growing category one does need to be careful of overkill with so much on offer and the risk of duplication.”

And the last retailer word goes to Alan Roper at Blue Diamond who will be at Glee buying for 9 more centres than last year: “New suppliers, plus old suppliers with new product, would be my hope and expectation.”

As for the exhibitors, they will all be looking forward to seeing as many potential stockists of their products as possible and get feedback plus orders for their new products. Here’s what a number of them told GTN as the show draws nearer.

Keith Nicholson at Westland: “Gardening is exciting, attractive, a great and rewarding pastime. At Glee, our products really underpin this. We will be revealing new products, new packaging and new media campaigns to build on that excitement. Lawns will be strong for 2019 and we have a totally revamped offer. Indoor gardening is not stopping and it’s one of the trends in 2019. You’ll see the results of our Green developments including the revolutionary peat replacement technology called BIO3, which will feature in an exciting New Horizon range… it really is a window into the future of growing media. Plant foods and grass seeds will be stronger than ever.”

Jonathan Stobart at Smart Garden Products: "Smart Garden Products will have its biggest ever stand with 365 new products on display, one for each day of the year! We really look forward to seeing all of our customers at Glee."

Adam Taylor at Taylors Bulbs: “Glee is always a fantastic opportunity for us to catch-up with customers in the peak of autumn bulb retailing; offer in-season promotions and to show products that were previously just a picture in the catalogue.  With ordering of summer bulbs and seed potatoes rapidly rising to the top of the to-do list, we also get a chance to show our offer and talk through ideas for next year.  Although I don't know the finer detail, I like the principle of the revised layout to encourage browsing and I hope our customers will take home plenty of inspiration.”

Anthony Harker at AMES: “At AMES we have enormous opportunities ahead of us and we are looking forward to sharing those opportunities with as many customers as we can during the show. Glee has always been hugely important for Kelkay and we expect that to continue in the future for all the AMES group companies.  We will continue to put the UK garden centres at the heart of our strategy. It's been a turbulent year for both retailers and suppliers, and we intend to make sure that the AMES group companies deliver dependable service partnered with exciting innovation and category developments that will support our customers. We're looking forward to sharing some of those plans with our visitors to Kelkay, La Hacienda and Anchorfast at GLEE next month.”

Sarah McLafferty at Primeur: “We are looking forward to Glee 2018; on the back of winning the GIMA award in the Landscaping category we have designed a brand new, larger stand to present both our recycled gardening products as well as launching our new range of doormats.  We have lots of new products to discuss with our existing and potential customers.  Glee is vital for us in building upon existing relationships and establishing contact with new centres, we also will make good use of all the seminars, retail lab and the new product showcase to ensure we are fully updated on the garden trends and future of the market.”

James Hoad at Apta: “We're particularly excited about Glee this year. We have high expectations for the show as the new hall layout should give it a real lift.  We have a new stand location with twice the space compared to before, and will be showcasing our biggest ever range, so we hope the pre-show interest translates into increased footfall so that we have plenty of customers to show it to!”

The last exhibitor word goes to the gardening company who not only had the extremes of the weather to cope with but also a fire that wiped out their whole warehouse and £20m of stock, Will Hemmings at Gardman: “Our expectation is to surprise and delight a lot of people at Glee. Immediately after the fire, many assumed that we would stop trading for a sustained period of time. As it happened, we were shipping to customers within just a few weeks. Some also assumed that this would put a hold on new product development, marketing activity and brand investment. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, the fire accelerated our plans and we are now set to launch over 400 new products across our core Wild Bird Care, Gardening and Lighting categories. Most importantly, we want to ensure customers understand the process we have gone through to generate our new product ideas. Every product we’re launching at Glee starts with understanding our consumer’s needs. By way of example, we’ve conducted a lot of research into solar lighting. We know that the key barrier to buying solar is that consumers don’t trust solar to work all year round. We also know that c.70% of households don’t have a solar light. Thus, rather than simply buying different solar designs ‘off the shelf’ from China we’re rapidly expanding our range of Dual Power solar lights to “guarantee light all year round”. This offers customers a chance to premiumise the sector whilst driving new consumers into the category. We will use Glee to showcase not just our new products, but our depth of consumer understanding and our category leadership credentials.

The fire also presented us with further opportunities; for instance, we have completely redesigned and improved all of our stands and point of sale across all product categories. We will reveal over 30 new modular displays at the show following an investment of c.£750K. We also had the opportunity to invest in above the line TV media for our Gardman Wild Bird Care brand, which we will also showcase at Glee.

In summary, Glee remains hugely important to our business and we feel confident we have the right insight, expertise and new products to both surprise and delight a lot of people this year.

Thank you for all of the comments.  Please feel free to add your own Glee Expectations by using the comments button below or by e-mail to trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

This article was first published in GTN's September Glee Preview Issue, which you can read in full on-line here.