Three choices make up the stunning Country Cottages range - Bramble, Old Mill and Tudor. Each one oozes exquisite detail and exceptional quality. Designed by Kelkay, the water features measure 490mm high x 440mm wide x 400mm deep and include LED lights, giving them a daylong glow.

Kelkay will be delivering the Country Cottages to retailers from October. Visitors to the stands at Glee 2015 in September will be offered a special cost deal to include three of each model and an exclusive PoS display board.  

Antony Harker, managing director of Kelkay, said: “The Country Cottages water features collection will be a must-stock for garden centres as Christmas approaches but are also ideal as an all year round product. As always, we’re offering retailers fantastic merchandising solutions, giving them every opportunity to maximise sales.” 

Kelkay ensures industry leading stock availability and delivery lead times, especially at peak periods. It offers a £500 carriage paid order service across the UK through its transport logistics department. This ensures customers receive their orders within three days - and in many instances, two. 

Kelkay’s brand portfolio includes Borderstone®, Build Mate, easyfountain® and Henri®, providing retailers with a single source of supply for a wide range of garden products. These include aggregates, stone, water and garden features, paving, edging and walling, building materials, horticulture, growing media and winter garden products.

By promoting aggregates, paving and fountains with eye-catching point of sale, merchandising units and display stands, garden retailers have seen sales grow in these categories.

Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham from 14 to16 September, Glee 2015 will host over 500 UK and international wholesale garden suppliers. Kelkay will be on stands 19 A10 – C11 and 20 G06 – J07.

For more information, visit www.kelkay.co.uk.

Like Kelkay on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

(DLF Trifolium) Johnsons Lawn Seed's stand will be buzzing with football fever at Glee this year as a whole team of new product improvements are unleashed, as well as exciting range expansions, football themed giveaways, and even a freestyle footballer will be on hand to entertain the crowds.

Inhabiting the same hotspot in the middle of the show as it did in 2014, the Johnsons Lawn Seed stand will take visitors through a game changing array of improvements. Best-selling products are set to be re-launched, with new packaging and point of sale to match. 

Consumer manager Guy Jenkins explains how this will benefit retailers. 

"Last year we announced our campaign for quality as an industry-wide call to action to ensure higher standards of lawn seed are reaching the market, as well as  highlighting our behind the scenes efforts to ensure consumers aren't discouraged by poor performing imitations.  This is of course still an ongoing topic, however we are doing everything we can to encourage confidence amongst consumers, part of this comes from continuing to offer new and exciting products.  

"At Glee this year we are showcasing a number of new additions, all of which have been designed to offer retailers the chance to stock the latest in grass seed technology, something that will benefit both retailer and end-user.   We look forward to taking our retail customers through how to take advantage of our profit boosting products."

A football trickster will also be on-stand to perform freestyle tricks, whilst a football giveaway will also be taking place to coincide with an exciting new product addition to the Turfline range.  The exciting new addition is set to allow retailers to make the most of the football frenzy being whipped up ahead of the UEFA Euro Football Finals next summer.

Find out more

To find out more about Johnsons Lawn Seed, visit www.johnsonslawnseed.com, email consumer@dlf.co.uk, or telephone (01386) 791113.

Best Buy for raising young plants was the company’s Growise Multipurpose peat-reduced which was tested with a number of different plant types including pelargoniums where it achieved particularly excellent scores for colour, size and quality.  At GLEE the company will be majoring on the Growise brand with a brand extension and three new specialist blend products.

Commenting on the plan, Charles Farmer, head of consumer for Bord na Móna UK said, “The Which? recognition has been great news for us and great news for peat reduction in general.  It demonstrates that the performance quality of our peat-free and peat-reduced now outstrips that of conventional product in every area, including for the first time raising young plants.  We have therefore decided to build on consumer endorsement and launch additional products into the range.

 “Bord na Móna UK is all about one stop shop, market leading quality peat-based and peat-free growing media that gives trade customers the reassurance of buying best in class, while ensuring that the consumer gets great results every time.  Our mission is to ensure the consumer can buy the very best performing product whatever the task in hand and whatever their preference in terms of peat and peat-free.” 

Bord na Móna UK trades peat–reduced and peat-free growing media and soil improvers through garden centres nationally and is the largest own brand supplier of compost and bark in the UK.  It is part of the Bord na Móna plc, which specialises in eco-fuels, growing media, recycling, resource recovery and renewable energy.

We catch up with i2i’s Matthew Mein, event director at Glee, to find out more about what is in store.

“The changes that were made to revitalise Glee were incredibly well received and have stood us in good stead for the 2015 show. 

"The move to the new location within NEC halls 17-20 has not only created a vibrant layout, which is helping buyers to walk the show and ultimately source new suppliers, but it is also inspiring exhibitors to think differently about their stands.

"As a result we’re seeing more and more exhibitors book bigger stand spaces, as well as talking to us about how they can maximise their presence at the show. It’s fantastic to work with so many focussed and passionate companies, and have no doubt that this enthusiasm will pay dividends when the show opens in September.” 

Matthew concluded by saying: “Glee is in great shape, in fact it is close to capacity, with only a handful of stand spaces left to sell. We are well on track to see in excess of 530 exhibitors, including a phenomenal 350 new exhibitors and over 75 international brands. I’ve no qualms in saying that Glee 2015 is set to the one of the most exciting shows for some time!”

Whether you are looking to source the latest innovations or core best sellers for the year ahead, Glee will offer it all. Encompassing eight dedicated product sectors, Glee is the leading annual showcase for the whole of the garden industry and an essential diary date for any garden retailer, landscaper or merchant.

Glee Garden Care is Glee’s most thriving area, and represents the biggest area of growth within the show.  As always Glee’s Garden Care sector will feature everything from growing media, compost, fertilisers, and GYO products to garden machinery, garden tools and accessories. 

Key exhibitors for Glee Garden Care include Westland, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Gardman, Smart Garden, Bord Na Mona, Burgon & Ball, Briers, Town & Country, Kaemingk, Elho, Agralan, Scheurich, Barenburg, Belstane, Black Country Metal Works, Artevasi, Bosmere, Malton Plastics, Maingate Ltd, Mr Fothergills Seeds, PotMagic, Oakthrift Corporation, Rollins Bulldog Tools, Sinclair Horticulture, Spear & Jackson, Stax, Taylors Bulbs, Copely Developments, DLF Trifolium, Doff Portland, Elho, Fallen Fruits, Garden On A Roll, Garland Products, Haws Watering Cans, Vitax, Vegtrug, Neudorff, Westwood Global, Whitefurze and Wildlife World.  

Lapsed companies making their return to Glee in 2015 include Stewart Plastics, Fiskars, Draper Tools and Parasene.   

Hozelock has also confirmed its return to Glee following a break of several years. Talking about this Glee’s Matthew Mein said: “Hozelock’s return comes at a time of growth for Glee, so it’s great to see that the changes we’re making are appealing to those brands that may not have seen value in exhibiting at Glee in recent years.  Being able to welcome so many of them back is testament to the hard work and ongoing commitment to change that underpins all our development plans for the show. I’ve no doubt that the return of Hozelock will add an exciting new element to Glee’s overall offering, whilst also providing retailers with even more reasons to make visiting the show an essential part of their year.”

Garden Design & Landscaping provides an unrivalled showcase of influential brands and leaders in garden and landscaping design, and represents an area of significant growth at Glee during 2015.  Featuring stunning displays, this area of Glee is a must-see section of the show, featuring many best-practice examples of how to cross-sell products in situ. From hard landscaping and aggregates to fencing, garden buildings and decorative accents such as pots, structures, soft landscaping, statuary, water features and timber supplies, Glee Garden Design has everything to help garden retailers, builders’ merchants and landscapers to maximise those products that create the framework of every garden. 

Exhibitors confirmed so far for the 2015 show include Woodlodge, Deco-Pak, Lafarge Tarmac, Apta, Kelkay, Global Stone, Grange Fencing, Zest 4 Leisure, Albany Shed Company, Artform (UK), Blakeway Stone, Cadix, Hedge UK, Ivyline, Deroma UK, Luxform, Meadow View Stone, Melcourt Industries, Powys & Marches Stone, Vivid Arts, Fitrite Fencing & Decking, and Hamac Trading. 

New and lapsed companies will include Eden Halls Greenhouses, Elite Greenhouses, RockinColour, and UK Garden Buildings.

Glee Garden Leisure is the place to source products that really enable people to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, and will feature the best from the industry’s leading companies, making it the ideal opportunity for buyers looking to source next year’s ranges and tap into growing leisure demand.  Showing everything from garden furniture, barbeques and parasols to chimeneas, conservatory and indoor furniture, play equipment and camping essentials will be Premier Decorations, CPL Distribution, Minster Stylish Living Ltd, Maze Rattan, Suntime, Aspire Outdoors, and John Adams Leisure.  Look out for new and returning brands such as Ascalon, PKL Leisure, Masters Outdoor Leisure Limited, and Rosker UK.

Glee Plants is where buyers can shop for the best in nursery stock, bedding plants, house plants, cut flowers, trees and shrubs, herbs and florist sundries from both UK and international growers; as well as seeing the latest plant trends and merchandising techniques. 

The Glee Green Heart will also be returningin 2015.  Located at the entrance to Glee within the atrium area of the NEC, this new area will see 60 growers come together to create a leading showcase for both British and internationally grown plants, and will put ‘green’ right back into the centre of the show. This year the area will be supported by a new programme of activities led by The Garden Works’ independent garden centre consultant, Kevin Waters. Throughout the show Kevin will lead a number of guided tours around the Green Heart and wider sections of Glee, to demonstrate how cross merchandising and clever displays can highlight a continual year-round association with the plant offer, thereby making plants accessible – and loved –  by all who visit centres, no matter the time of year.

Key exhibitors confirmed for Glee Nursery & Planteria, and Glee Green Heart include Wyevale Nurseries, Darby Nursery Stock, SeedCell, Bristol Tropical Centre, Javado, Laurica Plants, Morleys Nurseries, Northumberland Nurseries, Plantworks, SP Trading (Scotland) Ltd, The Christmas Cabin Company and Wharton Nurseries.

Glee Home, Gift & Clothing is a key place to explore additional profit-making opportunities, something that many forward thinking retailers have already maximised.  As the garden retail gift market continues to grow as many garden centres become ‘destination centres’, Glee Home, Gift & Clothing brings together a huge selection of product ideas to help your gift offering stand out.  Added to this, the section also features additional, added value product lines such as clothing ranges, picnicware, seasonal decorations plus games, toys and books. 

Exhibitors already confirmed for Glee Home Gift & Clothing in 2015 include Premier Decorations, Aigle, Brakeburn, Boodywear, Creekwood, Klass, Fairgoodies, Fordville, Fountasia, Home & Garden UK, Opal London, Italian Bag Company, Kaemingk, Luxa, RJB Stone, Moonshine Drinks, Noel Tatt Group, QMT Windchimes, Ravensburger, Regatta, Heavenly Feet, Sincere UK, Stewart’s Gift Tins, The Great British Card Company, The Original Metal Sign Co. and Woodstock Chimes. 

Glee Garden Retail Services is not to be missed by anyone wanting to maximise the profitability and efficiency of their own store.  Packed full of the latest innovations, technologies and equipment for tomorrow’s retailers – including EPoS, shop fitting and display stands, structures, software solutions and garden centre design – Retail Services is an essential part of Glee. 

Exhibitors who have already confirmed their place at the 2015 show include Clearview Greenhouses, Creative Products, CSY Retail Systems, Davidson-Richards, DC Payments, Fargo, Garden Connect, Gilbert Evans, Malcolm Scott Consultants, MP Buildings, NedFox B.V, National Structures, Pleydell Smithyman, Quinton Edwards, Salepoint, Smiemens Projectan, Stagecraft, Thermoflor and G7 Swan.

Manufacturers of pet products and accessories will also have a stronger presence at Glee 2015 thanks to the introduction of the PetQuip Business Village.  This exciting new area will see PetQuip - the UK’s leading trade association for suppliers of pet products, accessories and services - bring together member and non-member pet suppliers to create a leading showcase of those pet brands wanting to build a presence within garden retailers.  Under the leadership and support of PetQuip, the Village is expected to be home to over 20 companies, with additional PetQuip members such as Gardman and Westland also featuring throughout the wider show, all coming together to launch and showcase their 2016 ranges to garden retail buyers and key decision makers.

The New Product Showcase and Glee Awards

The New Product Display is the place to head to see the most innovative, unique and commercial products from the hundreds of suppliers at Glee. The competition sees new designs and products perfectly displayed for your consideration with the best of each category receiving the accolade of a ‘Glee Award.’ Show visitors can also cast their vote for their favourite, awarding one lucky entrant with the title of ‘Retailers Choice Award’.

Food & Catering Zone, in exclusive partnership with Catering Design Group

Focused on one of the fastest growing profit opportunities for garden retailers, the Glee Food & Catering Zone - now in its fourth year - is designed to give garden retailers an unrivalled opportunity to gather best practice examples, advice, contacts and products to help them initiate or improve their catering offering. 

This year The Food & Catering Zone seminar content will focus on key themes such as ’how to grow your restaurant successfully’, 'how to take inspiration from and compete with the high street', and 'how to increase revenue and profit'. There will also be a special session on ‘How to use your café as your USP, and a way to generate loyalty, PR and differentiation’.

Knowledge Hub, in association with The HTA

Business guidance is at the heart of the show’s dedicated education and learning centre, ‘The Knowledge Hub’.  With a raft of seminars designed to help you improve and grow your business for the year ahead, this area is the perfect place to relax and learn during your time at Glee. 

The Garden Industry Marketing Board

The Garden Industry Marketing Board will be showcasing unique garden leisure designs for small spaces that will appeal to 30-45 year olds that want to do more in their gardens and outlining ideas for a 2016 industry wide campaign. Through seminars in the Hub there will also be the opportunity to hear about the latest consumer research which highlights the wants and needs of these younger gardeners and, importantly the key hooks for getting them into their gardens and garden centres.

Glee Innovators Zone

Launched in 2009, the Glee Innovators Zone has already helped more than 150 companies break into the garden retail market.  This special area is designed to help nurture valuable grass-roots product development and one-off design ideas, whilst also bridging the gap between market-ready new product launches from established companies and pre-commercial product ideas.  This year Glee’s Innovators Zone will be home to over 30 brand new companies.

GIMA Business Village

The GIMA Business Village is home to a great selection of up and coming companies exhibiting with the support of GIMA.  Glee is also pleased to present the GIMA Business Lounge, an ideal place to take a break, arrange meetings and catch up with key suppliers. It is also home to the “Buyers Connect” speed networking sessions which will see selected exhibitors meet with show visitors for 10 minute slots for a power-networking session.

International Buyers Centre

International visitors will find the UKTI International Buyers Centre (IBC) in partnership with Gardenex a useful resource.  Located in Hall 18, the IBC will be led by the team at Gardenex, who will be on hand to provide support and advice as well as translation services.  The International Buyers Centre will also be home to “International Buyers Connect”, a special speed-networking event. 

Visit the UKTI International Business Zone

To really find out how you can export to build your business just head for the UKTI stand, where International Trade Advisers (ITAs) will be on hand to discuss every aspect of what it means to export, where and how. There will also be case studies from businesses that have already succeeded, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and discover more about the options available. A range of seminars from UKTI and UK businesses will also be hosted on the stand, and by joining these you can learn about the support available to you and some vital advice from those that have already successfully started exporting overseas.

Glee 2015 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham, from Monday 14^th to Wednesday 16^thSeptember and opens between 9.00am and 6:00pm (Monday & Tuesday) and 4:00pm (Wednesday).  To find out the latest news and to register for free entry, please visit www.gleebirmingham.com.  For details on exhibiting at Glee, call 0203 033 2160.

Glee takes place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, and is easily reached by car, rail and air.  If you are arriving by car, follow regional signs to the NEC where visitor car parking is plentiful and free.  All halls are within walking distance, but a free shuttle bus service is also available from car parks to the Halls.  Rail travel is equally convenient with Birmingham International railway station located on the NEC site.  For international visitors Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is linked to the NEC by the free SkyRail, departing every few minutes and taking just 90 seconds.  National Express Coaches run a regular service to and from the NEC covering most UK locations.

Don’t forget Glee’s new opening days in 2015

Announced shortly after the close of Glee 2014, it was confirmed that Glee 2015 will benefit from new weekday opening pattern, starting on Monday 14^th September and closing on Wednesday 16^th September. 

Mike Gilbert (pictured) explains:  “GLEE gives us a unique chance to meet many visitors and personally advise on questions ranging from acquisitions and disposals to lease renewals, rating and valuations.  

“This year to date has been a positive one for the garden centre industry as a whole and values are holding up accordingly. We continue to advise many of the UK’s leading garden centre retailers and also many smaller garden centres.”

To discuss any property issues with Gilbert Evans, entirely without obligation and in complete confidence, either visit them in Hall 17 Stand Q56 or call Mike Gilbert (07540  281960) or Allen Evans (07540 268866).

Glee 2015 is nearly sold out, with limited space available this is your last opportunity to book space at this year’s event.  With over 7,000 visitors expected, this is the best platform to showcase your products or services to the garden industry!

Contact Matthew Mein, Glee Event Director on +44 (0) 203 033 2160 or by e-mail: matthew.mein@i2ieventsgroup.com to book your stand today.

Durston Garden Products return to Glee this year with a brand new 10-litre handy-pack of Multi Purpose Compost with carrying-handle. 

This brand new handy pack will compliment the company’s already extensive range of composts and garden feeds for which Durstons is so well known and will be available to order from Durstons Stand K02 in Hall 18 at the show.

Durstons offer a minimum order quantity of just 5 pallets, per order, which comprises of 240 bags of the 10litre product per pallet, however, should you not require all the same product in one order Durstons will supply five pallets with different products.

The new 10 litre pack, with carrying handle, has been specifically designed for use in homes with no gardens, and is ideal for planting up tubs and baskets for use on balconies and terraces. It’s also much easier to handle when transporting to a car from the garden centre and can even be carried home on the bus!

For more information about placing an order for the new Durstons 10 litre Multi Purpose Compost, or for information about any other Durstons product, visit Stand K02 in Hall 18 where there will be some exclusive deals on offer.

Commenting on the launch, operations director Tony Dedman said; “We find that Glee is an excellent launch pad for new products.  Last year we introduced around 50 new products at the show and this made a major contribution towards the 49 per cent growth in turnover we recorded in 2014, and that growth is continuing.”

New products to be launched at the Birmingham show include a new compact tidy tray and a new colander trug.  The company’s propagation range will be boosted with the introduction of a one-top electric propagator and a micro grow light garden.  New planting aids comprise two new bulb planters that have an innovative soil ejection plunger.  A green flexi tie is to join the existing brown ties.

There will be a new garden basics range of sundries with over 40 lines such as plant labels, pens, tree ties, greenhouse fittings and coils of garden wire.

Products for the patio comprise a new range of brooms that include a decking broom, a wire block paving broom plus a large patio pan and brush and patio knives.

Added to the company’s extensive thermometer range will be a new max/min thermometer, pH meter and moisture meter along with three soil test kits.

Finally, four new covers will be added: one to the bronze entry level of garden furniture covers; one to the silver middle range; plus two to the rattan cover range.  

In order to add visual in-store impact to Garland/Worth Gardening ranges, eight new counter displays are being introduced for items such as the bulk rose ties and tree ties.  There will also be nineteen new promotion bins, two pallet deals and one new display stand, all designed to support sales of the new products.

Garland/Worth Gardening’s customers are now benefitting from a new distribution warehouse, opened in February 2015.  Since its commissioning, the company has achieved record throughput, and the increased capacity of over 70 per cent more pallet spaces has meant greater stock holding and despatch of most orders on the same day of receipt or no later than the next day.

The Garland Products Group specialises in the manufacture of plastic injection moulded products and is one of the fastest growing suppliers to the garden industry.  The products available to both keen and hobby gardeners have been designed through the company’s own experience as keen gardeners.

The organisers of Glee have released the shortlist for their inaugural Glee Buyers Power List on Friday last week.

The list aims to recognise individual buyers and buying teams who have gone above and beyond to make a difference within the garden retail industry this year.

The shortlist contains the top nominations in each of the five categories, representing the leading 50-plus buyers and buying teams across the country. The industry can now cast their votes for their top three buyers or teams in each category. Individual category winners and a ‘winner of winners’ will be announced during a special Buyers Power List ceremony at Glee on Tuesday 15 September.

Voting closes on 28 August. To vote, log on using this link. Voting is open to everyone in the industry.

The Shortlist

Best Online Garden Retail Buying Team

• Achica
• Amazon
• Crocus
• Greenfingers.com
• Halls Garden Centre/gardensite.co.uk
• Ideal World
• Primrose
• QVC
• Shop Direct  
• Ocado

Best Multiple Garden Centre Buying Team

• Blue Diamond
• British Garden Centres
• Dobbies
• Hillier Nurseries & Garden Centres
• Hillview Garden Centre
• Klondyke
• Notcutts
• Otter Nurseries
• SCATS Country Stores
• Squires GC
• Thompsons Plant and Garden Centre
• Wyevale Garden Centres

Best Independent Garden Retail Buying Team

• Avant Garden Centre
• Ayletts Nurseries
• Barton Grange
• Bents
• Burford Garden Centre 
• Capital Gardens
• Chessington Garden Centre
• Frosts
• Garsons
• Haskins
• Perrywood GC
• Polhill Garden Centre
• Scotsdales
• Summer Hill Garden Centre
• Webbs

Best DIY/Builder Merchant Buying Team

• B&Q
• Homebase
• Jewson
• Ridgeons
• Stax Trade Centres
• Wickes 

Best ‘Other’ Garden Retailer Buyer Team

• Aldi
• Argos
• Home Bargains (T J Morris)
• House of Fraser
• John Lewis
• Lakeland
• M&S
• Morrisons
• Next
• Robert Dyas
• The Range
• Waitrose

Glee event director Matthew Mein said: “The response from the whole industry has been fantastic, with nominations coming in thick and fast. The shortlist showcases the hard work and commitment that each retail buyer or team has undertaken in the last 12 months, and we’re so pleased to be able to provide a platform on which this dedication can be celebrated and rewarded.”

The revolution theme continues with Fiskars presenting design-led ranges that combine design aesthetics with ergonomic principle and technology, resulting in tool ranges that take the hard work out of gardening and put the passion back in.

“It’s great to be back at GLEE this year and really exciting that our new brand ambassador, James Wong will be with us on the Fiskars stand,” says John Grayson, Regional Director of South West Europe at Fiskars.

“We’ve had some tremendous developments at Fiskars recently with new product launches and some attention grabbing and educational new point of sale to further support our retailers.  We look forward to introducing these to the trade at this year’s show.”

Next revolution of axes

The next generation of Fiskars Axes will be available for the trade immediately. This revolutionary range of virtually unbreakable 4th generation axes feature a new 3D grip for faster speed swing and increased safety. The new range has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award 2015 for high quality design. 

Fiskars has been an expert in making durable axes since the 17th century. The Finnish company has continually improved the design and quality to match consumer needs with the latest advancements. The latest generation of Fiskars axes is developed to guarantee the best experience by matching each tool to task and skill level. In recognition of the high standards achieved, the 4th generation Fiskars axe range comes with an extended 25 years warranty. 

The new Fiskars Light range

The new Fiskars Light range is launched at GLEE, a 2016 collection that showcases Fiskars ongoing commitment to develop ranges that make gardening easier and increase enjoyment of tasks. It is another perfectly timed and on trend introduction.

Recent research from Fiskars show that over 90% of consumers considered gardening to be a heavy task. The new Fiskars Light range equips retailers with the tools needed to educate consumers about the pleasure of gardening.

As a further benefit, an increased interest in a healthier lifestyle and home grown food, alongside a rise in urban gardening has shown the need for smaller and lighter garden tools for kitchen gardening.

The new Light tools are slightly smaller in size than standard ranges, making them more suitable for smaller spaces. Equally, the new tools are perfectly designed for more elderly gardeners along with younger generations keen to get growing outdoors. Fiskars is keen to kick start a new generation into loving their garden and enable older generations to continue to gain pleasure from gardening.

The range includes a digging spade, planting spade, digging fork, leaf rake, soil rake, weeding knife, weeder, cultivator, hoe and a new weed puller.

Next generation of Weed Puller

The innovative and universally recognised Fiskars Weed Puller has created a whole new market category, with sales of over 4 million units and trade sales up 200%. These impressive figures have assured Fiskars the market leader status in Europe.

Despite these impressive figures, there is still a large market share available. However, traditional weeding tools remain the implements of choice for 53% of lawn owners, often leading to poor results and increased physical strain. Additionally, 58% still use herbicides as the main defence against weeds, these include toxic substances that can impact on health.

The next generation of Fiskars Weed Pullers is tailored to suit the criteria of core ranges for Xact™ and the  and the new Fiskars Light ensuring that Weed Pullers can be matched with individual requirements.

The Xact™ Weed Puller benefits from an optimised ergonomic grip and new pedal design to reduce unnecessary strain and increase durability.

The new Light Weed Puller offers reduced weight with a shorter shaft profile and the introduction of a new colour combination in White and Clay.

With less than four weeks to go until we all meet up at the NEC, the GTN team are already well into Glee preparations. The Glee Preview went to press last week, pages are being written for the GTN September Glee Preview issue and the Glee Catalogue listings are being compiled.

This year the GTN Team are also helping with the Glee New Products showcase at the show. Entries are being received hourly at the moment and we are keeping our eyes on the look out for potential new Bestsellers for next year.

All exhibitors at Glee should make sure they enter their new products in advance of the show. We know from The Glee Daily News readership figures that stories about new products are always the most popular, so being a part of the central showcase display is important to make sure you get exposure for your innovations.

The Glee catalogue is another great way of ensuring exhibitors get the most value out of their stand investment. If you’ve not completed your catalogue entry form yet the final deadline is Friday 21st August.

The Glee New Products form and the Glee catalogue forms are in the exhibitor zone of the Glee website: www.gleebirmingham.com

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...

•  Garden Products – down 1%
•  Veg-2-Gro Products – up 6%
•  Growing Media – up 8%
•  All items index – up 19%

This year is no exception as Briers continue to lead the market, innovating and exciting their customers - highlights of their NEW launches at GLEE include…

Plenty of gorgeous NEW gloves! These are the products at the heart of the business, so bringing to market even more fabulous, innovative designs is naturally second nature to the Briers team and is in the business’ DNA.

Another triumph for the team is yet another successful design-led partnership. This time, Briers are launching NEW collections in collaboration with the William Morris Gallery: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”. His wise words and timeless designs are beautifully encapsulated into their NEW largest ever gifting range!

NEW boots proudly take Briers back into rubber: quality without any comprise on style. They’re great on and affordable to boot! Their gorgeous NEW clocks are beautifully packaged - all wrapped up and perfect for impulse sales and considered purchases alike! NEW Signature Ranges perfectly combine gloves, kneelers, clogs, boots and accessories in on-trend designs. More NEW Kids lines further build on the success of this proven best-selling range. Great NEW products to get those tills ringing in the run up to Christmas, into the new year, and right across 2016!

Plus, this GLEE sees Briers LARGEST EVER promotional offering!!!

The latest Google Trends statistics show Briers to be the leading brand that consumers look for on-line with the statistics proving the success of the products and also that we are a proven winner not only with traditional gardeners but also multi-generation and omni-channel.

You can depend on Briers to deliver success with the market-leading brand consumers recognise and trust.

GLEE 14–16 Sept. Hall 19, Stand H05

01963 269077 sales@briersltd.co.uk

The company’s Chelsea Garden Range of horticultural aggregates will continue to take centre stage at Glee later this year, including a new look packaging design, and exciting merchandising stand updates including a selection of inspirational displays. 

Visitors will also be able to see how the products appear out of the packet within four unique show gardens inspired by the company's involvement in supplying products for an award winning garden at the RHS Hampton Court Show this year.

Deco-Pak will announce a new distribution agreement of a renowned trusted brand of solid fuel, sourced in the UK.  Already well known for supplying winter and summer fuels with sale or swap deals, this new addition will be great news for customers looking to offer smokeless fuel from a top brand, and great news for stockists looking to benefit from Deco-Pak's market-leading sales support.

Deco-Pak's General Manager Rod Slater is excited to return to Glee this year: "Since last year's show we have witnessed significant growth; from taking on more customers, expanding our product offering, to adding new team members and investing significantly in machinery and stock.  

"After what has been the best year for sales that we have ever had, it would have been so easy to just sit back on our laurels - but expectations will be higher this year, so we know we will have to up our game even further.  Glee is the perfect place for us to set out our stall and demonstrate to customers old and new, our commitment to continuous improvements to the business and to our market-leading range."

New products on the cards for Deco-Pak this year include eastern water features to compliment its existing Tidal water features range.  New stone features will also be added to provide further product range diversity for retailers, whilst the Garden Bazaar range of decorative birdhouses and feeders will also receive new additions to the range, as well as new displays that showcase the full collection of handcrafted houses and feeders.

Other highlights on Deco-Pak's Glee stand this year will be new conceptual merchandise stands for paving, gravels, water features and the Easy Build range, all aimed primarily at offering consumers inspiration and easier decision making at point of purchase.

Don’t miss out on a visit to stand D18 in Hall 19 where Draper Tools will be exhibiting a comprehensive collection of hand and power tools for the home and garden.

A selection of gardening tools will be on display with new digital representation of the whole gardening range as well as lighting, personal protective equipment and tools for landscaping.

The popular Heritage range of garden hand tools will be exhibited along with a new steel mesh garden cart and garden tipper cart. There will also be information on water pumps, pressure washers and general pruning products.

The company’s extensive range of electric and petrol mowers, cutters, trimmers and ground maintenance tools will be shown on digital display screens.  These touch screens will also show the Company’s collection of garden product videos.

Visit the stand for daily 'show only' offers, along with copies of Drapers latest promotions and catalogue.

Telephone the Draper Sales Desk on 023 8049 4333 for more details, or visit drapertools.com.

Also new for 2016 will be Roundup Optima+, Roundup’s most effective concentrate formula yet, offering better performance and coverage throughout the year.

Looking ahead to Glee, Roundup’s Lawn and Garden Business Director, Gary Philpotts, commented: “We’re pleased to be bringing even more good news to retailers at this year’s show. Roundup continues to dominate the market, with four of the top five weedkiller lines in GfK’s weedkiller hit list and Roundup Gel sales passing 2million units in the UK this year. Plus, Roundup Pump ‘N Go remains the nation’s favourite RTU pressure sprayer, just behind the UK’s number one, Roundup 1l RTU spray.

“At Glee, we’ll be talking to retailers about how our latest insights, innovation and support are set to make 2016 yet another successful season.”

Included are many technical and decorative innovations in their market-leading Smart Solar lighting category at prices that will appeal to all consumers.

The recently added Outside In Designs® Clocks and Lanterns collection will also be showcased for the first time, as will many more fast-selling products, ranges and promotions under the Smart Garden and Smart Solar brands.

The Smart Team look forward to welcoming all existing and prospective customers and to revealing all on their stand K30-31 in Hall 18.

Visitors to Glee will get an exclusive first look at the new range of six plastic tubs from Tarmac’s Cement business – a top UK cement producer – that all feature the distinctive Blue Circle logo, that have been designed for a variety of gardening and landscaping tasks. These might include activities such as laying paving slabs, fixing fence posts and doing small concreting and bricklaying projects like building a brick barbeque.

Following extensive research, the range of versatile, weather-resistant plastic tubs was designed with the gardening and landscaping market in mind, allowing users to take out just the right amount of product needed and re-seal the rest for future use- saving time, waste and money.

The newly-redesigned tubs are easy to carry and use and now include attractive, end-user-friendly instructions, application photographs and guidelines so that users can feel confident in the job at hand.

Chris Cooper, Packed ProductsStrategic Marketing Manager, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing this new range of plastic tubs to Glee. It is always a great occasion for us to meet our customers from garden centres across the UK and we look forward to welcoming them to our stand this year.

“With these products, we have brought customer-led innovation to market, responding to an increased demand from garden centres and their customers for easy-to-use, ready-mixed cement and mortar products.

Mike Lomax, Marketing Communication Manager, said: “The new packaging includes our famous Blue Circle branding which re-enforces our strong heritage of innovation. We will be supporting the launch with a hard hitting National Consumer campaign to show how these new products help make it easier for gardeners to get the results they want - in a simple ‘easy to use’ and ‘clean to carry’ solution that they have never had before.”

For more information about Tarmac Cement and Lime Limited and to get the latest news and live updates from Glee, follow @LoveCement on Twitter

Or visit ....you.tube.com /DIYcement/playlists or call the contact line on 08458126232

Town & Country will launch a new strategy and a new look for the brand at Glee next month to fend off increasing competition in the garden gloves and footwear categories.

The brand retains strong market leadership, but comprehensive research over more than a year revealed that the trade and end users considered the brand’s image to be outdated, even though product quality and customer service continued to be highly-rated.

Collaborating with marketing consultant Jane Lawler (formerly of Gardman and Bayer Garden), the company began a root-and-branch review at the end of 2014.

Key areas identified for development were packaging, POS and display, with a general feeling that more innovation was needed to bring a fresh new look and more excitement to the brand.

Through a structured pitch process, Town & Country selected a top class strategic agency partner that has worked across high profile consumer brands including Sony, Paul Smith and the BBC.

A new brand logo and proposition was developed - "For people who love life outdoors, Town & Country provides the original range of gloves, Wellingtons and accessories to protect and support outdoor activities, created and infused with a passionate dedication to excellence and heritage".

Working with a leading patterns and trends forecaster helped shape the eye-catching new designs that will be unveiled for trade buyers at Glee, on a brand new stand (18M10). Also on display will be innovative new concepts for products, packaging, POS and merchandising displays. 

Town & Country’s chairman, Barry Page, said he was delighted with the results.   “We have worked with a vibrant branding agency and have involved retailers and consumers alongside our own highly experienced sales and marketing teams to ensure a winning outcome that will produce tangible results.  We have already had some extremely positive and encouraging feedback following some initial presentations to customers.”

The company is targeting an increase in turnover to £6.3m next year.

http://www.townandco.com/

A new Top 100 Product chart on the Glee website highlights the most popular products that buyers are currently viewing, offering a valuable insight into trends and potential bestsellers.

Constantly updated, the chart is a living barometer of ‘what’s hot’ right now, reflecting products that are sparking the interest of retailers and visitors to the Glee website.

Matthew Mein, Glee event director hopes the chart will encourage greater interaction with the site from both suppliers and retailers.  “The chart will be constantly changing, and we believe this will provide a barometer of sorts, in that it showcases which products – from the hundreds and thousands on offer from Glee’s 500-plus exhibitors are appealing the most to our visitors and therefore representing an early glimpse at next season’s bestsellers.”

The chart can be accessed from the homepage (www.gleebirmingham.com).

There will be more preview issues of The Glee Daily News this year, plus three "Live" from the show issues, and an Omnibus issue after Glee.

REMEMBER TO COLLECT YOUR FREE GLEE SHOW CATALOGUE AT THE ENTRANCES.