One of the most innovative features at the annual Glee exhibition, the Retail Lab – new for 2017 - has secured backing from a wide range of leading suppliers, who have come on board as either a ‘Preferred Partner’ or ‘Selected Partner’.  Here, ‘Preferred Partner’ Meadow View Stone’s Marketing Director, Sarah Hill, tells us more about the company’s plans for the Retail Lab @ Glee.

Can you tell me more about what products you will displaying?

Meadow View Stone will be displaying a contemporary collection of Natural Sandstone Planks, a selection of new decorative chippings, pebbles and cobbles in the latest on trend colours along with a choice of ornamental stoneware.  These products will be positioned within the Re-Wilding Butterfly Garden, Community Pallet Garden and the Wellbeing Garden, fully showcasing the versatility of our products and the great part they play in creating the look, feel and ambience of the garden spaces.

Why did you choose to become a preferred supplier of the Retail Lab at Glee 2017? 

Our product collections span such a vast range of colours, textures, styles and trends that any opportunity to display complementing products together helps our customers understand the upselling opportunities available, together with the importance of product placing in store.  This also aids them in advising their customers which products complement and correspond to create the look and feel they desire for their own outdoor spaces.

The Retail Lab, which consists of industry specialists, provides a great independent insight into how they perceive our products creating the various design briefs and ambiences for each garden style.  As a company, we constantly monitor and look at new colours and style trends in outdoor landscaping, and this is reflected in our new ranges, with Scandinavian inspired living and urban colour palettes featuring in many of our new product collections launched this year.

What value do you think the Retail Lab will offer retailers/buyers?

Any opportunity to see our products up close in a touch and feel environment greatly assists customers in understanding the colour tones, sizing and quality of the products we have.  By encouraging retailers to ‘sell the dream’ and showcase a collection of products together in an all-encompassing garden design has a much greater return than displaying each element of outdoor living separately.  The various garden display areas within the Retail Lab re-enforce this thinking so it helps our retailers visualise how displays in store with complementing products can work to greatly inspire and increase spend with their customers.