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 ‘Preferred Partner’ and ‘Selected Partner’ of the four trend-led areas. Here, ‘Preferred Partner’ Cadix’s Managing Director, Kate Ebbens, tells us more about the company’s plans for the Retail Lab @ Glee.
Can you tell us more about what products you’ll be displaying?
This year at Glee we will be launching to the market our new range of indoor planters. A natural evolution for the Cadix portfolio, and reflective of changing consumer trend for a greener interior lifestyle, these new indoor planters have been created to reflect nature in both their design and manufacturing process.
These new indoor planters will be displayed within the Retail Lab’s Re-Wilding area; an area dedicated to an emerging market that sees nature take centre stage. The latest Cadix planters fit perfectly within this theme. Not only does the range draw its inspiration from nature and are manufactured from recyclable material, but they also demonstrate the ways that different textures, materials and designs can be merchandised within a retail environment together to create an eye-catching and memorable display that can encourage cross and upselling opportunities.
Why did you choose to become a preferred supplier of the Retail Lab @ Glee 2017, and what value do you think it will offer retailers/buyers?
Cadix is very active within the wider European and international garden retail market. We’ve been lucky enough to attend many other events and exhibitions, and have seen similar concepts to the Retail Lab along the way. In each case, there has been no doubt surrounding the value of such features. From bringing together the industry, showcasing how products can be merchandised together, and helping retailers to consider their own retail environments, is invaluable to both retailers and suppliers. I’ve no doubt that the Retail Lab @ Glee will deliver comparable benefits.
From our perspective, I am also keen to encourage younger shoppers into garden centres. This has been a hot topic for some time and I’m sure it will rumble on for many years to come. The fact is we know the younger demographic are going to garden centres but often look to catch-all retailers such as IKEA for their plant and pot needs. Educating this audience and getting them to understand that garden centres offer so much more - and all at the heart of the local community - is something we are dedicating to succeeding in. Both our involvement within the Retail Lab and the wider show will be focussed on delivering inspirational ideas to capture this vital consumer group.
What changing trends are you witnessing, and how are they affecting your business? What future trend excites you the most?
For us the move into interior trends is extremely exciting. Indoor gardening is growing rapidly, and we want to offer something that enables consumers to access this trend without having to compromise on style or clashing with their home interior choices.
Our new designs – collated into two collections: Natural and Lux – offer designs and textures that fit both traditional and contemporary backdrops. In particular, the Lux collection features a very modern and graphic heraldry design that has become increasingly prevalent on social media and leading trend blogs. From a retailer point of view, we also believe we have created a capsule range of sorts, featuring a wide selection of designs, sizes and choices without flooding the market. Our collections are made of carefully considered products, in a number of colour ways and sizes to meet popular and classic tastes.
The move into interiors is also aligned with our business development plans, which will see all our production moved to Holland by the new year. The move to more localised producers means we can better ensure product quality and have a closer relationship with our manufacturing partners, enabling us to quickly develop new concepts, designs and ranges to suit ever changing consumer trends, both exterior and interior.
See more from Cadix at Glee by visiting the company’s stand Hall 20, stand L30-M31, or find them in the Retail Lab’s Re-Wilding area. More details can be found at www.cadix.co.uk
Find out more
Glee is the UK’s leading garden retail show, focussing on building year-round profits within core product categories including Garden Care, Outdoor Entertaining, Landscaping and Garden Design, Pet, Home, Gift and Clothing, and Plants. Each year the show attracts thousands of buyers from top retailers, such as leading UK garden centres, builders’ merchants, multiple retailers, and DIY stores. To keep up-to-date on all the latest news log onto www.gleebirmingham.com or call 020 3033 2160 to find out about exhibiting.
