The Summer Outdoor Leisure Exhibition which will be opening its doors to the most influential buyers from within the garden industry on 9 July 2019, will be packed full of the freshest designs from 60 LOFA members, with the full A-Z and everything in between that the outdoor and leisure industry has to offer.

The SOLEX exhibition is all under one roof, and in one hall, so you won’t have to walk for miles and miles to find the most inspirational and innovative products for the 2020 season.

Infact it is a great place to do business, this relaxed and friendly exhibition is where you can establish new relationships and develop existing ones. So, whether you are a garden centre, a retail outlet, department store or multiple retailer, SOLEX has everything you could possibly want or need. 

There is also a contemporary new SOLEX lounge,  a great place to relax, chill out and unwind, serving refreshments to all visitors throughout the three show days, it’s a place to take the weight off your feet and re-charge your batteries, literally, as there will be charging points for all devices! 

There will also be secluded areas for those all-important business meetings or to check your Twitter feed!

The team at Norfolk Leisure are experiencing their best season ever with no expectations for the growth to slow.  They have seen a significant increase in demand for the LIFE ranges and see this being even more dominant for 2020.

The investment in the ‘shop in shop’ concept within the Garden Centres, strong POS and premium products with a difference have influenced and enhanced the brand.  Aluminium sets are the 2019 winners with the trend strongly moving away from traditional weave products. 

At SOLEX 2019, Norfolk Leisure will launch more innovation in the LIFE collection. New material combinations of durable aluminium and fully certified teak. The new collection has been the ‘star of the show’ at 2020 preview presentations and a must see for anyone visiting SOLEX this year. The practicality of the aluminium frames fused with the wonderful warmth and colour of teak that everyone loves.

"The innovation and unique product catalogue continues to inspire," says Nick Anderson MD of Norfolk Leisure. "The consistent and reliable high quality of the product and proven retail sales, make it a must have brand."

There is great confidence in the Norfolk Leisure business, and everyone is excited to present the new inspiring LIFE collections for 2020 at Solex.

Stand No 210

America’s leading gas grill brand Char-Broil will be at SOLEX 2019 on Stand #340, showing its flexible range of BBQ grills that suit any outdoor space from large to small. 

All products combine cutting-edge innovation, top performance and clever design.  Stars of the show include the All-Star portable BBQ, available in gas or electric models; a Gas2Coal hybrid BBQ with 4 burners; and a Professional ‘Double Header’ enabling fish, meat or vegetables to be grilled completely separately.  

With Char-Broil, innovation is at the heart of everything. Char-Broil brought one of the first charcoal grills to market in 1948. In the years since, it has been delivering innovation continuously.  Infrared is one of the most well-known of Char-Broil’s unique technologies, because it has helped revolutionise BBQ cooking by giving up to 50% juicier results, and a perfectly even distribution of heat without any flare-ups. The All-Star and Professional ranges feature this innovative TRU-Infrared^TM cooking technology.

For those who only have a balcony or small garden but want the performance of a premium grill, the Char-Broil All-Star BBQ is the ultimate versatile and portable solution. Available in either gas or electric models, it can either be placed in its stand - with foldable side shelves for extra workspace - or it can be detached from the stand to place on a table-top. Cast iron grill grates make it durable, rust resistant and easy to clean, and the All-Star delivers the trademark Char-Broil TRU-Infrared cooking performance using indirect infrared heat to evenly cook producing 50% juicier results every time.

As well as delivering a superior cooking performance on the 1,600 cm² cooking area, the All-Star offers distinctive, premium design and durability. It has a cast-aluminium lid with a lid-mounted temperature gauge and a porcelain enamelled firebox to deliver a perfect, controlled BBQ experience. The grill can be separated from its cart by opening the two lockers on each side; the pocket handles facilitate transport of the grill.

The All-Star also has an innovative GearTrax accessory that turns it from a low-level portable BBQ to full height wheeled cart, making it easy to manoeuvre.

Another innovation at the Show will be the Char-Broil Gas2Coal.  Why choose between gas or charcoal when there is a grill that can do both? And can even do both at the same time, with the two separate charcoal trays.  The new Char-Broil Gas2Coal 440 converts from gas to charcoal in less than 60 seconds and without requiring any tools. Available in black painted steel, the Gas2Coal has 4 stainless steel burners and Surefire ignition so that you’re ready to cook at the touch of a button.

Char-Broil at Solex, Stand No 340

For more info visit www.charboil.eu

Zest 4 Leisure’s brand new stand is set to turn heads at this year’s SOLEX. The new look stand, (#310) will showcase some of the garden trade’s favourite Zest decorative timber garden products, including the best-selling Emily Love Seat, Miami Swing and GIMA award entry, “new concept” Noah’s Arbour (piictured above).

Commenting ahead of SOLEX, Steve Morgan, Zest 4 Leisure Managing Director, said: “We are really looking forward to returning to SOLEX. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase some of our key products, and gives us the chance to talk to our customers about the many improvements we’ve made to the business over the past year.”

At SOLEX, garden centre customers will be reminded that Zest 4 Leisure’s full marketing support package includes; Point of Sale, range boards, modular merchandisers with header boards and customer brochures. Also available is an extensive digital library of images and videos produced at its new in-house studio at Zest 4 Leisure’s Saltney site.

Fifty new videos including ‘How To’ style animations and short product lifestyle clips have recently been produced to make it easier to build Zest’s timber garden products. Used in conjunction with the standard instructions, the ‘How To’ videos show every detail of how the specific product fits together. They can be seen here or on stand #310.

Steve Morgan added, “We aim to be the supplier of choice for timber garden products.  This comprehensive marketing support package is part of that drive and commitment."

The award-winning company manufactures and sources FSC® Certified timber garden furniture, fencing and outdoor living products, and is renowned for its innovative timber garden ranges. Zest 4 Leisure’s furniture is built using pressure treated timber and has a 10-year anti-rot guarantee, meaning that products from Zest 4 Leisure can stand the test of time.

This year’s Zest 4 Leisure stand has been expertly designed and built by another division of the P&A Group, Woodworks Timber Buildings. You will be sure of a warm welcome from the Zest 4 Leisure team at stand #310.

Glencrest started business in 1981 by Jack Whiteley in his back bedroom at Shoeburyness Essex overlooking the Beach and Sea, it is a lovely place.

The first Garden furniture was imported from Holland and it was very basic compared to today’s beautiful designs. Glencrest started cushion production in 1982 as they couldn’t find a decent supply so they set up their own factory. This was a very small unit of about 3500 square feet and was an old farm building. Today the Glencrest Cushion range offers the largest selection of outdoor cushions, Parasols and Parasol Bases.

The success is without doubt down to the packaging which is consumer friendly and staff are generally not needed when your customer decides which cushion they need. Similarly the Parasols come in 4 colour cartons with a complete guide to what’s inside and the cartons match with the Parasol Bases so it makes a nice presentation. Gone are the days of Brown Cardboard boxes stuffed under a shelf, the Glencrest range sells itself and we have proved that sales increase dramatically over brown cartons.

Every cushion is made in our own factory in the Far East and filled and finished in the UK providing work for 30 people, some of our staff have been with us for over 24 years. After 30 years in production the quality is superb. Following on, the Parasols and Bases have become big business for Glencrest with over 75,000 bases sold this year and close to 45,000 Parasols, it's big business.

Glencrest supplies over 400 retailers nationwide and is proud of its track record. Moving to a new Factory and warehouse two years ago everything is now under one roof incorporating a large showroom and spacious offices it’s a great place to work.

We have a team of sales representatives covering every area, some of whom are fully employed and some are Agents. Our Agents are the best in the business and we only use agents that do not represent too many companies. In the past we have struggled with agents but now we are more than happy in most areas.

Of course the Katie Blake outdoor furniture introduced six years ago has made a tremendous difference to the way Glencrest works and it is now a recognised Brand competing with all the majors.

Outselling most brands, just ask one of our customers it is difficult to keep up with demand as everyone knows if you don’t order enough you’re going to run out. This season we had quite a number of customers who selected Katie Blake along with other brands. They sold out of Katie Blake very early and would like to order more but they can’t because they need to sell the other brands they bought in.

Quite a number of customers think that a container is a lot of furniture and will take up a lot of space. We can tell you that 3 staff can unload a container in less than two and a half hours!

Find us on Stand 410 at SOLEX – We look forward to discussing your needs at the show.

SOLEX will offer the outdoor furniture and leisure industry its first opportunity to see LifestyleGarden’s new 2020 ranges, all of which are setting the bar higher than ever when it comes to sustainable and responsible product design and management.

One of the first new range sees the leading outdoor furniture brand partner with the educational charity, the Eden Project, which has welcomed over 20 million visitors since it fully opened in 2001. This exclusive partnership will see LifestyleGarden and the Eden Project team work together to drive their common goal of promoting environmental responsibility and sustainability.

What’s more, this new range will provide retailers with a unique point of difference in this normally traditional product category, whilst consumers can make a more considered decision at the point of purchase thanks to the Eden branding which will feature on LifestyleGarden’s garden furniture ranges from early 2020. 

On show at SOLEX will also be examples of the full Eden Project partnership ranges, as well as the exclusive Eden designs and patterns which will adorn cushions and deckchairs, providing retailers with an additional add-on sales opportunity. Representatives from the Eden Project have also confirmed their attendance at the exhibition, providing visitors with the chance to learn first-hand why the Eden Project selected LifestyleGarden® as its exclusive outdoor furniture partner.

To find out more about LifestyleGarden’s Eden Project, plus other new 2020 collections, be sure to visit the team on-stand (stand 605 and 610) at SOLEX. A special drinks reception will be taking place on Tuesday 9th July throughout the day, where representatives from LifestyleGarden and the Eden Project will be joined by Inbal Kahaner, the designer of exciting new the DuraOcean chair and LifestyleGarden’s popular Nassua and Cannes collections. To confirm your place at this event, please email salesuk@lifestylegarden.com

NEW for 2020 all Grillstream BBQs now come with LeisureGrow’s revolutionary HYBRID SYSTEM. The new system lets users decide whether to cook on gas or charcoal each time they cook by simply lifting the grills and either adding or taking away charcoal from the BBQ. 

Now cooking on a Grillstream with charcoal is just as easy as cooking on gas by using the burners to light the charcoal and then turning them off for that traditional charcoal BBQ taste.

Jody Grimmer, managing director for LeisureGrow Products said; “We think our new Hybrid Grillstream system is just what the BBQ trade and consumer has been waiting for.  Now you don’t have to choose between the convenience of gas or the nostalgia and taste of charcoal – consumers can decide each time how to cook their BBQ depending on how much time they have and what they’re cooking.  We’re really excited to be sharing this at SOLEX.”

To support the New Hybrid System for Grillstream, the LeisureGrow team has made investments in some great POS and marketing tools for Grillstream including videos, shop-in-shop retail solutions, and packaging which is also on display at SOLEX.  And if that’s not enough to whet visitors’ appetites, BBQ aficionado Dr Sweetsmoke will be on the Grillstream stand at the show, cooking up some tasty nibbles and dishing out BBQ tips to customers.

Barlow Tyrie's design team have created new additions that sit perfectly with its current ranges. The company is excited to introduce its new products and reinvigorated designs.

Atom collection is a modern, lightweight, elegant collection with timeless appeal. The armchair has a geometric shape that is accented with a tilted backrest which includes a circular ‘atom’ hole. This styled feature is to affix a cushion backrest for extra comfort. This toggled-cushion backrest and seat pad are optional and available in a selection of Sunbrella colours.

The armchair frame displays the strength of traditional teak with the sling seat which is a perfect combination. It uses a new coloured Sunbrella.514 denim fabric, to create a statement piece with clean contour lines.

The Atom rectangular 150cm dining table (with no parasol hole) is a blend of profiled curves and clean simple lines, visually lighter in scale and proportions, and somewhat contemporary. The legs are contoured and the table top features solid teak slates. The understated appeal of Mark’s designs will ensure their popularity for many years to come.

Atom features:

Barlow Tyrie Ltd.

Email: UKsales@teak.com
Email: info@teak.com

Rattan outdoor furniture experts Daro will be unveiling a totally new concept at SOLEX this year alongside its existing collections.

The 'Tailored' range works on the principle that every stockist and retailer is different, each with a unique customer base. Some have a demand

for formal dining sets, whilst others get more requests for relaxed lounging styles. For the first time stockists have the opportunity to design a collection of outdoor furniture that is best suited to the different needs and wants of their customers.

Stockists are invited to choose the pieces in their personal collection, weave-type, colours and even delivery style.

Find out more. Watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocJ_k0759Lk

Daro has created a 4 step process to work in partnership stockists helping them to develop a range that will work best for their business. Ultimately, resulting in more sales.

Just 4 steps to create a personalised outdoor furniture collection

1. Choose your design. From relaxing lounging sets to sophisticated dining, we will help you to create unique and exclusive designs.
2. Choose your weave & colour.  A wide selection of high-quality weave types, thicknesses and colours, make your furniture stand out from the crowd.
3. Choose your fabrics. Coordinate the perfect finish by choosing from over 20 outdoor performance fabrics and an array of cushion styles.
4. Choose your flexible delivery type & quantity. Low MOQ and staged deliveries are available, as are container deliveries.

Reasons to love the new 'Tailored' range

• A truly bespoke collection - Design a range for your customers (not anyone else's).
• Quality workmanship from an experienced team with all products produced to commercial use standards.
• 5 year warranty on frames and weave.
• All cushions are handmade in the U.K by our own Daro Soft Furnishings division.

Visit stand 615 at SOLEX 2019 to view the Tailored range and the latest products from the across the Daro collection.

To find out more get in touch today.

Call: +44  (0) 1604 758989

Web: www.daro-outdoor.co.uk

Email: sales@daro-cane.co.uk

The Pagoda team are highly experienced in sourcing garden furniture in China and Vietnam, with their own offices in Hangzhou for over 25 years.

"We know all the best factories and have good working relationships with them," said a company spokesperson.

"We ship containers direct from factories to your warehouse and can offer a door to door or FOB China port service.

"We are a member of LOFA so all our Pagoda products conform to UKFR standards.

"If quantities are sufficient, we can own-brand products in mixed containers of maximum 4 products.

"All shipments are checked to international AQL standards by our own inspectors.

"We look forward to speaking with you on stand 560 at SOLEX."

GLATZ are the leading worldwide parasol experts, a Swiss family company with more than 100 years’ experience.

As their exclusive UK partner, AEL are chosen and trusted by discerning customers as we offer the most comprehensive and innovative choice of parasols on the market.

We supply a premium line of centre pole and cantilever parasols that offer UV protection from the sun with UPF 50+ rating, available in a wide range of styles, sizes, base options, LED lighting and protective accessories. Quality fabrics include a choice of up to 70 bespoke colours in the Class 4 & 5 fabric range.

See us on stand 230 for a full demonstration and to see the range.

Garden Impressions are delighted to be back at SOLEX to launch their new collections into the UK.

As a long-established brand and one of the largest suppliers across Europe, Garden Impressions are now fully set up here in the UK with sales
office, warehousing and distribution to support their UK customers, both new and existing.

The company offer the full selection of all Outdoor Living products – Rattan, Aluminium and Teak furniture with an extensive range of parasols, heaters, outdoor rugs and the Coverit protective covers – all at fantastically competitive prices.

Groundwork has begun on Kettler’s brand new, state-of-the-art facility which will enable the leading outdoor brand to significantly improve its stockholding and efficiency. 

Centrally located adjacent to its current warehouse, the new facility is ideally situated for Kettler’s network of retailers. 

The new extra-high site will treble the current on-site capacity and is due to be completed in October. The £2m investment reflects the company’s market leading presence and demonstrates its long term vision for sustained growth. 

Kettler Managing Director, Paul Bevington, said: “We pride ourselves on our constant product development, which in turn has created a continuously growing business. In order to ensure we can continue to meet our customers’ demand and to prepare for more innovation in an ever changing marketplace, it was essential for us to invest in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility.

“Once complete, it will allow us to store all our stock on our own single site, instead of at multiple external warehouses. This will, improve incoming logistics and delivery speed.”

Experience comfort, design and quality on the Hartman Outdoor Products stand.

Demonstrating innovative design features for exceptional outdoor living spaces, Hartman will showcase its stunning resin weave furniture, contemporary cast aluminium sets, innovation with a new ceramic glass top, as well as adding a touch of European flare with the new Excellence collection.

Do you take a flat white or a cappuccino? Whilst browsing over the fantastic new collections from Hartman, why not enjoy a delicious, complimentary barista coffee and take part in the fun interactive Jamie Oliver competition, with a chance to win a signed copy of Jamie Oliver’s new book – VEG.

Tradition and passion are at the fore for Tramontina and, for them, it’s not just about the product but also the pleasure the product can bring. They have evolved an ethos of bringing Brazilian hospitality to the global market where people get together to enjoy good times and create lasting memories.

Tramontina’s Churrasco collection is specifically designed to bring people together to enjoy the best of times with an outstanding collection of high-quality kit for fun, authentic Brazilian style barbequing, including an outstanding collection of wooden gift/presentation boxed sets.

From essential accessories such as skewers, no end of utensils and wooden chopping/serving boards to exquisite 16- piece carving sets and steak knife & fork sets in an array of styles - everything you need for the ultimate in sociable outdoor cooking and dining.

Outstanding features prevail throughout - sculpted ergonomic handles, super-sharp serrated stainless-steel blades and distinctive stainless-steel rivets which guarantee safety and security as well as a distinctive appearance, epitomising the stylish good looks and high quality of the brand.

High quality polywood handles (real wood), from FSC certified forests, are dishwasher safe, impact and high temperature resistant and, uniquely, come with a 5-year warranty.

Although Churrasco is at the fore, the Tramontina portfolio has recently been bolstered with the addition of cookware, utensils, knife blocks and more, offering a more diverse choice for everyone to enjoy.

Over the last three years LOFA have been working with FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association) and HTS (Hertfordshire Trading Standards) on an initiative to ensure that all cushions sold by LOFA members comply with Trading Standards and the Governments Fire Safety Regulations.

Lofa have been working with HTS, who are our primary authority partner, to enable our members to comply with all the most relevant and up to date Fire Safety Regulations. As an association we feel that taking this route will not only help our members but also safeguard retailers and consumers.

After 3 years, and an investment of over £600k , all our members offering cushions and cushioned furniture are now 100% compliant and have earned LOFAssured Accreditation. These members have been put through an audit of certification, documentation and traceability to ensure only safe, compliant products are offered to the market place. The rigorous process included product testing by an independent test house. LOFA also tested a number of garden cushions from non-lofa members, that were brought from a variety of retailers both online and high street and 8 out of 10 of these cushions failed the legal requirements resulting in products being withdrawn from sale.

LOFA will be pushing this message out to consumers and retailers alike via a big marketing campaign across press, online, TV and Radio, we also want to push this message out in stores to tie up with this campaign.

To find out more about LOFAssured visit Stand 350.

SOLEX has launched its very own website to help visitors to register and attend the event.

This new website has an interactive exhibition map that allows you to see who will be exhibiting and if you want to know more about the exhibitors you are only one click away from their websites. There is also the chance to win a lovely weekend away in the beautiful county of Hampshire.

The website – www.solexexhibition.com – will also give information on how to get there, facilities, hotel links and general build up to the event. 

This new portal will also be linked to its own Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin accounts where you can interact and keep up to date with all the news views and current product information.