Organiser Phil Gibbs has thanked all the exhibitors and visitors for making SOLEX a record-breaking success, and said he hoped to see everyone again next year when the exhibition returns to the NEC Birmingham.

Phil said: "SOLEX has been an overwhelming success in terms of numbers of exhibitors and visitors, and the general consensus is that has been a highly profitable event for all concerned.

"As well as the high number of visitors attending, exhibitors have commented that the quality of people visiting their stands has been excellent.

"We had three fabulous days in Hall 5 at the NEC Birmingham, and there was a continued buzz throughout the exhibition," said Phil.

"We've received some fantastic comments, and the general concensus of opinion has been one of great satisfaction.

"So thank you for your contribution and we hope to see you again at the NEC in 2016."

There were good attendances on all three days of the show although the opening day on Tuesday attracted an impressive audience.

SOLEX 2016 will take place on July 5-7

For all the news from the show click on the following links to SOLEX SUN:

Tuesday Live

Wednesday Live

During three days at the NEC writing the SOLEX SUN, the GTN Xtra team collected the views on the market and SOLEX 2015 from a number of garden centres including Haskins, Squires, Chessington, Bosworths, Monkton Elm, Caulders, Fresh@Burcot and Highfield Garden World.

The team from Chessington Garden Centre (pictured above) were first through the door on each of the three show days taking their buying very seriously. “Outdoor Living sales have now grown to be 12% of our turnover,” said managing director Jolyon Martin.

Conna Powles, Buying Director at Haskins told GTN Xtra:  “We were very nervous going into the season this year as we had had a really good year last year, further to a complete review of our strategy and Haskins had a record year over all.  However, the momentum has continued into this year, consumer confidence is strong and our strategy is now only tweaked year on year to keep the offer fresh. “

Haskins sales YTD are as follows;

“When I first visited Solex three years ago, and being new to garden centres, I found the offers very confusing.  I found it difficult to identify the strength of each supplier.  However, this year, it was more evident that most suppliers were playing to their more strengths in terms of what materials they are using and what quality of furniture they are offering.  It was easier to select families of product and identify the good, better and best.”

“At Haskins, we are very clear on our customer profile and ensure that we buy according to that identity and so this move by suppliers has made it easier to do that.  We don’t want to try to be all things to all people and the suppliers had identified that they can’t either.”

“There still was not a great deal of out and out new product development, although some suppliers were experimenting more with colour (both fabrics and weaves).”

“I thought it was a good move to switch the show to a Tues/Weds/Thurs format.”

Darren Oakley from Squires Garden Centres reported:  “It’s a good show, the only place where you can look and compare manufactures products “side by side”.  Once we leave Solex we have a solid view as to our ranging for the following season”

Sam Bosworth, owner of Bosworths Garden Centre said: “SOLEX was a good show.  Busy on Tuesday, felt buoyant and positive.  Quiet on Thursday when we went back, which was good for us.”

“The quality of displays was great and it was good to see some differentiation of products on exhibitors stands with not the same product appearing everywhere.  Not too much real innovation, but obviously difficult, probably only real new thing that may catch on in any sort of volume was the Suntime COSI lounge sets in the marine fabric.”

“This season has been good, we are 25% up YTD to end of June in this category.  It’s been fairly steady each month from April onwards, and seems to be carrying on with strong sales of parasols recently.  People are willing to spend on better parasols and finally seem to be realising that cantilever parasols are more effective than traditional anti social and unpractical through the table parasols!”

“Weave has been stronger than ever, mesh has done well, cast aluminium slowed down this year and wood is still struggling.  Accessories been really good, Hammocks, Egg Chairs, Gliders and occasional pieces are where there is good growth.”

Steve Ainscough, Birkacre Garden Centre told GTN Xtra that sales have held up reasonably well this year, adding “I'm sure this market is a bit trickier for us than for those enjoying the more Mediterranean climate down south (where perhaps customers are also a bit less price conscious!).”

Neil Gow from Fresh@Burcot Garden Centre tells us that the Outdoor Living market is getting increasingly difficult to make business sense of for the smaller independent retailer. “Our ‘Leisure’ sales are running just shy of 21% up to the end of June against last year and July is going very well so far.  One of the problems with Solex being so early in the selling season, is we are only part way through potential sales. But at least we know what of the ranges we are stocking will not be continued by suppliers for next year so we can work to clear stocks through and maintain margin with all the July, August and even September sales to come.“

“The service levels from our suppliers have been generally good this year but the availability shocking! We can’t hold big stocks so we need our suppliers to do this. The supplier who can sort this conundrum will do very well.”

From the West Country, Steve Searle of Monkton Elm Garden Centre said “Solex was the best yet.  We felt the show was well laid out and suppliers had plenty of innovative new products for us to choose from. We talked to 2 new possible suppliers for next season as we felt their styles were what we were looking for.”

“We are 20% up on garden furniture this year and it was good last year so we are well pleased so far. The big winner has been the outdoor dining sets in the resin wicker look as we just could not get enough of them to meet demand. This is a growing sector in outdoor style as you can use them in a conservatory and then when it gets too hot you can use them on the patio.

“I have also been talking to suppliers for us to buy items as part of our group the Great Western Partnership as this gives us good promotions for us the independents to compete with the nationals that are out there and online companies.”

Finally for a Scottish view, Colin Barrie, owner of Caulders Garden Centres says:  “I felt that Solex was better than ever this year!  We managed to choose our range for 2016 and found everything we needed, from "price entry point" to "high end".  Although the 2015 season has been poor in Scotland, with worse weather than we've seen for years, outdoor living sales were good early on.”

“Following my visit to Solex I'm excited about outdoor living sales for 2016.”

"We spent two whole days at Solex and what a great show it was," said Tim Greenway, of Highfield Garden World.
 
"We particularly liked the improved range of casual dining from most suppliers and in particular, the range from Supremo with the ‘Pistachio’ cushions and the pale Lilac.  Unless colour is added, much of the weave tends to blend in with one another.  We also noted the abundance of ‘Durawood’ or similar for table tops next year and in general less cast aluminium.  With regard to BBQ’s we may take the bold step of not stocking any.  We set the store out in early February but only really generate any sales if Easter is late and the weather is good.  You then have to wait until the real summer weather kicks in and even then, customers are constantly checking the web for the best price.  We don’t have a problem with that as we ‘Price Match’.  However, we are fed up with brands altering their range subtly for major retailers and then cutting the price below the standard model.  The customer really has to look hard to see the difference – all they see is the price saving over what we are offering.  Have not summed up the courage to tell Weber or Landmann yet!.
 
"To make up the shortfall, the plan is to ramp up the range of outdoor fire pits, chimeneas etc, as we sell these all year round and many of the models are dual purpose.  We thought the range from La Hacienda was very good and will probably take on the Kadai range.  I thought their dual height fire bowl was fantastic, especially as you can add a table top to the spare stand."

Bosmere's range of barbecue and garden furniture covers has been extended with the launch Thunder Grey at SOLEX.

In the past the covers market was quite conservative and the products were purely functional. To move the market forward Bosmere introduced fashion  in a new 'urban chic' range in the form of Storm Black. That range really took off and substantially increased the sales of premium covers.

"Interest in the Thunder Grey covers and orders at the show have exceeded expectations," said Steve Millington.

"New materials have been used and PVC backing eliminated through the use of a unique coating developed by Bosmere technicians. The covers are therefore much more environmentally friendly.

"New premium packaging has been introduced with a smart new logo 'badge'."

Napoleon Grills is launching two new gas BBQ models for 2016 where user friendliness is the watchword. The new P500 and PRO500 models include new features, restyling and stress free assembly in less than 30 minutes.

A large selection of new grilling accessories will also be available.

The P500 now benefits from one of the company’s most popular designs features that already appears on the Triumph range, namely a fold down side shelf; this makes for easier storage and safe manoeuvrability. Door handles and control knobs have been restyled and the drip tray is accessed from the front.

The PRO500, in line with most quality kitchens, now enjoys soft closing doors to its storage unit, which now has internal shelving. New features include interior lights, a new control panel and NIGHT LIGHT control knobs. The drip tray on this model is also accessed from the front.

Martin Sobey, UK Sales Manager, comments: “We are always aiming to improve our products and with both of these models we have made significant refinements ensuring excellent functionality and user-experience are at their core.”

To find out more visit www.napoleongrills.co.uk on 01676 522788 or email info@napoleongrills.co.uk

Garden giftware company Fallen Fruits, whose many themed and designer collections are inspired by both by nature and the impetus to recycle and make anew, promoted its Fancy Flames range at SOLEX. The range incorporates everything from candles and tealights to chimineas and firepits – plus all the accessories the retailer could wish to feature.

The Fancy Flames collection brings together eastern European, traditional and contemporary design influences to create a wide range of attractive products and accessories all united by living flames for stylish outdoor spaces.  Lighting options include scented candles, traditional tealights and novelty lanterns. 

Firepits, braziers and chimineas in traditional antique iron finishes complement contemporary rust finished designs and Turkish influences.  The range also includes barbecue options, fuels and outdoor cooking accessories. A perfect lifestyle choice for style conscious garden centre shoppers, the collection also contains ideal gift options, even including wedding or setting up home potential.  

RRPs start from £2.99 for a set of small citronella garden torches to £599 for an extra large wood store.  Fallen Fruits managing director Michael Hall explained, “This collection has fantastic appeal for both gardening enthusiasts and consumers who just want to enjoy their outdoor space.  It’s a real opportunity for garden centres to maximise their consumer appeal.”

As with all Fallen Fruits garden and giftware ranges, the Fancy Flames collection is well supported at point of sale. 

Shropshire-based Fallen Fruits combines excellence in global purchasing with product design and service dedicated to developing aesthetically pleasing, handy, helpful, quirky, original and fun items to make gardening easier and gardens more enjoyable. 

Garden retailers can contact Fallen Fruits for more information about this and other collections by contacting the company on 01584 873377 or by emailing sales@fallenfruits.co.uk.

Innovators International have expanded their award-winning bar set range to include a contemporary designed 8-seater bar set featuring stainless steel accents and an integrated ice bucket. This set can be purchased in a mixed container with other sets from the range.

Innovators have also taken the popular lounge dining sets to a new level with the introduction of the adjustable height tables on their Hervey and Botany sets. This allows for the transition from dining to relaxed living.

Managing Director Nick Joels  gave his reaction to the reception of the new lines.

“I am delighted that the innovative concepts developed by our young design team that have proved to be market focused due the fantastic reception from our customers.

"In the current environment one cannot afford to stay still and investment in product design is not optional but essential.”



  

Premier launched a host of new products at SOLEX to enhance their increasingly in-depth offering across outdoor leisure categories.

Top-end al fresco dining is covered by the Italian-made Fontana ovens range, some offering the ability to cook pizza and barbecue food at the same time, by virtue of a cantilevered pull-out grilling surface.

Also new are attractive bistro furniture sets in a choice of pastel colours, priced to sell in volume.





Above: new bistrro dining sets from Premier

http://news.sky.com/story/1514455/government-makes-u-turn-on-sunday-trading

An underlying trend from the BBQ and grill exhibitors at SOLEX was the increasing number of Al Fresco Pizza baking options for retailers to choose from.

Al Fresco Pizza baking, either on a BBQ or in an outdoor pizza oven is a growing market.  As the team from firepitsuk told the Solex Sun “every family has a youngster who loves pizza.”

With plenty of new pizza related developments at Solex there’s every possibility retailers can use the pizza effect to sell a new piece of Al Fresco cookware to families and bbq aficionados next year.

Premier Decorations are importing the European market leading range of Pizza ovens from Fontana.  They are 100% Italian made, with certified food safe stones and even have a double chimney version which will be an ideal sale for the “mine’s bigger than yours” brigade.

As well as the wood charcoal fired ovens The Fontana range also includes a Gas Pizza Oven with burners that are 2mm thick to push out 12,000 btu.  “Italian pizza ovens are designed to cook a pizza in 2 minutes,” Premier Decorations Pravin Patel.

Lifestyle Appliances exhibited a new range of gas Pizza Ovens.  Their stainless steel deluxe model which can be used as a pizza oven, bbq, smoker and general oven will retail for about £599.

Other pizza ovens at SOLEX include the Foretto from Grakka, which also includes an electric warming drawer for proving pizza dough.  La Hacienda have their bestselling Bakerstone which fits on top of traditional BBQ’s and a new concept Pizza oven model.  Firepitsuk are manufacturing a metal pizza oven in the UK that heats up to temperature for cooking in 20 minutes and Gardeco have a new Pizzaro pizza oven made from their unique Chimalin fire clay with a 5 year guarantee which with it’s metal stand will retail for £500.

Outback have launched their Jupiter gas bbq with a built in pizza stone and then there are a host of pizza stone accessories from the likes of Napolean and Weber.  “It’s one of our high volume accessory sales lines, with free pizza cutter.  Adding pizza to the BBQ menu gets the whole family involved, the Napolean team told Solex Sun.  Weber feature a pizza stone as one of their gourmet options.

The biggest range of al fresco cooking accessories including pizza baking possibly goes to Cadac.  The team were keen to demonstrate their modular cooking system which can produce a Seafood Pizza using the tepanyaki plate to cook the seafood and then the baking stone with the lid closed to bake the pizza.

So how big could Al Freso pizza business be in the coming years?  As Louise Edkins from Lifestyle Appliances said “Pizza Hut are doing OK.”  So perhaps selling pizza ovens and even giving live in store demonstrations must be worth exploring, even in the Clyde Valley!

Garden furniture specialist Kettler unveiled an exciting new collection for the 2016 season at this year’s SOLEX, building on the huge success of the Palma Casual Dining range.

Kettler has introduced Palma Mini and Palma Cube to the popular Casual Dining collection, reinforcing its position as the home of outdoor furniture that combines dining and relaxing.

Available in both whitewash and rattan, Palma Mini is a smaller version of the Palma Corner set, with a rectangular mid-height table, corner sofa and two stools that seats 4-6 people, bringing the Palma experience to an even wider audience. Palma Cube, a square Casual Dining table, with four stools that sit neatly underneath, is either the perfect extension to any Palma set or a beautiful furniture set on its own. 



Kettler is also extending its Wicker collection, with the addition of the stylish Hampshire and La Mode furniture sets, both of which offer a dining or sofa set, as well as a Hampshire Balcony/Breakfast set which is chic, yet very neat. The Wicker collection also features a new contemporary daybed Pod for simple relaxation.

The company is strengthening its popular Metal collection with Eton, a modern set for the design conscious customer, as well as new fabrics for 2016. 

Visitors to SOLEX also saw a new addition to Kettler’s ‘Urbano’ collection of contemporary garden furniture. Ocho is a versatile and functional circular set with a table, stool and cut out stool that can fit together to form a number of different shapes and sets. Designed for a modern lifestyle, Ocho joins other innovative products within the Urbano collection, with intelligent design to appeal to a younger customer.



Paul Bevington, Managing Director at Kettler, said: "Our original Casual Dining range continues to grow from strength to strength and we’re delighted with how popular the collection is with retailers and customers. 2016 promises to be a big year for us and we are committed to support our Casual Dining range to drive even more sales, with more advertising, point of sale and promotional activity. 

“With our entire 2016 collection, we continue to lead the way and demonstrate that Kettler offers garden furniture innovation and design at its best.”

This beast of a brolly…sorry, parasol…took pride of place on the Barlow Tyrie stand, where it was demonstrated for us by project manager Steven Still.

It’s the ultimate in stylish shade protection for a large gathering and at 4m square, will comfortably cover an 8- or 10-piece dining set. The struts and pillar made from eucalyptus, a sustainable and affordable hardwood, and all the metal parts are powder coated for weather resistance.

Steven also demonstrated the company’s new Bermuda high dining chair and 90cm round table, in teak with stainless steel detailing. Elegant, substantial and solid in the grandest Barlow Tyrie tradition, the seats are also wide enough to accommodate the broadest and fidgetiest of beams in comfort and safety.

The new Garden Leisure collection features a range of furniture – including elegant Tea Sets in two-chair and four-chair options, folding garden bench and seated arbour – as well as three gazebos and two parasols, all with a choice of fabric colour. The range is competitively priced for volume sales.

Gardman’s line-up of garden furniture covers creates excellent opportunities for linked sales in the outdoor leisure department and benefits from a stylish packaging makeover for next season.

The Cole & Bright brand offers one of the most varied and comprehensive ranges in the solar lighting category.

Steve Harper, Gardman’s sales director, said: “With furniture, gazebos and parasols in the Garden Leisure collection and our range of garden furniture covers, we exhibited at SOLEX for the first time to promote this strong range extension. All the offers ranges were warmly received and we met many new customers.”

Andrew MacMillan, an expert in differentiating business through customer experience, was the guest speaker at SOLEX...

Andrew McMillan started his career as a management trainee with the John Lewis Partnership at Brent Cross. He quickly moved up through the management ranks and progressed to the head office to take charge of the department stores’ customer centric Intelligence Team. They acted as an internal business consultancy reporting on competitive strategy, product differentiation and value, catchment area and demographics for new branches and customer service.

In 2000 Andrew was asked to lead on customer service for the department store division. The role saw him develop JLP’s market-leading culture and attitude towards customer service and sales with the 20,000 customer-facing Partners in 26 John Lewis shops across the UK. That customer-driven culture is something that has now become synonymous with the John Lewis brand.

Andrew joined a City based consultancy as a Principal Consultant before setting up his own consultancy in 2012 specialising in employee engagement, customer experience and customer centric business change. Consulting clients have included: Argos, Asda, Ecclesiastical Insurance, Kwik Fit, Jardine Motors Group, Lookers Motor Group, Greene King, Vauxhall Motors, Peugeot Citroen and Virgin Atlantic.

Andrew says: "What did your business set out to do for its customers at its inception? In a fledgling business high quality personal customer service is a given or the business will fail. However, as a business develops it can lose touch with its roots as growth and financial control start to dominate the agenda.

"So, when was the last time you really thought about your customers experience when they interact with front-line staff and how those customers subsequently feel about your business? 

"Many businesses find themselves focussing on developing their products, services or processes when they think about customer experience and the interaction with staff is left to chance. 

"The reputation John Lewis enjoy is equally based on the quality of the experience delivered through their staff, as that is the value and quality of their products and services. It's a potential major point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace and one that many businesses fail to capitalise upon."

Katie Blake by Glencrest Seatex showed an amazing range of garden furniture at SOLEX.

Included in the range is a beautiful Gazebo with a Rattan roof features three 3-seat benches with cushions and scatters plus a coffee table.

Even the roof is lined on the inside, making this a really luxurious Gazebo.

Easy to assemble, it is an ideal garden centre product not available through internet-only companies.

LG Outdoor’s Green Room concept, which enables garden centres to offer own-brand ranges and compete with online sales, now accounts for almost 50% of the company’s business, group chairman Richard Grimmer told SOLEX SUN.

Green Room is a working name for LG’s volume business which gives garden centres access to ‘affordable containers’ of unbranded product which they can own-brand and and price without fear of comparison with branded goods sold online. The process by which consumers check out product in store and then buy from the cheapest online source is known as ‘showrooming’.

“The beauty of buying unbranded is that they can call it what they want and price it how they want,” said Richard. “It’s been a huge success for us and we’re doing more and more every year.”

Meanwhile, LG continue to innovate elsewhere in the range. More accessories have been introduced this tear, many in full-colour packaging, to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of Solus products in the category.

One of the most innovative new products on the stand was the new Hanoi Harbour range featuring an attractive rattan-style weave made from hard-wearing rope (pictured below), which gives the furniture a soft, tactile feel. Tables are have detailing made from brushed acacia.

Also new are Sail Canopies – combining the benefits of a canopy and a gazebo.

Furniture sets aimed at the younger garden-lover have proved a popular hit for Brundle Gardener this year.

The mushroom and animal-themed furniture have been a unique feature for garden centres while enhancing Brundle’s ethos of offering something different.

The furniture sets will be a centrepiece for Brundle Gardener at this week's Solex trade show and a spokesman for the company said: “The mushroom furniture set offers some enchantment to any garden.

“You can easily see children’s playing a game of make-believe with the set acting as a centrepiece for their imagination.

“We see the garden as a natural extension to the home so why shouldn’t children have their own area to host their own tea parties or play other fun and games? This has certainly caught on as garden centres view children’s furniture as more and more important.

“We have received a number of orders from garden centres looking to add some unique child-friendly products to their range.”

Both furniture sets are made from tough, robust fibreglass and vibrant water-based colours.

They are also UV stable to ensure they withstand the British weather.

For more information on the products, please visit www.brundlegardener.co.uk or phone 0131 335 5955.

Below is a range of colourful garden accessories also shown on the Brundle Gardener stand.

The main focus of SOLEX for SolarCentre was their new solar fairy light string called “Lumify”, part of their guaranteed winter working range,

They promise to yet again impress any solar critics by pushing the boundaries of what can be expected from solar in winter.  With working performance on a winter’s night purely from solar allowing the lights to run at full brightness for 6hrs a night, they also have a power saving mode which will enable the user to get up to 80 hrs run time from the included batteries and to top all this off a USB charge function too.

Also launched at SOLEX by the SolarCentre were two new post lights, four new wall Lights, two new spot lights and one new security Light.  Plus the powersaving functionality is being added to the best two garden centre sellers at no additional cost, further improving customer satisfaction.

David Eaton, Director at the SolarCentre, said:  “Our goal at the SolarCentre is to keep pushing the boundaries of what is achievable from solar, for exterior home and garden lighting.  It is not just about brightness and performance but also about build quality to deliver great value for money.  We want customers to be proud to own a SolarCentre light and to share their satisfaction with all their friends.”

For more information visit www.solarcentre.co.uk

Gardeco launched a unique range of chimeneas at SOLEX made from the world's first  crack-proof fire clay

Chimalin AFC fire-proof clay is exclusive to Gardeco, who developed the new material  in a top-secret process that took seven years to perfect.

Because of the strength and durability of this new advanced fire clay, the new chimeneas, shown on the SOLEX stand in a number of a glazed finishes, are offered with a five-year guarantee against thermal cracking, enabling users to fire a clay chimenea in the same way as a cast iron  for the first time.

There are also new fire bowls and a pizza oven made from Chimalin AFC

The launch is supported with an in-store vido and POS banners.

Above: Gardeco’s managing director, Isabelle Harris, launches the new Chimalin AFC range.