Garden
centre customers started preparing for Christmas last month (September, 2013)
with sales of festive products up on the same time last year according to our
Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.
Christmas
product sales were up 12.26% for the month as compared to September 2012. Seed
and bulb sales were also up 9.75%.
Our
Chairman, Peter Burks said: “We have noticed that a lot of people have started
their Christmas preparations earlier resulting in strong sales of festive
products at our member garden centres.
“We
believe this could be a result of the current economic climate with more people
choosing to spread the cost of Christmas out over a few months.
“Many
of our members have also been supporting the Horticultural Trade Association’s
‘Plan it, Plant it this Autumn’ campaign to encourage gardeners to start planting
for spring and this could be a factor in the increase in sales of seeds and
bulbs.
“Other
good sellers in September were gifts, 7.96% up, food hall/farm shop and
clothing, 7.57% up, and catering, 6.29%.”
The
overall year to date figure currently stands at 3.23% up.
Our
BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures
and provide an up-to-date trading position statement.
The
reports produced allow our member garden centres to compare their trading
positions with other centres.
Tammy Woodhouse, Managing Director of The Millbrook
Garden Company Limited, said: “Our Christmas
product sales were particularly strong last month. I believe this is partly as
a result of us launching the ranges earlier on in the season than we have done
in previous years.
“This
year, we also decided to expand our Christmas product range to give customers
more choice and it seems as though this is already starting to pay off. We are
hoping to see the strong sales carry on during the next few months too.”
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