June 2014
Number 22, June 2014
President’s Message
I am delighted to report that we have over 200 delegates registered for the Congress coming up in Ireland. We have been finalizing the itinerary for the week, and I visited some of the stops last month. The week will be full of some lovely garden centres of all sizes, along with plenty of Irish music and beautiful countryside drives. You may even see some familiar film sites along the way! I promise you will have a super memorable congress!
Greetings from Ireland.
Good news spring has arrived with a splash.
Business has been really good, weather fantastic and we have all had a great start to the season. Our Bank holidays and Easter fell in our favour and during mid-term when all the children were on holidays from school the weather was wonderful bringing them to the Garden Centres to buy plants, eat and shop. This has given a positive and encouraging boost to our Centres.
In Arboretum we have had an increase of 16.5% in our average sale. I believe our customers have had enough of the negativity and are willing to open their purses and start spending on the luxury items.
Our cafe is still having exceptional growth despite the fact that we have had such growth for the past two years. We are marketing ourselves as a destination centre and are constantly putting on events which are driving footfall. With our shop revamp we have added new categories; fashion which is attracting ladies size 8-16 and this has brought in a new younger customer which we targeted. Our new Kitchen Store is also attracting that age profile. Our customers can also enjoy shopping in the new outdoor covered area which opens during the fine weather and closes to ensure comfort in less clement conditions. With the level of growth we are experiencing we believe we must continue striving for excellence and continue investing in our business and in doing so will reap the rewards.
Bloom, our premier Garden and Food show will be hosted by Bord Bia (our government body) and will be happening in the Phoenix Park in Dublin over the June bank holiday. Last year we had 120,000 in attendance. This is a world-class show going from strength to strength. We are really busy getting ready to welcoming you to Ireland for congress.
We a have a wonderful itinerary lined up and I know you will not be disappointed.
At this stage we have over 200 delegates and our study tour is completely booked out.
Rachel Doyle.
President IGCA. Arboretum Garden Centre, Ireland. E: rachel@arboretum.ie