GIMA’s forthcoming Day Conference - open to both members and non-members - will be a must-attend for any supplier wanting to hear from two of the UK’s leading garden centres.

Headlining the Day Conference will be British Garden Centres’ Phillippa Stubbs – who, along with her husband Charles, is certainly in demand having recently acquired the Hillview Group and took advantage of the Wyevale dispersal to create a 57-strong portfolio of stores. British Garden Centres is now the UK’s second largest garden centre chain, and Phillippa will be using her time at the GIMA Conference to talk to delegates about their plans for the future, and their expectations of the supply chain.

Joining Phillippa on the agenda will be well-known garden retailer, Guy Topping, MD of Barton Grange Garden Centre. A popular personality, Guy has been instrumental in raising the standard of garden retailing in the UK.  Barton Grange Garden Centre in Preston, Lancashire has consistently been winning accolades, and this year is no different having just been awarded the ‘Destination Garden Centre of the Year’ award by the GCA. Guy will be telling delegates at the conference about his latest Flower Bowl development and is also keen to share his thoughts on the supply base and what they need to do to keep up with retailer and consumer expectations.

It has also been confirmed that Boyd Douglas Davies, the newly appointed Director of Communications at British Garden Centres, will also be attending.

It’s not just retailers however that will be leading the content for the day. Leading consumer and design trends intelligence agency, Scarlet Opus, with whom GIMA launched a collaborative partnership with in 2019, will also be giving a sneak peek into their forthcoming trends content that will be officially unveiled at the Consumer & Design Trends event on March 26th.

The Day Conference, which takes place following GIMA’s AGM (open exclusively to fully paid-up members of the trade association), is also a great opportunity to network with other GIMA members.  Non-members will also get the chance to discuss with the team the range of benefits associated with becoming a member of GIMA.

Open to both members and non-members, GIMA is urging interested parties to secure their places now as space is limited. Tickets cost £60 per person for GIMA members, and £120 per person for non-members. A buffet lunch and refreshments will be available throughout the day and is included in the ticket price.