Garden and pet product buyers from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands have confirmed that they will be travelling to the UK to meet with UK suppliers at the next ‘Meet the Buyers’ event being staged by the Gardenex and PetQuip associations.
The event will be held on Wednesday 18 October 2023 at the Federation’s offices in Brasted, Kent (just off junction 6 of the M25).
It is the latest in a series of highly successful ‘Meet the Buyers’ initiatives organised by the two associations; during the COVID travel restrictions, the associations operated successful ‘virtual’ meet the buyer events but this will be a welcome return to an in-person event with face-to-face discussions between the buyers and potential suppliers.
This latest initiative from Gardenex and PetQuip is a very cost-effective way for suppliers to meet with key buyers from leading overseas markets.
The international buyers travelling to the UK to meet with British suppliers are:
GARDEN BUYER:
A manufacturer of greenhouses that is also one of the leading German mail-order companiesspecialising in garden products. The company’s main focus is on greenhouses, greenhouse accessories, cold frames and quality practical gardening equipment from tools and pest deterrents to composters and water butts, but it also offers a small range of garden decoration, outdoor leisure and wild-bird/wild-life items. The company is a family business and in 2023 is celebrating its 50thanniversary. It issues every year in January around 1 million printed catalogues (the 2023 edition is 126 pages) and also sells all products via its online store. Its manufacturing base, administration offices and warehousing extend over more than 16,000m2 and it employs around 70 staff. The company already imports from a number of Gardenex members.
The buyer is looking for new quality garden products to expand the range.
GARDEN & PET BUYERS:
The company is part of a privately-owned Swiss online retail group, which had sales of CHF1.17 billion in 2022, 1.2 million private and business customers and over 1,250 staff. It has a 75,000m2 state-of-the-art e-commerce logistics centre. The company buys and holds at the logistics centre a range of 250,000 items from 4,700 manufacturers and ships 3.9 million packages a year. The logistics centre alone employs over 630 staff and uses 400 robots.
The firm is the largest independent B2C online shop in Switzerland and supplies customers in its home market and Liechtenstein. It offers a broad spectrum of products: IT & multimedia, home & living, supermarket & drugstore, family & baby, DIY & hobby as well as sport & leisure. The garden range includes practical accessories, tools and irrigation, decoration & lighting, furniture & barbecues. The pet range covers food, care, toys and accessories for dogs, cats, rodents, fish and reptiles – along with accessories for wild-birds and other garden creatures. It also operates a number of other online stores including one for professionals, one for IT, telecoms, security, themed specials, home & living and healthcare.
The garden and pet buyers are both taking part in our event. They are looking for new, complementary items to add to its B2C range. The garden buyer is open to all kinds of items suitable for online sale. The pet buyer is interested in food, equipment and accessories for all types of pet.
PET BUYERS:
A Dutch chain of 15 wholly-owned garden and pet centres, all but one of which includes a veterinary clinic, grooming parlour and dog-wash. There is also an online shop. While most of the stores are large format (the biggest being 14,500m2), it has recently started developing a smaller 1,500m2 city store concept too. The total sales area is 165,000m2. The company has recently acquired another garden centre which is currently being remodeled and modernised and will open as the firm’s 16th centre in March 2024.
The chain has a much greater emphasis on pet than is the case in most UK garden centres; pet sales contribute around 50% of its overall turnover. Its pet sections stock a broad range of up to 8,000 items, including food, pet care and accessories for dogs, cats, small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. The focus is on offering both a broad and an in-depth range to differentiate it from its competitors.
Two pet buyers are taking part. They are looking for new, innovative items for all kinds of pets, along with wild bird products. They are particularly interested in expanding their rodent, aquatics and caged bird sections. For rodents, they are looking for food, accessories and bedding – and also any Christmas present type items. They are also interested in suppliers of dog and/or cat food that are prepared to give them exclusivity for the Dutch market. Other specific requests include everyday purchases for horses (ie not saddles), and accessories to prevent boredom in chickens. Sustainability and durability are important – brands should have a story behind them. The buyers are purchasing for the firm’s vet clinics as well as for the stores.
‘Meet the Buyers’ events held by the two associations over many years have all resulted in export business for attending delegates. To ensure that you don’t miss out on the opportunity to apply for 25 minute one-to-one meetings with any of the buyers on 18 October, please contact eleanor@gardenex.com , eleanor@petquip.com as soon as possible.
