Trade shows should come with a health warning: beware of excessive walking and wear comfy shoes. This year’s GLEE exhibition at the NEC was no exception. Held over 10 sprawling halls at Birmingham’s NEC, the annual event for the international garden, pet and leisure industry proved a hotbed of innovation for timber-related garden products.

With just under 25,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors, GLEE is a must for anyone who’s serious about the garden market, as Jakub Grzymala, managing director of Polish company Jagram, explained: “It’s the 12th time we’ve been to GLEE so we feel at home. It’s almost obligatory to be here: if you want to play an important role in the market, then you have to exhibit.”

Companies were keen to highlight new ranges to potential customers, and levels of interest from buyers – from big sheds like B&Q down to independent garden centres and even small contractors – was good. And, with all the timber products in one hall, visitors could even avoid those blisters.

One of the continuing trends in the market was evidenced by the way companies such as Finnforest, Forest, and M&M Timber were displaying products: today’s garden sector is about aspiration as well as functionality.

“People are prepared to spend a lot of money on the inside of the house, and if you don’t have a garden that reflects that quality, then it’s a waste of space,” said Finnforest marketing manager Warren Dudding. “People expect more and want more out of their gardens.” Finnforest unveiled seven new log cabins and three new deck kit options to its Garden Inspirations range. With 26 models now in its log cabin range, the company believes each structure can cater for a number of different uses, whether for entertaining, for use as a home office, gymnasium or play area for children. There’s even a sauna option.

“It’s important to offer a point of difference, both in terms of product range and service,” said Mr Dudding. “This is why we have both a product display and also the services and business-to-business offering. Things like home delivery are very important – we are not asking companies to invest in stock but act as a showroom for us. If you are a buyer, this can often be more important than the product itself.”

GLEE veteran Nigel Poyner, managing director of M&M Timber, was pleased with the level of interest in his company’s new products, which included a thatched gazebo and a new composite decking system manufactured by Universal Forest Products, alongside M&M’s existing range of all-British rustic garden products range.

Sales forecast

After last year’s show, M&M Timber more than doubled its anticipated sales forecasts for the season, despite a reported downturn in the market. Mr Poyner was hoping for similar success in 2006. “Our policy is to make a quality product and deliver it on time,” he said. “It’s important to stimulate the market: the beauty with M&M is that we try to make everything we do from machine-rounded timber. The growth that we’ve had in the garden centre market is purely down to having a different product to the competition.”

He’d been impressed with the quality of the sales leads, with 12 of the new gazebos sold on the show’s opening day. “We’ve seen major buyers from independent garden centres, buying groups and also the likes of B&Q,” said Mr Poyner. “It’s important that, rather than show the products off as an exhibition unit, we try and dress the stand differently. It’s about creating the environment that the products will actually be seen in.” This had obviously proved a success as, after the show finished, the whole stand was being dismantled and recreated at a Welsh garden centre that had bought the whole lot.

Despite general optimism from much of the industry, there was a note of caution from Vicky Barker, head of design and marketing at Forest, who agreed that, while it was important to have a differentiated product offering, given the market outlook for 2007, suppliers had to think carefully about new launches. “One of our key messages is that it has been a difficult year for the industry, and people will be cautious in 2007,” she said. “We are not going to be introducing any radical new products that may or may not sell: everything we do is tried and tested and products that we feel are going to do the business.”

While Forest unveiled over 20 new product lines at the show, many of these were extensions to existing ranges, aimed at mass appeal and designed to reflect the company’s ongoing ‘Breathe’ philosophy, which is about reinvigorating the garden industry through innovation in products and services, such as marketing and logistics.

New products

Since the management buyout in June this year, Forest has been examining its strengths, with renewed focus on its fencing range. This was apparent at GLEE, with new additions including the Europa Montreal – a planed timber panel with integrated trellis top – and Concave Prague, which has a lattice top. Also new was a flat-faced flexi-edge roll, which Ms Barker hoped would help breathe life into an already high-selling product.

Commenting on the new launches, she said: “We already have quite a mix of products to suit different consumer requirements, ranging from traditional to contemporary, mixing timber with aluminium.

“But we shouldn’t forget that the overriding factor about the market is that it is very traditional, and it is here where the volumes are. There are younger people coming through who are interested in buying products for the garden, but they are still not buying in quantity.”

She said the company’s ethos was about getting “back to basics and doing what we do best”. “We are already building stocks for next year: it’s about making sure we supply the right product, on time,” said Ms Barker. “We believe the market has levelled out, and getting back to normal levels, after the boom of the last few years. We have a strong product offering and reliable service and distribution, and will make sure this continues for 2007.”

Another company enjoying the show was BSW Timber. “One of the main reasons we’ve come is to reinvigorate our decking offer, especially for smaller regional merchants,” said Bryan Crannall, marketing manager of BSW Timber, which was showing its Timeless Timber decking range, sleepers and glass and metal decking accessories.

Nationwide reaction

“We haven’t been dealing direct with them in the past, but now we are opening our offer to them, and the reaction we’ve had nationwide has been terrific. The last two days have been very busy and positive: people like what we offer, they like the product itself and they like the extra mile we go. We don’t just leave the product on a shelf – we market the brand and try and sell it for them.”

The best reaction, he said, was to the new clear panel decking accessories, which could prove popular for outside areas in pubs and clubs. “We haven’t been to GLEE for three or four years, but we’re really pleased we’ve come back.”

Others who enjoyed high levels of interest included Grange Fencing, which used the show to launch 59 products, and Jagram, which was benefiting from renewed interest in eastern European manufacturing.

Grange Fencing unveiled new designs in its Garden Mirror range, a new three-room chalet and two garages in its Leisure Cabins range, three new gazebos, the Beijing Pergola and two new Rustic Rose structures.

“We are filling gaps in our product range that people are interested in,” said marketing executive Louise Mason. “People are looking for more varied styles and designs, particularly with a Continental feel.”

Design is certainly one area that Jagram knows well. The company specialises in providing laminated timber to the garden market. “It allows us to create a variety of designs with timber that behaves almost like plastic: there are no limitations to the kind of shapes we can create,” said managing director Jakub Grzymala.

With timber proving popular with buyers from companies of all sizes, its importance in the garden market will continue to grow. With consumers looking for ‘natural’ materials to give their garden a stylish, contemporary feel, wood is the obvious choice. It was certainly a big hit at GLEE.