High expectations of Glee Petindex

Like last year, Glee will once again occupy Halls 1 to 8 of the NEC in Birmingham, with around 1 400 exhibitors expected to present their products and services at the show. The overall range of products on offer is split into nine colour-coded areas covering landscaping, nursery stock, garden care, gifts, tools and machinery as well as outdoor leisure products, furniture and BBQs. The exhibition also features services for the retail trade and the Petindex pet fair in Hall 4. Backed by the Pet Care Trust, Petindex was staged under the auspices of Glee for the first time in 2002 and its integration may well have contributed to the marked increase of 22 per cent in visitor numbers last year. 24 456 trade visitors were registered during the three-day show, with eight per cent (2002) of these coming from abroad.
Petindex is expected to attract visitors to Birmingham this year too.
Petindex is expected to attract visitors to Birmingham this year too. The garden pond sector should be the focus of considerable interest and also offer eye-catching displays. By mid-August the organizers of Glee had received details of around 220 exhibitors in the pet sector, including several foreign companies: Italian firm Hydor, for example, will be exhibiting at Petindex for the first time. A range of seminars is planned for each day of the fair to offer visitors an interesting and varied programme.
New products will also stimulate visitor interest this year, with the best receiving Glee New Product Awards and being on display throughout the show.
Some changes are apparent in Hall 3 and 3A: the “Indoors” sector has now been renamed “Home & Gift” and is expected to strike a chord above all with buyers from the garden centres. As well as gifts and accessories, outdoor games are featured here, which constitute a growing segment, according to the organizers.
The “Retail Services” sector is also new, offering products and services including design consultancy for garden centres, catering companies, IT firms, staff consultants and store designers.
Another new feature is the “Avant Gardening Trail”, with over 100 elegant, high-quality, design-oriented garden products.
In the seminar programme running in parallel with the fair, corporate consultant John Stanley will speak on the future of garden retailing and what customers want.