Glee organisers are sending a reminder to all attendees at next week's Glee show to take advantage of one of the exciting new features of the show - the guided tours.
Working closely with The Gardenworks Group Ltd, the tours have been designed specifically with retailers in mind, and will deliver support and advice to ensure they get the most from their visit to Glee.

The Gardenworks' John Connel said: "The Glee Guided Tours will undoubtedly help you get a unique perspective on this year's show. We believe they will make retailers' visits more insightful and relevant to the needs of their business and customers.

"Embracing Glee's core values of 'Guide', 'Connect' and 'Innovate', each tour will be led by an industry expert who will help retailers to focus on the most vital aspects for the development of their business, such as key consumer trends, new category opportunities, as well as highlighting how to make the most of meetings with suppliers."

For information about booking a tour, visit www.gleebirmingham.com.

Another exciting feature at this year's show will be the Garden Industry Question Time panel sessions, hosted by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Key topics include making the social/local connection, attracting and retaining younger gardeners and the rise of garden centre catering.

The aim is to stimulate discussion and debate about key topics impacting on today's garden retail sector. Each panel session will bring together representatives from across the industry.

Names include David Stewart from Dobbies Garden Centres, Fermoys' Alan Murdoch and Sarah Dumont, Alan Down from Cleeve Nursery and Pete Doyle from socialnetit.com. Also on hand will be HTA market information manager David Denny, James Buffoni from Hortipak, Darran Major from Burston Nurseries, Paula Parker from Scotts Miracle Gro, Mandy Morrison from the RHS, Paolo Arrigo from Seeds of Italy, Amanda McGreavy from Vision Commercial Kitchens and Melanie Sewell from Fron Goch Garden Centre.

A number of workshop sessions are also being run to provide visitors with additional information and advice from industry experts. Topics include garden retail security, and how to find and win more high-spending customers.

HTA director of marketing and communications Andrew Maxted said: "With Glee being such a key milestone in the garden retail calendar we are delighted to be involved in bringing together industry minds to discuss key topics which impact on the sector."