Garland Products/Worth Gardening is urging retailers to secure stocks from suppliers, as demand for garden products soar – with Garland sales up 90% in the past month.

The garden care products manufacturer has reported a significant surge in sales; attributing the appetite to a positive Glee, as well as “developments elsewhere in the industry”. The company’s sales have risen by 90% in the past month and by 50% on the overall year. 

Although delighted with the jump in demand, the company is keen to alert new customers to potential problems with availability unless they notify Garland or other suppliers of their future requirements.

It comes as B&M reported that, despite a 30% jump in sales during H1, its underlying revenue was held back in the UK as it ran out of garden products early in the summer. Like-for-like sales in the first quarter grew by 3.6% in the UK, but the retailer saw a slowdown during July and August after most of its gardening and outdoor lines had been sold earlier than normal in the trading period. The lack of products also limited B&M’s August end-of-season sale compared with the previous year.

Garland/Worth Gardening sales director Mark Dedman explained the current situation: “We have worked closely with garden and hardware retailers for many years and know only too well the difficulties that retailers have in estimating their future stocking requirements. 

“However, it is in their interests to communicate their future ordering expectations to their suppliers unless they wish to risk being left high and dry in the spring of 2019. If retailers talk to their suppliers now it will give those suppliers the opportunity to invest in the necessary extra stock for the coming season. Retailers that sit tight and hope that stock will be available at short notice next year may be disappointed and this is something that we are trying to avoid. Garland has always invested heavily in order to provide its customers with products they require and at short notice. We are determined to continue with that policy but input from the retail sector is vitally important to help us in our aims.

 “In spite of heavily increasing our stock and warehouse capacity for 2018, we were frustrated in having to turn away some new customers in March and, whilst we have invested further still in stock, the same situation could arise early next year if new customers leave it too late.”