Competition from supermarkets and online retailers is forcing the closure of a long-established Essex garden centre. 

A prize draw at the Home Hardware Southwest Autumn Trade Show raised £525 for the Exeter Leukaemia Fund (ELF). Fire Angel was also voted Best Display Stand, awarding a cash prize and certificate to the company. 

The British Independent Retailers Association has revealed the details of its next annual High Street Conference, which will take place on Thursday May 15, 2014 at Four Pillars Hotel, Cotswold Water Park. 

A fire broke out at the Homebase store in Liskeard, near Plymouth, in the early hours of Saturday morning. After initial inspection, backup crews were called and around eight fire engines attended the scene to tackle the blaze. 

An independent garden centre near Bristol is marking its 80th birthday this year by unveiling plans for a dramatic redevelopment. 

The dealer-owned buying group recently made the payout in the form of dividends and rebates to its retail members. 

Ikea has teamed up with global solar company, Hanergy, to sell solar panels and a full installation service to its customers in its stores. 

Screwfix has managed to achieve zero waste to landfill at its 285 UK stores through a series of initiatives in recent years. 

Aggregate Industries, one of the UK's leading aggregates, construction and building materials groups, has announced a major re-brand which will consolidate 25 of its businesses under the Aggregate Industries name. 

Retail sales exceeded expectations, growing strongly in the year to September 2013, with furniture and carpet retailers leading the way, according to CBI results. 

A man has been charged following a break-in at a Homebase store in Epsom at the weekend. 

In anticipation of strong demand this Christmas, the high street retailer is looking to increase its existing 30,000-strong workforce by a third over the festive shopping season, taking on 10,000 temporary store workers across the UK. 

B&M Homestore is opening a second store in Carlisle, that will focus mainly on selling paint, soft furnishings, homeware and gardening goods. 

Following on from last year's successful event with Screwfix, BHETA has announced plans for another 'Innovation Day', to give members the chance to get their ranges in front of the Screwfix buying team. 

"The business rates system is no longer fit-for-purpose" and "is particularly damaging for the retail industry", said the British Retail Consortium, which has published a report calling for a reform on business rates, adding that it wants to work closely with the Government on the issue. 

Garden centres in the Scottish region are offering advice to customers in the wake of investigations into the link between possible contaminated bags of compost and confirmed cases of Legionella longbeachae. 

Consumer products brand, JML, which specialises in TV home shopping experts and broadcaster ITV are extending their existing teleshopping relationship with the launch of a new shopping channel called The Store. 

Ebay and Argos have joined forces in a new trial where selected Ebay sellers will be able to offer a Click & Collect service, with customers able to pick up their items at Argos stores throughout the UK. 

The HTA Garden Futures Conference will feature Josh McBain, from Future Foundation, a consumer trends and insight organisation, as he explores how the retail environment is set to evolve in response to the rise of multichannel shopping. 

Tile and wood flooring retailer opens store in Newtownabbey, Belfast.