Exhibitors on the floor expressed mixed views over whether the garden and leisure show should have reverted to its original Sunday to Tuesday format this year.
Talking to exhibitors over the course of the show, DIY Week found that opinions were notably divided, with some suppliers raving about the first day of the show, praising the quality of the visitors on stand and boasting of record orders taken, while other exhibitors criticised the move back to Sunday and said it had been far too quiet to make opening that day worthwhile.

One exhibitor said they felt the exhibition was, "really just a two-day show now", and should take place on Monday and Tuesday, while Burgon & Ball head of sales Alan Sheppard said: "I'm not sure about Sundays... We had a lot of independents visiting on Monday. Sundays are a trading day for them, so they might not have attended."

Crown Garden Products co-director Juliette Atkinson also told DIY Week: "The move to a Sunday was strange because, in recent years, the Monday to Wednesday format worked."

However, on the other side of the fence, VegTrug had a phenomenal Sunday at the show, with international director Joe Denham telling DIY Week that the company had broken its record for number of sales taken in one day at the exhibition. "We didn't stop yesterday [Sunday]," Mr Denham said. "We saw a lot of international buyers but also our biggest UK customer, so there was a real mix."

Another exhibitor told DIY Week it had big sales right up until closing on the Sunday, with one big garden centre group still on stand at 6pm placing orders. The sentiment was echoed by Haddonstone's Shaun Wixey, who said: "The Sunday was very good. We didn't necessarily have a lot of people on stand but those who did visit placed good, big orders."

Glee organisers defended their decision to switch back to a Sunday opening, stating that the move had been in response to opinion that Sunday, "remains a viable option for smaller independent garden centre visitors," and that reverting to a weekend opening enables these retailers to capitalise on weekend staff cover, whilst freeing up an extra vital day in the week. The change, when announced, won support from trade associations the GCA, GIMA, Gardenex and the HTA.

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