Wholesaler Stax Trade Centres reported a record £2m uplift in sales last month, boosted by garden sales, and predicts a strong April on the back of the breakdown in negotiations between Scotts and Solus.
Turnover for the Stax group, which includes Scotland-based delivered wholesale arm Wishart, totalled more than £11.15m in March, bolstered by what it described as "very significant garden and bathroom sector performances." The results represent an increase of almost 22% in year-on-year sales for the month.

Stax has been actively investing in the business over recent months, helping to secure future growth. The firm strengthened its delivered operations, investing in an improved delivery infrastructure, a night-time picking service to speed up deliveries, and has added further experienced reps to its sales force on the ground to cope with the growing demand.

Earlier this month the group also announced a tie up with BIRA Direct to offer members a delivered wholesale service from Stax.

Members have always been able to buy from Stax, using BIRA as a clearing house for payment. Now, BIRA will act as a guarantor for the debt when its members order from Stax, as it does for the other 200-plus suppliers available to buy from via BIRA Direct. The new deal also means that members will benefit from a delivered service from Stax, as opposed to cash and carry, which currently accounts for 80% of the wholesaler's business.

Stax joint managing director David Hibbert said of the record results: "We're delighted with the recent sales figures. It's not just great news for Stax, but it's also great news for our customers who are evidently seeing stronger signs of an economic recovery."

The company is also expecting a strong April following Scotts' announcement that it will no longer distribute stock through Solus. Mr Hibbert added: "Since the news broke, we have had a large number of enquiries from garden centres looking for a reliable Scotts supplier. So, as an official distributor of Scotts, Bayer, Cuprinol and all the other major garden sector brands, Stax is quickly becoming the obvious choice for garden retailers."