As a result of another successful ‘Meet the Buyer’ event recently organised by the Gardenex and PetQuip federations, British exports of garden and pet products are set to continue to rise. Following one-to-one meetings between British suppliers and important buyers from Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the US, positive reactions came from both sides.
Pictured during the event are:
*(from left to right) Mike Mallon of Arett Sales Corporation (US), Charlie Parker of Gardenex, Finn Kornbeck of Meldgaard Engros (Denmark), Veerle Willems of Aveve Retail (Belgium), Annika Engdal of Djurens Värld (Sweden), Anette Gade of Meldgaard Engros (Denmark), Povl Baunbaek of Albertines (Denmark), Mr Jan Van de Velde of Aveve Retail (Belgium).*
The response from the US garden product distributor Arett Sales Corporation was that the company potentially could commence business with five of the British companies that attended, and a similar view came from the Danish pet product wholesaler Meldgaard Engros, which expressed interest in three or four of the product ranges it saw during the visit.
British suppliers were equally pleased. From the garden sector, The Stewart Co was expecting follow-up discussions with the Danish and US buyers and stated that both markets were new to Stewart. Touchwood Too, a recent recruit to Gardenex membership, presented its new plant support systems to the US buyer and was so encouraged that it plans to attend the other two meet the buyer events planned during 2011. Pet product suppliers also reported on potentially positive outcomes, with Group 55 hoping to continue its run of successes from previous federation events. Group 55 joined the PetQuip association just twelve months ago at the time that it launched its new range of eight shampoos and sprays for dogs. Following its first attendance at a PetQuip ‘meet the buyer’ event in November last year the company is now supplying its product range to Benelux countries. The company had also achieved significant success when participating in the PetQuip group at the Interzoo exhibition in Nuremberg in May 2010 where it secured orders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Portugal and Switzerland.
A number of Meet the Buyer events are organised each year by the federation, targeting a wide range of existing and markets for British products and providing a cost-effective platform designed to expand British exports in the garden and pet sectors. In order to demonstrate further the wide range of British garden and pet products available from suppliers, a tour of UK garden centres, DIY stores and pet retailers was arranged specifically for the buyers prior to the main event meetings.
Companies who wish to take part in the next Meet the Buyer meeting to be held on 8 June 2011 at the federation’s headquarters in Brasted, Kent, or other events organised by Gardenex should contact The Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers Ltd, the trade association that works on behalf of British companies to help its members increase sales worldwide.
Telephone: +44 (0) 44 1959 565995 or fax: +44 (0) 1959 565885
Email: info@gardenex.com or visit the Gardenex website on www.gardenex.com
