In brief

Spoga+Gafa to horticultural fair Spoga+Gafa, the garden trade fair, is to have a stronger emphasis on plants. The reason for this is the decision of Landgard, a German marketing organisation, to hold its autumn ordering days within the framework of the fair from 31 August to 2 September 2014. The expectation is that more than 100 horticultural enterprises and service providers will be present in Cologne to inform visitors about their product ranges and new launches on a show area in excess of 12 000 m². “This coope­ration with Landgard will bring fresh momentum to Gafa+Spoga,” commented Katharina C. Hamma, managing director of Koelnmesse. “And what is more, the attractiveness of the garden trade fair will definitely increase as well, especially in terms of attracting new target groups.” The integration of Landgard’s event into the garden trade fair is being welcomed within the industry. “It will create a knock-on effect,” said Peter Botz, director of the Association of German Garden Centres (VDG), who calls it a “very great opportunity”. As he declares, “We will eventually get a proper horticultural fair Loss for German garden market Last year the garden market in Germany experienced a fall of six per cent to a volume of € 17.070 bn. The greatest loss of 10.2 per cent was recorded by the category of outdoor plants, including seeds. By comparison, indoor plants were down just 3.6 per cent. All the other product groups also suffered losses ranging between 6.0 and 6.7 per cent. The barbecuing range was the only exception: it saw growth of 2.1 per cent. These figures were announced at an event staged by the IVG (German garden industry association). A comparison of distribution channels reveals that the 8.2 per cent loss suffered by the specialist garden centres (€ 2.05 bn) was even greater than the 7.0 per cent fall in sales recorded by the DIY stores (€ 4.28 bn). Jardiland goes to investor Jardiland, a French garden centre chain, has been sold to L-Gam, a private equity firm. Reports to this effect have been confirmed by a spokeswoman. The company operates two trading brands, Jardiland and L’esprit Jardiland. The total of 203 outlets breaks down into 187 in France, nine in Spain, three in Belgium, two in the French overseas territories, and one each in Switzerland and Portugal. L-Gam was founded as recently as October 2013 by Ferdinando Grimaldi, Yves Alexandre and Felipe Merry del Val. Based in London, the investment firm is connected with the royal family…