Bents Garden and Home has once again been recognised as the ‘Best of British’, as it played host to its fourth annual visit from American garden centre owners, all of whom were keen to see how the family run business in Glazebury, near Leigh has established itself as one of the UK’s leading garden centres.
The Americans’ UK tour is an annual event which takes in the trade show Glee at the N.E.C. and visits 8 English garden centres. In 2004, the visit to Bents was the first to a garden centre in the North of England, and since then it has remained a constant feature on the UK tour.
Organised by Garden Centre Consultant, Ian Baldwin, who comes from Darwen, but now lives in California, the visit to Bents has become a regular visit “because it’s the best all-round Garden Centre in Britain!” This year’s visitors will be the first to experience the UK’s first Open Skies glasshouse, a revolutionary new building which enables Bents to control its own environment.
Covering 50% of the external plant area the new building provides undercover retail space for what have traditionally been outdoor products. When the sun shines the glass roof opens fully, bringing the outside climate in, but if the weather changes the roof closes automatically using a high tech sensor system, protecting shoppers from the rain whilst retaining the feeling of being outdoors.
The group arrived at Bents at 4.30pm and were taken on a guided tour of the Centre by Managing Director Matthew Bent. During the tour, the visitors learnt about the Centre’s longstanding history, from its roots as rose growers in the 1930s to today’s successful and market leading business which employs over 300 colleagues.
Feedback from the American visitors was extremely positive with Cheryl Porter from Denver commenting that Bents was “spectacular, what all garden centres should be!” whilst Matt Horn from New York was “inspired by Bents’ passion.”
Says Matthew Bent, Managing Director: “We are obviously delighted to once again welcome Ian, Lisa and their guests. We hope our American friends will go home having learnt more about Bents and the way we operate, but also take inspiration from what they’ve seen and return to America with new ideas and opportunities for their own garden centres.”
As an active member of the GCA – the Garden Centre Association, the industry’s standards and regulatory body - Bents is often approached to share its approach to business with fellow businesses, not only in this country, but also on an international basis. Both Matthew and Ron Bent, company chairman, have been invited to make a number of presentations in Germany, Australia and America.
Says Matthew: “As with any business it is necessary to stay ahead of the competition by constantly innovating and looking for new ideas and trends, but it is also important to share ideas and thoughts with others to keep the garden centre industry strong. Competition from large retailers is always a threat which is why the GCA and our international links are so important to our industry.”