MorePeople’s Horticultural team exhibited at the GroSouth exhibition on 7th November, an event that is a firm fixture in the horticultural industry calendar. For us, this annual event is always a fantastic opportunity to catch up with clients and make new connections.
The general mood at the event was positive with exhibitors looking ahead to 2020 and feeling optimistic, despite the current uncertain political climate.
These were some of the themes that we picked up on the day:
- Customers are being slightly more cautious for the year ahead, although orders are still strong as they look to buy more within the UK.
- Consolidation within the industry is very apparent – the big growers are getting bigger, smaller ones are often becoming grower-retailers and there are generally fewer medium-sized wholesalers.
- With Brexit still an unknown, labour shortages are predicted to be the biggest issue for ornamental horticulture in 2020. Even in 2019, reports show that crops have been left unpicked due to a lack of workers.
- The high street is under huge pressure again but, in this sector, retailers seem to be bucking the trend. There has been continued growth for horticultural retailers, garden centres, DIY stores and online plant retailers.
