Meet-the-Buyers Events

A great chance for British suppliers to hold one-to-one meetings with international trade buyers seeking new products from the UK!

Gardenex holds regular Meet-the-Buyers events at our offices in Brasted, near Sevenoaks, Kent.  These provide an invaluable and cost-effective opportunity for UK-based suppliers to have one-to-one meetings with international trade buyers.  Our speed-dating format allows UK suppliers the chance to promote their  products and services in 25 minute meeting slots, and start the foundations for an excellent working partnership.  Buyers taking part include garden centre retailers, importers/distributors/wholesalers, mail-order and online stores from Europe and occasionally further afield.

Our next event will be held on Thursday, 8 November 2018 at our offices in Brasted, near Sevenoaks, Kent.  The garden buyer taking part on this occasion is from a Belgian  garden business which includes two garden centres, the largest being 25,000m2 with an annual turnover of €45 million, and a recently acquired online business.  We also have buyers from the pet sector taking part.  If you are a UK-based pet product supplier and would like details of the pet buyers, please click here to request more information.

UK garden suppliers – don’t miss out on the chance to take part!  To apply, please take a look at the buyer’s profile and product requirements and then complete and submit the application form by the deadline of 22 October.

After the deadline we will send to the buyer the list of applicants with brief product descriptions and links to websites so that she can select which she would like to meet.  This ensures that the meetings are as useful and productive as possible.  We will then contact you to confirm your meeting arrangements.

We have attended a number of these events and have always found them to be a very useful tool for our export market. In general they are very informative and have repaid the time, effort and expense many times over.

- A happy supplier!

The buyer taking part in the Gardenex Meet-the-Buyers event on Thursday, 8 November 2018 is:

Floralux, Belgium – www.floralux.be

Originally established as a florist’s in 1956, today Floralux has become a huge garden centre with a sales area of 25,000m2, 150 staff, parking for 1,500 cars and annual turnover of around €45 million. Located in Dadizele, it is well-known in northern France as well as in Belgium. The company aims to offer the widest possible variety of quality practical and decorative products at good prices. They particularly try to inspire their customers to create ambience in both their homes and gardens. Floralux also sells pet products; they renovated and enlarged their pet section in 2015.

Floralux acquired the Belgian mail-order business Tuinadvies in 2017 and in May this year opened a second 15,500m2 garden centre which is located in Ham. Floralux also owns Florink Nederland BV, a central buying operation for plants and flowers which is located in Aalsmeer in the Netherlands.

Floralux already imports a few products for the garden centres direct from the UK (Tuinadvies handles more UK product). They source other items from Asia or via wholesale companies throughout Europe. The whole business is owned and managed by two families.

The buyer is looking for all types of practical gardening equipment and accessories, watering systems, propagation equipment, greenhouses & accessories, fertilisers, garden wood (fencing etc) and children’s garden products. She is also looking for outdoor leisure items such as furniture, umbrellas and bbqs, along with garden and indoor decoration from garden statues to candles and Christmas decorations. In addition she is interested in food and accessories for dogs, cats, rodents, chicken and pond fish.

I am really pleased with the incredible service offered by Gardenex & PetQuip. This was the second time that I had participated in a Meet-the-Buyers event and literally, just a few days earlier, I had received an order along with an order forecast from the buyer I met at the previous Meet-the-Buyers event.

- A happy supplier!

Meet-the-Buyers sessions start from around 08h30 and, in 25 minute meeting slots, you have the opportunity to present your company and products to the buyer and to hand over brochures, information and/or product samples.

Refreshments are available throughout the day.  The meetings conclude at around 16h30.

On receipt of the application form, Gardenex will invoice applicants for the meeting requested.  Invoices must be settled in advance of the event.  Payment can be made by credit card over the telephone, BACS or cheque.

The Gardenex Meet-the-Suppliers events are better than five days at a trade show!

- A happy buyer!