Services for International Trade Buyers

Our services to international trade buyers are free.  They include:

  • Advice on sourcing new UK products: contact us at any time for help and signposting to source new products or suppliers.  If you are looking for a particular item or to extend your range, we can arrange for our members to send you catalogues and price lists.  We can also send out a confidential bulletin to our member companies so that you can receive expressions of interest to consider.
  • Information on British firms exhibiting at international trade shows: Gardenex organises the British pavilion at spoga+gafa, Cologne and the National Hardware Show, Las Vegas.  We send advance information of who is participating and the new products they will be launching to buyers by email.

“As a dealer of British garden products, for us it is important to have good and long-standing relationships with our UK suppliers.  Here Gardenex helped and supported us from the beginning.  The annual Gardenex directory gives us an overview of the members, including all useful contact information.  Furthermore the Meet the Supplier events are for us an efficient and time-saving possibility to make new contacts and to know new products.”
GK, Managing Director – British Garden, Austria

  • Meet-the-Suppliers events: on regular occasions throughout the year, we invite buyers to the UK and set up a programme of one-to-one meetings for them with British suppliers of suitable products.  These events include a half-day tour of leading garden centres plus a buyer dinner and are an excellent opportunity to network with a small group of garden buyers, all from different countries, in a relaxed setting.  Gardenex can contribute to flight and hotel costs.  Many international buyers have already found innovative additions to their ranges as a result and several request repeat participations as they find the events “more valuable than five days at a trade show”!

  • Gardenex Directory of British Garden & Leisure Products: international trade buyers receive a copy of our annual multi-lingual Directory of British Garden & Leisure Products containing details of our member companies.  The directory is organised by product category and includes full contact details of all suppliers.   Click here for the new 2023-24 digital edition or contact Eleanor at Gardenex if you would prefer to receive a copy by post.
  • Glee, the UK’s leading garden trade fair: Gardenex introduced the concept of the International Buyers’ Centre at Glee.  The facility is on the main show floor and gives international buyers access to a secure left luggage facility, free refreshments and light snacks, interpreters, wifi, information and advice from our team throughout the show and much more.  It is also the venue for International Buyers Connect, the business matchmaking event organised for international buyers and exhibitors at Glee.

“Gardenex’s Meet the Buyers/Suppliers events are a particularly quick and efficient way to find new suppliers and their preview on British exhibitors at spoga+gafa is a very useful tool in our pre-show planning.” CK, Buyer – German mail-order company

  • Information and advice on garden trade and consumer events in the UK and the UK gardening and leisure market: For more information, please contact: Eleanor Wigram – Research Manager