Garden Expo attracts media coverage

On June 13, Garden Expo/Florist Expo and the National Hardware Show Canada co-hosted an exclusive product preview for the media at the fashionable Carlu Hotel to focus consumer attention on new products for the indoor/outdoor market.

Over 120 media representatives, including the Toronto Star, Canadian Living andA Channel, turned up to see intriguing new products including comfortable rubber garden shoes by Holey Soles and a wasp deterrent by That Marketing, both of Vancouver. The hardware products included a paint tray by Primeway that keeps paint and rollers fresh for 12 hours and a combined measuring tape and laser level by Black and Decker, among others.

Consumer interest in indoor/outdoor living continues to grow. According to Statistics Canada, the sale of nursery products has increased for the seventh straight year. A recent garden centre survey by the Canada Nursery Landscape Association notes that sales are up for plant material as well as for hardware, gifts and home décor. Also, customer traffic increased or stayed stable for 68 per cent of the garden centres.

With 280 exhibitors on 51,000 square feet, Garden Expo/Florist Expo was ranked as the 46th largest out of a total of 700 trade shows in Canada.

“To meet the increasingly sophisticated demand for green and hard goods for the indoor/outdoor market, availability of goods is paramount. Co-location of similar trade shows is definitely the wave of the future because it spells variety and convenience for retail buyers,” said Paul Day, trade show manager for Landscape Ontario.
“For 2006 we are delighted to co-locate with the National Hardware Show Canada,” he added.

Garden Expo/Florist Expo fills a niche for buyers from garden centres and other retail operations that carry a gardening, floral or green line. The National Hardware Show Canada adds functionality for buyers from hardware stores and as well as retail stores or garden centres with lawn and garden furniture and hardware lines.
The combined trade show takes place on October 17-18 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Anyone registered for one show will be able to move freely between the shows.

Garden Expo/Floral Expo is produced by Landscape Ontario with assistance from Flowers Canada Ontario, both non-profit trade associations. The Hardware Show Canada is produced by Reed Exhibitions, the largest public show company in North America.