Briers put some welly into the 2013 GCA Conference in support of children’s charity, Greenfingers

Briers, the specialist in gardening gloves and footwear, have volunteered to support the Garden Centre Association (GCA) Conference, taking place Sunday 27 – Tuesday 29 January at the Crowne Plaza, Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire. On Sunday 27 January a fundraising event will also be held, the GCA Olympics, supporting Greenfingers, the unique charity renowned across the UK for setting up beautiful gardens for children’s hospices. Briers are delighted to participate in the charity event to raise money for this worthy cause.

Over 300 representatives from the UK’s leading garden centres, including independents and chains, will be attending the annual Conference. Briers have volunteered to sponsor the red wine for the event, whilst Mr Fothergills will be providing sponsorship for the white wine.

Peter Burks, Chairman of the GCA, explained: “It is tradition to have a fundraising event on the Sunday before the conference begins and we are particularly excited about this year’s event. We all embraced the Olympic spirit last year and we hope that lots of people will keep that feeling going by signing up to take part in our very own version of the event.

In the spirit of horticulture, there will be several gardening-themed activities at the GCA Olympics. Briers are providing wellies from their range for the welly-throwing competition. Other games include fencepost tossing, sponsored by M&M Timber, water butt rolling sponsored by Strata, bulb shot put sponsored by Taylors Bulbs and Smart Solar are providing the Olympic Flame.

Jackie Eades, owner of Briers, says “We can’t wait to see our wellies in action on the field for the Olympic event. Greenfingers is a charity very close to my heart, and it means a lot that we can support the GCA Conference with our contributions.”

The programme of speakers has recently expanded to include some very high profile guests, including Wayne Hemmingway, the famous businessman and founder of Red or Dead, and John Elliot of Channel 4’s ‘Secret Millionaire”, who will be talking about innovation.

Peter Burks, Chairman of the GCA, said: “Our programme of speakers this year is really exciting and it looks set to be a great conference. They include Liz Hutson, who will discuss retailing to women on January 28 and Paolo Arrigo from Franchi Seeds, whose speech on January 29 will be entitled ‘From Seed to Plate’.

“We will also hear from Carol Paris, Director General of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and Bob Sherman, Chief Horticultural Officer at Garden Organic who will tell us what the company is doing to promote greener living and gardening in particular.”

The conference will provide delegates with pertinent information on key aspects of the garden centre industry to assist members in achieving their business goals.

For further information Briers and their range of products visit http://www.briersltd.co.uk

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For more information contact:
Maria Bretti
redheadPR
Tel: 07854 819 213
Email: maria@redheadpr.co.uk

Briers

Briers is a specialist gardening gloves and footwear designer, distributer and manufacturer and the licensee behind the GIMA (Gardening Industry Manufacturers Association) award-winning Gruffalo® range of children’s gardening clothes and accessories.

Formed in 1999 and relaunched in 2009 following re-acquisition of the company by the original owners Jackie and Nigel Eades, the business has established itself as a major British business.

Briers products can be found at major outlets across the UK. These include Wilkinsons, B&Q, Dobbies, The Garden Centre Group, Blue Diamond and Garden and Leisure as well as independent garden centres, DIY stores and fashion retailers. Briers also supplies to major national wholesalers such as Decco.

In the last three years, Briers has launched a series of new products including Stardust Wellys, Floral patterned gloves with matching kneelers, Boppers, High Heeled Boots and the Gruffalo® range. During the same period the company has achieved a steady rise in turnover despite a difficult economic climate and pressures on consumer spending. Briers believes that its willingness to create bespoke ranges for retailers, factory testing and customer care are major contributory factors in its recent growth. Another cornerstone of the Briers brand is the input of Founder and Managing Director, Jackie Eades’ female perspective into what traditionally, has been seen as a male-dominated sector.

The current Briers product range comprises of:

Gloves – leather gloves, washable gloves, children’s gloves, ladies’ gloves, all rounder and seedling gloves and workwear gloves

Footwear – garden clogs, ankle boots, adult and children’s wellington boots, high heeled boots, Boppers and Stardust ankle boots

The Gruffalo® range – a collection of outdoor clothing, accessories and gardening tools for children. The range includes fleece jacket, pack-away rain mac, wellington boots and wellington boot warmers, gardening kneeler, watering can, umbrella, a hat, glove and scarf set, gardening gloves, gardening rake, fork and trowel.

Briers is also committed to the wider gardening industry. Jackie Eades has served on the council of GIMA, the trade association that promotes and protects the interests of UK and EU businesses supplying the UK garden industry.

For more information visit www.briersltd.co.uk