I attended a small, industry exhibition in London this week that I have visited many times over the years. Whenever I go, I do find it interesting to compare and contrast what level of support the machinery brands that our readers stock have chosen to offer the show.
Called The Garden Press Event, the day isn't open to the trade or the public, rather it's targeted specifically at journalists who represent the horticultural press - be that physical media such as the gardening pages of national newspapers and magazines, or the thriving online community of blogging, vlogging and podcasting gardeners.
Business Design Centre, Islington
The concept of the day is that the exhibiting companies can show off their latest products and services to the media, who will then cover the developments in print and online, in places that the buying public will actually engage with. The intention is to raise the profile of companies who presumably are not exactly household names amongst the average consumer, hopefully leading to increased footfall, or website visits, to the retailers who stock them.
When I first began attending, 8 or so years ago, there were perhaps only two or three outdoor powered machinery companies who took space at the show. This increased year on year to immediately pre-pandemic when, from memory, they were in attendance in their high teens. This number had dropped slightly last year in the first show back post-Covid - and it's a tad disappointing to report that there were even fewer at the Business Design Centre this week. I'd say around the half the amount who came at its peak.
One company who chose not to exhibit this year told me their non-appearance was because they did not see the value in it. They felt machinery was overlooked in favour of flowerpots and bird-feeders by the mainstream press - which in this year of increased costs and more trade shows on the industry's calendar than ever before, is an entirely fair comment.
That said, speaking to the machinery companies who were in attendance this week, all appeared upbeat and positive regarding the opportunities The Garden Press Event presented them in regards to upping their profiles with consumers. One even remarked to me that the media visitors to the show this week seemed of a better quality overall than last year, representing as they did, high-profile journals rather than niche online outlets.
Machinery trend
And what was the machinery trend that these writers and broadcasters will have seen across the stands on Tuesday? For me, it was the arrival in a major way of boundaryless robotic mowers.
Dealers of course, will be familiar with examples of this type technology, with various companies producing their ilk for several seasons now. 2023 however, does appear to be the year where big-name manufacturers will be heavily promoting these autonomous machines that do not require a wire installed around the edge of the garden. STIGA, Kress, Husqvarna and Barrus (with the Segway brand) were all showing off their latest domestic versions.
These machines are clearly a hot topic. A couple of weeks ago a dealer we spoke to as part of our national panel, told us that they considered boundaryless robots to be the source of greatest excitement and potential growth for their dealership this season. Apparently there is plenty of pre-release buzz amongst certain customers.
I can see too, how stories about these advanced developments could well find favour amongst journos in search of an eye-catching story. Just this week for example, plenty of media outlets carried the news that experts from the UK and Japan are estimating that by 2033 robots will do 39% of domestic chores. There's clearly an appetite amongst publishers to cover this kind of area, so it would not surprise me that if any machinery articles made the consumer-facing press from the show, it'd be covering these machines.
We'll feature greater detail about some of the kit on display at the show in the next issue of Service Dealer magazine. Until then, briefly, exhibitors of interest to our dealer readers, included:
Kress who had an eye-catching display of their RTKn robotic mowers that use a global navigation satellite system to achieve what they describe as "centimetre-level accuracy". Pictured are Gary Tulley and Tony Macer.
STIGA were promoting their range of three autonomous, cable free, robot mowers, the first to use their predictive Active Guidance System technology - as well as having an example of the Gyro on their stand.
STIHL who were displaying battery powered machines on their stand, with new hedgtrimmers, blowers, chainsaws and a vacuum shredder.
Husqvarna promoted the Aspire range of entry level battery tools and the 430X Automower - alongside kit from Gardena and Flymo. Pictured are Sam Collins and Rachel Jones.
Makita were getting their message out about the breadth of their range of battery powered machinery and the quality of their own-made batteries. Pictured are Rebecca Harbone and Mark Earles.
Henton & Chattell who featured a double stand showcasing both EGO and Cobra - the latter of which highlighted their new ride-on and cylinder mowers. Pictured is Peter Chaloner.
Barrus exhibited the Segway Navimow on their stand, which now included the new AI-powered VisionFence Sensor.
Hopefully those exhibitors who did choose to attend this year will achieve their goal of column inches in the right publication or features on the right blog. Opportunities for the specialist brands that our readers stock to gain wide, mainstream media coverage are not as frequent as one would hope, especially considering just how popular a pastime gardening is amongst the British public.
If some crossover publicity is gained for these boundaryless robots for example, hopefully next year a few more machinery exhibitors will be encouraged to return to this targeted show. If the show can perform its job as intended, any opportunity to gain mass publicity for the specialist kit that the independent dealer network stocks, should be enthusiastically grasped.
