It has been confirmed that this June (27th – 29th, NEC Birmingham) visual merchandising expert, Debbie Flowerday, will become a mentor for Glee’s all-new Talent Store – the ultimate industry showcase for emerging retailer and visual merchandising talent.
Debbie will be bringing to the Talent Store decades of visual merchandising experience including lecturing and running masterclasses at the University of the Arts London, and working alongside the leading trade fashion buying event, Pure. The Talent Store marks Debbie’s first time at Glee, where she hopes to not only inspire those taking part, but also visitors to Glee, by opening their eyes to new ideas and enabling them to gain a better understanding of why impactful visual merchandising is imperative for increasing sales.
Talking about her involvement in the 2023 Talent Store, Debbie Flowerday said: “Visual merchandising is the easiest way to create a strong brand image and for many is the face of their business as it creates an experience that stays with customers long after they have left your store. Through the Talent Store, we want to demonstrate that merchandising is so much more than simply grouping products. Done well, it can truly transform a department using just product and props. Additionally, by selecting two thriving product sectors within garden retail – houseplants and outdoor plants – the learnings of the Talent Store can be easily translated in-store, post-show.
“I’m excited to get going and to see what those participating come up with both during the bootcamp and on-site at Glee 2023. Visual merchandising is such a creative specialism so to see these different takes come together into a collaborative design will be an element of Glee that suppliers and retailers certainly won’t want to miss.”
The Glee Talent Store – in a nutshell
Designed to nurture and celebrate garden centre and retail visual merchandising excellence, the Glee Talent Store will be an interactive feature that will showcase the different ways that houseplant and outdoor plant merchandising displays can be interpreted instore, and how different designs can be utilised to highlight the same products and trends in a variety of inspiring ways.
The focus will be on mentor-led training for new talent within garden centres and will be supported by the Garden Centre Association (GCA) and led by Glee ambassador Michael Perry (aka Mr Plant Geek) and Debbie Flowerday. Participants will be nominated by their colleagues, with the opportunity open to all GCA members.
The Glee Talent Store will kick off with a ‘bootcamp’ where entrants will have a crash course in visual merchandising, branding and retail. Once they have received this insight, the Talent Store students will be tasked with designing their own pop-up store, to be brought to life at Glee 2023 through live ‘retail sets’. Located in the NEC’s atrium, alongside the Glee’s ‘Green Heart’, each Glee Talent Store display will showcase the vision for either houseplant or outdoor plants.
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