The annual GIMA Day conference, held on March 25th, brought together industry professionals to explore the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in garden retail. The event focused on AI’s principles and its potential to drive business growth, improve efficiencies, and enhance strategic decision-making.
The day began with an insightful session from Reza Yaghoubi of Manchester Metropolitan University, who is currently collaborating with Zest Outdoor Living through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership. Reza shared how this partnership has enabled Zest to integrate AI into its strategic marketing, helping the business refine its decision-making, improve time efficiencies, and plans for the future. His session highlighted AI’s ability to assist with market research, offering valuable insights into industry trends, competitor analysis, consumer behaviour, and macroeconomic factors. He also discussed machine learning and how AI-driven product profile management can enhance data analysis, providing businesses with faster and more actionable insights.
The second speaker, Edwin Meijer from Green Solutions, provided a balanced perspective on AI, outlining both its opportunities and challenges. He emphasised that while AI is a powerful tool, it is only as effective as the quality of input it receives, reinforcing the importance of well-structured prompts and data. Edwin explored various applications of AI, including image generation, podcasts, and prospecting, as well as highlighting how AI can analyse online reviews, sentiment, and comments to generate actionable insights. He also clarified the distinction between AI tools and AI agents, helping delegates better understand their capabilities. To ensure a well-rounded discussion, Edwin also addressed the ethical considerations of AI, covering topics such as fake news, data security, and responsible AI usage.
Up next was Robert Patton from Empathy at PlantWorks, who brought an early adopter’s perspective, passionately advocating for AI’s value in business. Robert provided a brief history of AI and the different model types, including LLMs, generative AI, and agentic AI, but primarily focused on its real-world application within PlantWorks. He detailed how AI is being used across the business’ marketing, management, accounts and ‘science’. One of the standout moments was his deep dive into its in-house AI system, “Ask Emily – Your Gardening Assistant” and the ease in which podcasts can be created based on existing written and video content – together two elements that made delegates sit up and notice!
The afternoon featured a thought-provoking AI and Intellectual Property session led by the team from ACID (Anti Copying in Design), alongside Intellectual Property legal experts. Together they explored how AI is challenging traditional IP laws, the legal grey areas surrounding the use of AI-generated content, and how businesses can safeguard their intellectual property. The session provided invaluable practical tips on protecting creative assets in an AI-driven landscape.
Following this, the AI in Action panel debate took place, where Dave Harker (Fothergills), Jonathan Stobart (Smart Garden), and Stuart Whalley (Woodlodge) discussed how AI is already being integrated into their businesses. Their insights highlighted key synergies and similarities, with a strong focus on productivity, translation tools, meeting summaries, website enhancements, product design, and administrative efficiencies.
There is no question that the information shared ignited a spark amongst delegates. One attendee, Ian Riggs from Cocogreen said: ““A collective “Road to Damascus” epiphany moment, as the impact of AI was explained, a most impactful conference, that WILL change businesses”.
The headline speaker, Alan Roper from Blue Diamond, closed the conference with a highly anticipated and engaging session. Offering a transparent, insightful, and often humorous look into Blue Diamond’s success, Alan shared financial insights and core business principles that have made the company one of the UK’s leading and most profitable garden centre chains. He covered key strategies such as the “snowball of profit,” and the importance of building roles around people rather than fitting people into roles. A standout concept was his discussion of “emotion per square metre” being just as vital as profit per square metre, underlining the importance of customer experience in retail success. He also outlined Blue Diamond’s key business pillars, providing invaluable insights for those looking to align their businesses with Blue Diamond’s approach.
The day also provided opportunities for GIMA partners to share updates. This included Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Greenfingers, who took the stage to thank supporters of the charity and shared exciting plans for the summer, including the Dragon Boat Race and the Floral Ball. Matthew Mein, Event Director at Glee, outlined the 2025 and 2026 plans for the garden retail trade show, offering key insights into the future direction of the event. Boyd Douglas Davies then discussed the National Garden Scheme, which will celebrate its centennial year in 2027. He highlighted brand licensing opportunities and the potential for growth within garden centres, as consumer interest in garden-related products is expected to surge in celebration of this milestone.
Speaking about the Day Conference, GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall said: “It’s safe to say that we’re thrilled with the positive feedback we’ve received regarding our Day Conference. Our goal has always been to empower our members to fully embrace AI, not just to streamline processes and improve efficiency, but to drive meaningful, long-term sustainability across the supply chain. The opportunities in our industry are vast, and by leveraging AI effectively, we can create smarter, more resilient systems for the future. A huge thank you to our incredible speakers for their valuable insights and for sparking such important discussions!”