GIMA’s upcoming Buyer Connect event with The Tillington Group is already shaping up to be one of the most significant supplier engagement opportunities of 2026, attracting an overwhelming response from companies keen to secure face-to-face meetings with the retailer’s buying team.

Taking place on Wednesday 24th June 2026 at Squires Garden Centre, Badshot Lea, the event will provide selected suppliers with dedicated 25-minute one-to-one meetings with Tillington’s four-strong buying team, creating valuable opportunities to discuss future ranging, new product development and routes to market.

Following the overwhelming level of interest, the Tillington team are now busy evaluating all submissions before confirming the final meeting schedule ahead of the event. The response marks another strong milestone for GIMA’s Buyer Connect programme, which continues to create valuable opportunities for suppliers to engage directly with major retail decision-makers across the garden sector.

Martin Ward, Director of GIMA, said: “The level of interest we’ve seen for the Tillington Buyer Connect event has been phenomenal.  It already looks set to be one of the biggest Buyer Connect events of 2026, continuing the success we’ve seen with recent Dobbies, B&Q and international events.  GIMA Buyer Connect events support one of our core values of connecting buyers with our members and providing new opportunities for development.

The Tillington Group represents one of the UK’s most influential independent garden centre networks, spanning nine companies and 45 centres nationwide, with a combined turnover exceeding £300 million.

At the heart of the June Buyer Connect event will be conversations around 2027 ranging, with Tillington’s four-strong buying team actively reviewing new product opportunities across both core stocked lines and dropship solutions.

For suppliers, the appeal lies in both the long view and the short-term potential. While discussions will centre on future ranges, there is also scope for quicker routes to market through dropship in the current trading window.

The format is designed to move beyond introductions, encouraging commercially grounded conversations around product fit, pricing, supply and scalability.

Meeting confirmations and timings will now be issued directly to successful applicants ahead of the event.

GIMA continues to build momentum through its growing programme of member engagement events, creating valuable opportunities for suppliers to connect directly with key buyers and unlock new commercial routes to market.

Next on the agenda is an exciting collaboration with the Debenhams Marketplace team, giving members the opportunity to explore incremental online sales opportunities for garden products and gain greater insight into the evolving ecommerce landscape.

Attention will then turn to Glee 2026, where the ever-popular GIMA Business Village is once again set to return following a record-breaking year in 2025. Alongside the strong exhibitor presence within the Village itself, GIMA will again coordinate exclusive pre-arranged meetings between suppliers and buyers, designed to maximise commercial opportunities for participating members.

At Glee 2025 alone, more than 180 buyer meetings were facilitated through the programme, with member feedback consistently highlighting the value of direct access to retail decision-makers, meaningful conversations and genuine new business opportunities generated through the initiative.