There was glee at Hillmount this week as the Mercer family were awarded the title of UK ‘Overall Independent Garden Centre Buying Team of the Year’.
The fourth generation family business, founded in Northern Ireland more than 80 years ago, was awarded the title ahead of five other garden centres which are all located in GB.
As well as winning the title of ‘Overall Independent Garden Centre Buying Team of the Year’, Hillmount was awarded bronze for its ‘Plant Team’ and bronze for Hillmount Cheshire’s Gemma Mercer, in the ‘Outdoor Leisure Buyer/Buying Team of the Year’ category.
Robin Mercer, managing director of Hillmount said: “As a family we are thrilled that Hillmount has received recognition at a UK level. When my grandfather founded the business during the second world war we never imagined that more than 80 years on we would be faced with trading during some of the most challenging times we’ve witnessed in our lifetime. When he established the business he wanted to offer people the opportunity to enjoy nature and grow plants at a time of great depression and, in the past couple of years, as a business we are extremely grateful that we have been able to offer assistance to the mental health of so many who we provided plants for so they could enjoy the benefit of tending their own gardens during lockdown. These awards for our garden lifestyle centres in Ards, Bangor, Belfast and Cheshire are testament to our staff who work tirelessly to meet customer demands and to our loyal customers who have supported us in the past year.”
The Glee Buyers Power List was established to recognise the individual buyers and buying teams who have gone above and beyond to make a difference within the garden retail industry this year.
