Competitor product reportsreveal which brands and suppliers your competitors stock. By extracting the Brand and Supplier columns from a competitor's full product catalogue, you can identify wholesale suppliers you didn't know existed — then approach them to expand your range, improve margins, or access exclusive product lines.
Most independent garden centres rely on a core group of 5–10 suppliers. The same trade shows, the same reps, the same catalogues year after year. It's comfortable — but it means your range looks the same as every other centre using those same suppliers. And when your supplier increases prices, you have no leverage — because you don't know who else is out there.
Meanwhile, your competitors may be sourcing from suppliers you've never heard of. Better margins, exclusive ranges, products your customers are already asking for. A single new supplier relationship that saves you 5% on a £10,000 annual order puts £500 straight back into your margin— every year. You're leaving those relationships undiscovered.
That's not a lack of effort — it's a lack of access. Discovering new suppliers through trade shows costs £1,500–£2,000 per event in time, travel, and lost trading days. Google searches surface the same big names everyone already knows. The best suppliers — the ones offering better margins and lower minimums — don't advertise. But they doappear in your competitor's product catalogue.
A PriceScope report extracts every brand your competitor stocks, for £49. That's your supplier discovery shortcut — no travel, no guesswork, delivered in minutes.
Your competitor’s catalogue is a supplier directory — if you can read it
Discover My Competitor’s Suppliers — from £49No account. No subscription. One report, one payment.
How to discover new suppliers from a competitor report
Step 1: Extract unique brands from the report
Open your PriceScope report in Excel. Select the Brand column and remove duplicates (Data → Remove Duplicates in Excel). You'll end up with a clean list of every brand the competitor stocks.
Step 2: Cross-reference against your own supplier list
Compare the two lists. Highlight brands you don't currently stock. These are your discovery targets.
Step 3: Research the unfamiliar brands
For each new brand, check: Do they sell wholesale? What are their minimum order quantities? What product categories do they cover? The competitor report already tells you the price points and product types — so you'll know if the brand fits your market before you make contact.
Example supplier discovery — from a competitor's report
| Brand found | Products listed | Avg. price | Your status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Garden Products | 34 (solar lighting, ornaments) | £18.50 | Not stocked — trade account available |
| Burgon & Ball | 22 (tools, accessories) | £14.00 | Not stocked — UK manufacturer, wholesale |
| Westland | 41 (compost, plant food) | £6.99 | Already stocked |
| La Hacienda | 18 (chimineas, fire pits) | £89.00 | Not stocked — high margin category |
| Gardman | 27 (bird care, garden arches) | £12.50 | Not stocked — merged with Smart Garden |
Look for the long tail
5–15 new brands from a single report. Which ones are you missing?
See Which Brands My Competitor StocksNo account. No subscription. One report, one payment.
How to approach a supplier you found through competitor data
You've identified a brand from your competitor's catalogue. Here's how to make first contact:
- Visit their website— look for a “Trade” or “Wholesale” section. Most garden product manufacturers have one.
- Reference specific products— mention the exact products you've seen (“I noticed your Solar Stake Lights are stocked at several garden centres in our region...”). This shows you've done your homework.
- Ask about terms — minimum order quantities, delivery schedules, RRP vs trade pricing. Many suppliers are flexible with independent retailers.
- Start small— order a test range and see how it performs. Use the competitor's pricing data to set your own retail prices competitively (see our pricing analysis guide).
Brand vs supplier vs distributor: what's the difference?
When reading a competitor report, it helps to understand the supply chain:
- Brand— the name on the product packaging (e.g., Westland, Fiskars). This is what the report's Brand column shows.
- Supplier / manufacturer — the company that makes or sources the product. Sometimes the same as the brand, sometimes a parent company.
- Distributor — a wholesaler who carries multiple brands and sells to retailers. You might buy Westland products through a distributor rather than directly from Westland.
When you find an unfamiliar brand in a competitor report, search for the brand name first. If they don't sell direct to retailers, look for their UK distributor. The competitor's range is proof that the supply chain exists — you just need to find your entry point. For related insights, see our complete guide to competitor intelligence.
Your competitor is your unpaid product scout
Common Questions