One in two householders in Britain now owns a barbecue - that is more than any other country in Europe, the British BBQ Association has found.

"We've just overtaken Germany," enthuses its chairman Ben Bartlett.

Unfortunately, in 2008, that wasn't true of the British football teams. As they did not qualify for the European Championship, this made a significant dent in the barbecue market.

This is because barbecue "occasions", as Bartlett calls them, often happen in conjunction with sporting events. But what they also need is good weather - and 2008 did not bring much of that.

Sales of barbecues through garden centres have fallen sharply last year as poor weather and credit crunch-related reluctance to spend on big-ticket items took hold.

The GCA says barbecue sales fell 10 per cent in 2008, while the HTA noted a 75 per cent drop in sales to the end of September 2008. GfK says the overall market fell from £70m in 2006 to £53.7m in 2008 (down 19.7 per cent on 2007), with garden centres taking £12m, down 7.8 per cent on 2007.

Landmann marketing director Martin Carnaby says he is working closely with Webbs of Wychbold to aim to offer the added extras that might drive a tough market in 2009. Free delivery and free assembly are important, says Carnaby. "Barbecues are often impulse purchases and customers don't want the assembly hassle.

"But offering this as a company is a way for us to get our foot in the door because there's an elitism in garden centres over brands so we have to give added value."

Carnaby, who used to work for Landmann rival Weber, says niche markets such as Jack Daniel's smoking barbecues will help garden centres in a market where cheap supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl have taken market share through promotions.

Bartlett says: "It's not just burgers anymore, it's swordfish and bruschettas now and for that you need a better barbecue."

He says the big question for 2009 is how the garden centre mid- to high-end offer holds up during recession. Many centres are sitting on a lot of stock after a poor 2008. This may not be a bad thing because this year prices will rise 20 per cent because exchange rates with manufacturing countries such as China have risen so much.

On the plus side, consumers may cut eating out and holidays during a recession. This means more cooking at home, which could mean more barbecue sales.

GCA chief executive Gillie Westwood says: "Sales have suffered partly due to the weather - we have had such an awful summer - but also the economy must have had an effect.

"But if we have a good summer there's no reason why sales won't increase this year. If people are not going on holiday and are spending most of their time at home, then eating in (could) soar and we may be the beneficiaries of that."

The Leisure & Outdoor Furniture Association secretary Richard Plowman has 20 barbecue-selling members in his organisation. He says: "You can look at the recession in two ways. It's tough from a business point of view but from the commercial point of view we know there are customers there.

"The potential for the barbecue market is still strong. People entertained more at home during the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s and that's good for barbecue sales, although it's all dependent on the weather."

Plowman says the trend is towards more sophisticated barbecues, with outdoor kitchens and options such as spit-roasting becoming more popular. He hopes the downturn in spending on big-ticket items will not hit barbecues: "You can start at £20 but if you want a barbecue you will buy the best you can get with your money."

He adds that the pursuit is male-dominated, meaning barbecues make good presents for men. Plowman says an early spring barbecue event is a great way to kick-start sales. "A static display is great but cooking sausages and passing them round drives real sales."

When asked how well barbecues sold in 2008, Golden Acres Garden Centre and Nurseries group retail director Carrie Gunton says simply: "They didn't."

But Gunton, who stocks Weber barbecues, sees a silver lining: "That's fine for us. Not selling a huge volume of barbecues is not that big a problem because they're not a focus for us. But we would have liked to have sold more, just like everyone else. We decided we didn't need to have an end-of-season sale so we have stock for the start of 2009.

"I think it's not down to recession. It was just the weather. Two or three of my friends are keen barbecuers but they only had two or three last year."

Garden Industry Manufacturers' Association director Neil Gow says centres should look to increase prices of existing stocks by 16-25 per cent in 2009: "Centres should be able to be competitive on prices if they have stocks of Barbecues. But they should take the opportunity to make more margin."

Cadac sales manager Robin Honeywill supplies centres including Burleydam, Downtown, Fryers and Henry Street.

He says sales success in 2009 depends on the weather but "garden centres will recover better than other industries in the credit crisis because people are not going away and will spend money on the garden."

Cadac, which has been in the patio barbecue market for three years, has as its top seller the Entertainer range of seven models, including the Classic 3 (£299) and Supreme (£459). Honeywill adds that barbecue buyers are looking to spend more as they become more "savvy", although charcoal barbecues may do better in 2009 because they are cheaper than gas.

Outback is a leading brand having been sold in garden centres for the past 22 years. It sells the Modern Classic, charcoal flamer Spectrum and stainless-steel Sapphire ranges. Last year, the Maidstone, Kent company created a link with Filippo Berio olive oil to put recipes on its website.

Weber is an international brand that holds a large chunk of the UK garden centre market. Weber pioneered the kettle barbecue and now produces hi-spec outdoor kitchen-style barbecues from its US base.

REDUCED SALES: FACTORS

In 2007 consumers spent £37m on new barbecues, which was 29 per cent below 2006 levels. Provisional figures for 2008 show that this drop in sales has continued and the year-on-year decline will be significantly more than 2007. The reason for this decline is likely to be due to a combination of three factors: The maturing of the barbecue market

The rise in popularity of barbecues in the UK led to a strong market during the five years leading to 2004. Many households purchased or upgraded their barbecue equipment, taking these households out of the market for a number of years.

The economy

The slowdown of the housing market, the credit crunch and the looming recession will all have affected this market.

The weather

This will have impacted on the frequency of barbecue activities, but also discouraged people from buying new barbecues.

TIPS

- Hold a barbecue cooking event this spring

- Offer the whole package including patio heaters, umbrellas and canopies

- Mount a Christmas display - ideal presents for men

- Stock a range of barbecues from £5 to £500

- Stock accessories

- Offer free delivery and assembly

- Stock branded items

- Stock a mix of gas and charcoal barbecues - in Australia and the US gas is king.

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING

At Glee, Antony Worrall Thompson and Phil Tufnell (Slemcka) scored coverage for their branded products after their manufacturers paid to raise their profiles through using a famous face - and their designing skills.

Worrall Thompson, backing Slemcka's Outdoor Living range, said garden centre catering had such potential that he would like to be a consultant for garden retailers with cafes. New for this season - and heading up the Antony Worrall Thompson Slemcka Outdoor Living Range of professional gas and charcoal barbecues and accessories - is the Signature 5 Burner Wagon Grill with Side Burner and Ceramic Grill, retailing at £700. Richard Gray, sales and marketing manager and responsible for the AWT brand at Slemcka, says: "We have already sold in the entire range for this coming season. We are particularly confident in the new five-burner model and anticipate that it will soon be replacing the four-burner one as our best-selling model. The blend of a trusted no-frills chef with a quality barbecue is proving increasingly successful at inspiring high-ticket sales."

Landmann Tennessee Smokers are launching next season. The standard Tennessee Smoker will retail at £99 and the Grand Tennessee Smoker at £299.