It has been another dramatic week of change for Wyevale Garden Centres with news of Head of Horticulture Tim Clapp leaving the company in October and reports of more than 20 centre managers being made redundant. Rumours of Clapp's replacement have been circulating throughout the industry but the company refused to confirm that an appointment had been made.

GTN Xtra, who broke the news of Clapp's imminent departure to a DIY chain, understands that the staff facing redundancy had to undertake a series of tests.

When asked about the redundancies a spokesman for Wyevale Garden Centres said: "As we continue the process of transforming the company, we have been working within our garden centres to invest in the development of our teams, strengthen the balance of horticultural and retail expertise, structure resources across regions and ensure the right people are in the right roles. As a result of this evolution, some garden centre managers have left the company."

As reported on Monday in GTN Xtra, the company said this about Clapp's departure: "We thank Tim for the excellent work he has done during his eight years. He leaves behind a strong horticultural buying and plant area manager team which includes a great mix of horticultural and retail experts with a passion for delivering customers high quality, beautiful plants.”

Also this week Wyevale announced it had strengthened its executive management team with the addition of Tim Patten as Multi-Channel Director.

Kevin Bradshaw, Chief Executive of Wyevale Garden Centres, said: "Wyevale Garden Centres aspires to give our customers a shopping experience that reflects the way they want to shop. Online research and commerce are playing an increasingly important role in garden product retailing and Tim’s appointment is the first step on our journey to become a truly multi-channel retailer. 

"Tim’s industry-leading expertise in developing multi-channel and e-commerce businesses will help us to bring the joy of the garden to life online as well as in our garden centres.”

Tim Patten joins Wyevale Garden Centres from Morrisons Non Food where he was the Marketing and E-Commerce Director. Tim has held a number of e-commerce, multi-channel and marketing director roles for large retail businesses including Space NK and Mothercare. He spent several years at Jack Wills where he was initially the Multi-Channel Director for the UK; he then took on a larger scope and was responsible for the international development of Jack Wills USA and Jack Wills Hong Kong’s multi-channel strategies.