With Wyevale Garden Centres CEO and trading director leaving at the end of the month, a big question mark inevitably hangs over the prospect of Wyevale Garden Centres existing as a group by the end of this year.
CEO Roger Mclaughlan told GTN back in June that he was hopeful a buyer would want to keep a group of around 60-70 centres trading as Wyevale Garden Centres, with his key point being that they would all be of a similar size and therefore simpler to run.
His imminent departure, along with trading director Paul Emslie, either means Justin King, who switches from non-executive director to an executive role, and Anthony Jones, who has been promoted from CFO to CEO, have a completely different view of the future or that a purchaser for 60-70 similar sized centres cannot be found and that the rest of the group will now be sold off piece-meal over the coming months, like the 40 sold to date. Some believe that King’s role on the board could be a temporary arrangement to speed up the next phase, whatever that might involve.
Rumours abound that another deal involving five centres will be announced imminently and several other garden centre operators have hinted that Christies, Terra Firma’s ‘auctioneers’, have been back in touch with them.
However, visitors to the Wyevale suppliers trade show this week were reporting a positive, even excited, mood in the WGC camp, with suggestions that the company has plans for the group, as distinct from further sell-offs.
So far everyone we’ve talked to who has purchased a garden centre from Wyevale has told us that sales have increased, footfall has grown, customers and staff are amazed by the price drops on plants and products when moving from Wyevale pricing to independent pricing. Some have added staff, increasing local employment; most importantly, employees inherited from Wyevale are really passionate about what they do and are delighted to be working with their new owners.
At Harrogate Christmas & Gift this week, GTN posed the question to several new owners of previously Wyevale centres: where is all this sales growth coming from? Whose market share are you stealing? Unanimously, they replied that it is just having the stock there, at the right price plus good merchandising in pleasant surroundings, that is driving sales. This must be at the expense, during the pre-Christmas season, of the high street and other retailers.
But as we move into the spring gardening season, will these revitalised ex-Wyevale centres start taking sales from other retailers of garden products, including garden centres, DIY stores, country stores and the like?
We’ve tried largely to avoid speculation in GTN Xtra about how the Wyevale “Sale of the Century” will end up – but this latest move is full of intrigue. Chelsea Flower Show 2019 is only five months away. May we expect an announcement from Terra Firma boss Guy Hands then that the disposal of Wyevale has finally been completed?
