Analysis: Retail battle reaches the garden of England

By Matthew Appleby Friday, 19 February 2010

As Dobbies plans to expand, one independent operator is fighting for its local turf. Matthew Appleby reports.

Dobbies: company says it wants to build another 75 centres by 2018. Image: Dobbies

In the ancient garden of England there is a fight going on through a very modern medium. Social networking website Facebook has a campaign to stop a Tesco-owned business building near a long-established family concern, echoing anti-supermarket chain campaign Tescopoly's highly publicised demands for stronger planning to protect local shops.

Ever since Tesco bought Scottish independent chain Dobbies in June 2007 for £155m, garden centre owners have been worried about "Tescofication" of the fragmented and traditionally independent, family-run industry.

With more than 1,000 people having signed up to a Facebook campaign opposing Tesco-owned Dobbies £10m plan for a garden centre 500m away from the existing independent Bybrook Barn Garden Centre in Ashford, Kent (see p11), the number of voices against the homogenisation of the unique retail proposition that is gardens is growing.

This could be the thin end of the wedge. Dobbies wants to build 75 more garden centres by 2018 and many are bound to be near independents. The proposed Dobbies in Carlisle has already met protests from Klondyke chairman Bob Gault, who built his flagship centre a few miles away. There are plenty more examples on the horizon - Aberdeen and Nether Alderley being just two.

Bybrook Barn owner Terry Burch says: "Look at the small people who have disappeared because of Tesco. We're fighting someone who has 100 times £10m to spend on garden centres. I don't believe we could work together with Dobbies. Eventually they will have us out, one way or the other."

Dobbies chief executive officer James Barnes reassures that there is room for both and that centres can thrive when they're close to each other, but says he was surprised by the campaign.

He adds that the centres can exist together and that Dobbies was looking at the site before Tesco bought it. Barnes says Dobbies is independent from Tesco when it comes to planning battles and is well used to winning them by itself.

"It may be a concern to them, but the town is big enough for all of us. I don't expect a (planning) delay." He adds: "One or two of the Facebook comments refer to Tesco, but we are a completely independent business with our own HQ and planning department."

Barnes says that with greenfield sites hard to find and the Dobbies strategy focused on expanding towns in England, Ashford's Eureka site "ticks all the boxes". The proposal is for a 3.5ha site in the Eureka Leisure Park. The centre will include a farm shop, restaurant and demonstration gardens.

Dobbies plans to develop 75 new centres by 2018 "mainly south of the border". Barnes admits to "aspirations" to build Dobbies alongside new Tescos. "Customers like that format of a garden centre on a supermarket car park." He adds that the format helps footfall.

A garden centre insider tells HW that independents would be "quite happy" if Dobbies built its dozens of planned centres in Tesco car parks.

Burch says: "Because it's only 500m away from us we're not at all pleased about it. We can't understand the council allowing it to go through. It will have a dramatic effect on us."

Barnes says: "We've built up significant expertise in these areas over the years. They have been all our own efforts. We have a good plan and an excellent site. We've put forward all arguments necessary to allow this to happen." He adds that Dobbies and Tesco are very separate entities. "We run a garden centre business, not a food retailer."

Burch is not keen to give up his business easily. He has forwarded hundreds of letters and emails protesting about Dobbies to Ashford Borough Council. He adds that a new centre would be bad for the environment and says the council withheld information about plans.

Despite Bybrook Barn only being 500 yards from the proposed Dobbies, Ashford Borough Council says: "Neighbour letters have been sent out in line with our notification policy on planning applications. Bybrook Barn did not get a letter because it is too far away from the application site to fall within the usual parameters for notifying neighbours."

Barnes adds: "I'm delighted to talk to everybody. It's an open book for us. We're in consultation with people all across Ashford because it's an exciting project for us in the garden of England."

Consultations will now run for three months. So it looks as though the fight over garden centres in the garden of England will run and run.

Positive competition

Garden centre consultant Neville Stein says there are pros as well as cons to Dobbies moving in. "You could argue that two garden centres close to each other brings people in from further afield," he suggests.

"When I was at Woodbridge Notcutts and Wyevale opened, I saw it as a positive because it gave people in Ipswich a reason to come to Woodbridge and visit garden centres. At Crews Hill the Golden Mile row of garden centres all seem to survive. They draw people in off the M25.

"Also, this presents a tremendous opportunity to differentiate yourself. You can highlight your independence and family-run credibility as well as your better customer service.

"You can't have it both ways in the free market. You have the benefit of people buying more stuff they don't need but the result is that it encourages competition.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. You can't fight it, so you have to approach it as a positive. It's very difficult with Tesco — it is rarely refused planning permission.

"The market is still largely held by independents. Dobbies and Wyevale may have five or 10 per cent of the market but even if they expand a lot they can't get that much more.

"I advise using Lean, co-operating with like-minded businesses and working with Tillington, Future Marketing or Choice on buying and marketing."