Folllowing Tesco’s prospective leap into the garden centre world, Wyvale’s Sir Tom Hunter appears to be doing his best to stop the supermarket behemoth. Acording to The Independent, Hunter has increased his stake in Dobbies to 20.6 per cent.
The battle for control of the chain has highlighted the attractiveness of the industry to the major players.
David Pattison, senior analyst at the research group Plimsoll, said that garden centres have had to transform themselves to compete with the superstores and will now sell outdoor furniture, tools, gifts and include on-site cafés, often in pleasant surroundings, which encourage people to stay that little big longer. "So much more is expected of a garden centre, you can spend the whole day there," Pattison said.
The margins of a traditional-style garden centre ‘are not that glamorous’, he noted. "However, predators can see added value that the current owner is not delivering. A large developer can come in and take it to the next level."
Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel, said bigger retailers can see the scope of growing through acquisition, and the economies of scale that can be achieved. However, he says it is difficult to understand Tesco's desire to move on Dobbies as there is "no overlap in the business" and questions whether Tesco is not simply interested in the development potential of one or two of the sites.
Supermarkets have been trying to get into the gardening market by selling smaller products inside and setting up marquees in the car parks. However, staff have lacked the expertise of those at a garden centre and the in-store environment has not proved the best for plants and flowers.
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