Dobbies to close 17 Garden Centres

Dobbies have announced they are to close 17 stores.

Altrincham
Antrim
Gloucester
Gosforth
Harlestone Heath
Huntingdon
Inverness
King’s Lynn
Pennine
Reading
Stratford-upon-Avon

Little Dobbies

Cheltenham
Chiswick
Clifton
Richmond
Stockbridge
Westbourne Grove

As far as I can make out the stores (at least in Gloucestershire) will close by the end of the year.

 

Nearest one to me I think is in Gillingham, never go over that way so never even seen the place, I have been to the one at Ashford but it was mostly tat and a butchers shop, and a massive cafe, wasn't impressed with the plants on offer just usual stuff, really boring.

 

Gillingham is where I used to live. I only went in there when it first opened, and then a couple of other occasions when I was meeting a friend for a drink and a bun.
I wouldn't go back.

 

Not surprised.
I'm not certain about this but I think they took over a lot of the old Wyvale ones. Why they thought they could make them work any better I'm not sure.

 

We have a few one off owned, or smaller types of garden centre that appear to do reasonably well, its once they get into the big groups that they seem to fail.

Probably not making enough profit for the share holders etc.

 

Our local GC is really good - and no teas, coffees or cakes. The staff know their stuff, and are always polite and helpful. .
No tat. 100% proper garden orientated.

If you want to sit with a cake and drink, there's a place nearby. If you want tat, then go to Dobbies.

 

Dobbies share the same building with Tesco Extra in Inverness and have a joint entrance. I can't think who would take over Dobbies area there.

I'm not surprised they are going, I find them over priced and very few people shopping there. In fact I've never seen more than half a dozen people in there at any time - with the exception of the eating area.

 

Our nearest Dobbies is at Shenstone, but I hardly ever go to it as they play Shania Twain on the tannoy very loud all the time. Used to be Wyevale. Are they selling up to developers I wonder.

 

If you want a drink/snack at the two massive centers I go to here, you get it out of the machine near the ext Ours sell plants, pots and associated items. Garden furniture at one.

 

The nearest one to me is in Swansea. I went there once but I didn't think much of it, but I didn't think much of Wyevale either.
The Wyevale that used to be in Carmarthen has been taken over by someone else and I didn't think much of that either. I prefer smaller locally run garden centres.

 

I noticed that the majority of comments on local social media said that people used it mainly for the coffee shop and a "look around".
The branch near me had concessions such as The Works and Hotter shoes. The Works in particular was always pretty busy.

I have one of their membership cards that entitled me to 2 free hot drinks every month, and my OH and I made pretty much full use of it up until Covid struck. Since then I think we've only used it once due to a change in circumstances.
Funnily enough I said to OH last week that I wasn't going to bother renewing it. There are 2 locally owned GCs I'd rather visit, plus a branch of British Garden Centres that took over Wyevale.

I never left the Dobbies garden centre empty handed though .

 

The new builds going up everywhere are on such tiny plots that I don't think people need much in the way of plants. Yes, some bedding colour and a pot at the front door, but you couldn't fit two shrubs comfortably in the back "gardens". So maybe new customers aren't really frequenting chain GCs much these days. Anyone who is already a gardener would probably choose elsewhere to get the specific varieties they want.

 

"In the right hands" being the relevant bit of that. You could die of thirst waiting in the queue in the cafe at the Gloucester Dobbies. More often than not there was only one member of staff on trying to take orders and prepare the food and drinks. That didn't change even if the queue was along 2 sides of place.