Garden centres record record May
An up for sale garden centre group with four sites in Shropshire has recorded record sales.
The late spring has seen Wyevale Garden Centres, enjoy a record-breaking month in may.
It says the heatwave of the first May bank holiday delivered the retailer’s highest ever trading weekend – up 61 per cent on the same weekend in 2017 .
This was followed by a record week of sales, up 39 per cent on the previous year.
Gardeners continued their spending spree as the business rounded off its May trading with a strong second Bank Holiday Monday.
Last month it was announced that Wyevale Garden Centres, which has 148 centres nationwide had been put up for sale by the parent group, Terra Firma.
The sale could affect the well known garden centres of Percy Throwers in Shrewsbury, Moreton Park on the edge of Oswestry and others in Telford and Albrighton.
Private equity company Terra Firma, which owns Wyevale, says it is willing to sell the brand as a whole or break it up by selling centres individually.
Roger McLaughlan, CEO of Wyevale Garden Centres commented, “The later spring has brought with it high demand from gardeners as they make up for lost time. We’ve seen a spectacular lift throughout May and are confident this appetite will continue into the season ahead.”
"We are attributing the phenomenal sales growth to the late arrival of spring and the instantaneous change from winter temperatures to high summer heat. Pent-up gardeners who had been waiting to get out and enjoy their green spaces have used the unseasonal May temperatures to get planting and investing in their gardens."
Wyevale Garden Centres has sold over 11 million plants this year to date. Compost has also proved a strong-selling category for the month, with over 800,000 bags sold, enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool over 11 times.
Mr McLaughlan added; “The traditional garden centre is changing and becoming much more of a destination where people come to learn, shop, dine and play. Our expert team of buyers and retail staff are continually broadening our offer to keep abreast of these new demands, introducing new product categories and ways to engage with the customer on and off-line.”
It is not known how many are employed at all four Shropshire garden centres but the Percy Thrower site, created by television gardener Percy Thrower employs about 200 people alone.
