Dobbies Garden Centres
Encyclopedia
Dobbies Garden Centres is a British chain of garden centre
s, now owned by Tesco
.
The business was founded in 1865 by James Dobbie, who created a seeds business named Dobbie & Co. After being awarded the Royal Warrant for Gardeners and Nurserymen to the Royal Household, the company expanded into a seed catalogue business, where it built up a customer base of 50,000 over the following century.
In 1969 the company expanded out of its Scottish base into England, and was floated on AIM
in 1987. Up until 1984 Dobbies continued to operate principally as a seed merchant. It was then bought out by David Barnes, managing director of Waterers. Between 1984 and 1989 Dobbies opened five new garden centres in Scotland.
The company was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1997 and this led to Dobbies expanding their garden centre operations further South into England. In 2008, after a much-publicised court battle with Sir Tom Hunter's
West Coast Capital, the owner of competitor Wyevale
, the company was fully acquired by Tesco.
Dobbies now operates 26 garden centres and restaurants in England
, Scotland
and Northern Ireland
as well as several large tourist attractions including Plantasia, near Coventry.
On May 10 2009, Dobbies announced it has made £1 million sales of its Grow Your Own range in that year to date. Grow Your Own allows many of Dobbies’ 10 million-strong customer base to grow salad, vegetables and fruits from home with more than 100,000 tomato plants sold in the last two months alone. For the year to early 2009, turnover was £97 million.
In 2010, Dobbies opened their first outlet in Northern Ireland
, and the store, near Lisburn
, opened in September 2010.
Garden centre
A garden centre is a retail firm that sells plants and products related to gardens as its primary business. It is open to the public, with facilities to care for and display plants.- UK :...
s, now owned by Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
.
The business was founded in 1865 by James Dobbie, who created a seeds business named Dobbie & Co. After being awarded the Royal Warrant for Gardeners and Nurserymen to the Royal Household, the company expanded into a seed catalogue business, where it built up a customer base of 50,000 over the following century.
In 1969 the company expanded out of its Scottish base into England, and was floated on AIM
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
in 1987. Up until 1984 Dobbies continued to operate principally as a seed merchant. It was then bought out by David Barnes, managing director of Waterers. Between 1984 and 1989 Dobbies opened five new garden centres in Scotland.
The company was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1997 and this led to Dobbies expanding their garden centre operations further South into England. In 2008, after a much-publicised court battle with Sir Tom Hunter's
Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion...
West Coast Capital, the owner of competitor Wyevale
Wyevale
The Garden Centre Group is a chain of 130 garden centres in the United Kingdom. Prior to 2009, it was known as Wyevale Garden Centres.It was voted 'Best Garden Centre 2009' in an online poll by Gardeners' World Magazine.- Name change :...
, the company was fully acquired by Tesco.
Dobbies now operates 26 garden centres and restaurants in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
as well as several large tourist attractions including Plantasia, near Coventry.
On May 10 2009, Dobbies announced it has made £1 million sales of its Grow Your Own range in that year to date. Grow Your Own allows many of Dobbies’ 10 million-strong customer base to grow salad, vegetables and fruits from home with more than 100,000 tomato plants sold in the last two months alone. For the year to early 2009, turnover was £97 million.
In 2010, Dobbies opened their first outlet in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and the store, near Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, opened in September 2010.