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WS_1452 00426.txt

A move back to local brands? When brands are king there is an interesting move in the opposite direction at Wyevale garden centres. The name is being removed from most of the 122-strong chain so that they look like independents. Companies have ditched established names before when they are tarnished but despite Wyevale being seized by its banks in a debt-for-equity swap that hardly seems to be the garden centres problem. The reputation may have taken a knock in financial circles but suppliers have been paid and the public probably has no knowledge of the underlying problems. Nor is this a desperate move by management in a declining market. The recession is apparently forcing us back into our gardens not least to grow our own. Of course, this could be an extreme case of kitchen-sinking new management dumping all signs of its predecessors existence. Nick Marshall, who was made chief executive when Bank of Scotland wrote-off part of its debt and took control last year, previously ran the Country Gardens chain that Wyevale bought. He is dropping Wyevale branding and reverting to previous local names, including Country Gardens. But it is the opposite of the trend witnessed in other areas, especially retail. House of Fraser and John Lewis have dropped eventually those quaint department store names that had value in their home towns and imposed the national moniker. Pubs that Were rose once & Crowns or Dukes of York have been given names used throughout the chain now they are grouped under corporate ownership. The argument is synergy the benefit of national marketing and consumer recognition. Wyevale or The Garden Centre Group, as the holding company will now be known may hope to gain from customers putting trust in centres they believe are run locally but it loses the transfer of that trust from one centre to another differently-named outlet. And those old names have a reputational value too. The other synergies of being part of a large group remain, of course. There is still scope for central purchasing group accounting, common pricing and head-office services. Local managers may have been greater discretion, but they remain part of a group. Whether or not Marshall is trying to fool customers that their local garden centre is independent, he believes this is a niche that will generate sales and loyalty. It is a move against the trend but one to watch

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