Chiswick's Little Dobbies Appears on Closure List
Garden centre chain shutting branches as part of a restructuring plan
The Little Dobbies store in Chiswick. Picture: Google Streetview
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September 30, 2024
The branch of Little Dobbies on Chiswick High Road is one of 17 that the garden centre chain has marked for closure as part of a restructuring plan.
The company has been seeing increasing losses with the latest accounts showing a deficit of £130 million prompting owner Ares Management to appoint FTI Consulting in an attempt to return to profitability.
Two of the other sites slated to be closed are in London – Richmond and Westbourne Grove. If the recommendations are approved the company will still have 60 outlets across the country which, it is believed, will still make it the largest chain of gardening stores in the country.
The local store was opened in summer of 2021 in what used be the location of Carluccio’s at number 344 Chiswick High Road but had previously been vacant for several years. The ‘Little Dobbies’ format was a smaller version of the larger garden centres the company operates across the UK. Along with the Westbourne Grove store, it was the firm’s first foray into the London market. Dobbies has blamed high rents as the main reason for selecting stores for closures.
The company issued a statement saying, “The restructuring plan, and other strategic initiatives, are expected to return Dobbies to sustainable profitability through site rationalisations, rent reductions and other tangible cost savings – securing its long-term future and allowing access to future investment.”
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