The Garden Centre Group to rebrand back to Wyevale Garden Centres

The Garden Centre Group, the UK’s largest chain of garden centres, is to rebrand back to Wyevale Garden Centres as it looks to raise brand awareness.

The group was formerly known as Wyevale Garden Centres but changed its name to The Garden Centre Group in 2009 to reflect the increasing number of individual garden centres within the group that were adopting their own local names.

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Commenting on the return to the Wyevale name, Wyevale Garden Centres chief executive Kevin Bradshaw said: “As we continue to grow and transform our business, adopting a consistent national identity for our 140 garden centres will bring increased awareness and visibility to our estate among consumers. This is an important step in taking advantage of our national scale as the UK’s largest garden retailer and differentiating our offer.”

Wyevale Garden Centres began as a mail-order nursery in 1932 and later expanded into one of the earliest garden centres in 1966. The company says the Wyevale Garden Centres name continues to enjoy strong recognition among its customers and is currently the most searched for retail brand name online in the garden-specific sector.

Sarah Fuller, marketing director for Wyevale Garden Centres, said: “We chose Wyevale Garden Centres as our brand name due to its strong existing recognition and positive associations among consumers as well as its history of being at the forefront of the UK gardening tradition.”

The new brand name and visual identity will roll out across garden centres, completing in early 2015. Individual garden centres, which currently carry an assortment of brand names, will adopt the national brand but retain their local name to maintain their connection with the local community.

Fuller added: “We aspire to offer our customers the best of national and the best of local when it comes to their gardens, and we will continue to nurture the unique characteristics and community-focus of our centres under the unifying umbrella of our new national brand.”

A new logo and visual identity will accompany the change in brand name, with a blooming leaf design element as well as vivid green and purple lettering. The design incorporates elements of the traditional Wyevale Garden Centres logo and that of The Garden Centre Group’s popular Gardening Club.