Interview with Ed Webb of Webbs Garden Centres

We know that our clients like to hear from others about how they have managed the Coronavirus lockdown and the measures they have adopted to focus on recovery.

Bishop Fleming Chair, Ian Smith, caught up with Ed Webb of Webbs Garden Centres to understand how he has managed to remain so positive in such challenging times, and how he was able to identify opportunities amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

About Webbs: 

Webbs Garden Centres is a 200-year old independent family horticultural business, boasting 3 impressive sites in the centre of England at Wychbold (Droitwich), Hagley & Cheltenham.

Webbs is essentially heaven for all green-fingered folk looking to bring the best out of their gardens, whilst also offering a great place to visit for those that would rather leave the flower bed planting and outdoor landscaping to the professionals. 

In addition to the home and garden market, Webbs has a delicious selection of award-winning food and drinks on the menu, offering both on-site restaurant services as well as butchery and other take-home options. 

The lead up to lockdown:

Ed remembers vividly the week of Cheltenham Races being the significant milestone date in which the threat of a UK lockdown began to become a distinct possibility. 

As hundreds of thousands of racing fanatics piled into the Festival - situated within a stone’s throw of the brand new Webbs Cheltenham store - detailed lockdown planning was being undertaken at the Webbs headquarters.

Standing and admiring the beautiful spring flower displays and the stunning, recently renovated restaurants, Ed recalls taking the weekend to mull over the options before the inevitable lockdown announcement to staff followed on the Monday morning. 

Entering lockdown:

48 hours prior to Government intervention, and with customer and colleague’s safety and well-being at the forefront of their minds, the Webbs management team & owners decided to shut all stores. 

The shutdown process itself took five days, given the majority of the Webbs stock was perishable and required ongoing maintenance.

The Government Furlough scheme was utilised for a large proportion of staff, leaving a team of 30 to pick & pack online orders and preserve living stock whilst maintaining social distancing. 

Keeping the business going:

Not for a second did Ed and the Webbs team sit back and rest on their laurels. After all, there was work still to be done. 

With the Great British public having a lot more time on their hands than usual, and the British spring weather outperforming many of the expectations, the demand for the Webbs range was at a peak. 

As a result, online sales skyrocketed, with some weeks’ sales quadrupling that of the same period in the previous year. 

The team worked around the clock to continuously update and improve the website to cope with this new-found demand. 

As well as the increased website traffic, the phones didn’t stop ringing, with the team taking up to 100 calls an hour. 

Initial difficulties:

Like all businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic was nothing the team had seen before. The garden centres became storage facilities, tight-knit teams were distanced by a 2-metre invisible barrier and customers were dealt with through a computer screen rather than face to face. 

With the business shifting to entirely online sales, the main challenge for Webbs was understanding customer needs. The team was stretched, and predicting future demand became somewhat of a guessing game. 

It was decided that the best way to deal with this increasing demand was to slowly re-introduce staff from furlough, whilst ensuring safety procedures were at the forefront of everyone’s mind. 

Bringing colleagues back off furlough gradually helped to manage the process more smoothly than had there been a mass re-introduction. 

Webbs is a shareholder in one of the country’s leading garden plant growers, Bransford Webbs, and this close relationship ensured security of supply, which was critical to being able to trade out of the crisis.

Financial implications:

Webbs was in a fortunate position entering this troublesome period, having built on 5 strong years of trading. 

Nonetheless, Webbs utilised its solid relationship with HSBC to arrange an overdraft facility extension to act as a safety blanket. 

Despite the cash flow difficulties facing virtually all businesses through this time, Webbs has remained financially self-sufficient throughout. 

Easing lockdown and re-opening stores:

Although desperate to welcome customers through the doors once again, the safety of customers and colleagues remained the overriding concern throughout. 

Webbs is part of a nationwide buying group and the leaders of member companies compared notes throughout the process.

Thankfully, the Horticultural Trade Association provided crucial assistance throughout the re-opening phase, allowing Webbs to focus on implementing critical safety measures within the stores.  

Webbs engaged with local events companies to source PPE for staff and for screens to be fitted throughout.

A detailed re-opening document was created, and the guidance it issued to the public focussing on easing customer concerns was well received.

Although the numbers in store were controlled, the demands seen in online sales were replicated throughout the product range. 

The garden furniture annual budget was reached in 6 weeks and some weeks saw up to 150% growth, despite the restaurant being closed. 

Webbs has been encouraged by the positive feedback from customers since re-opening. 
It was also delighted to be able to re-open its restaurant at Wychbold on 13 July. 

Remaining positive:

Ed remains positive about the business and its ability to identify opportunities in such challenging times. 

“Staycation” is not a word most would have been too familiar with a few months ago. But with fears of travelling abroad, many people are opting for a stay-home alternative, and the Webbs product range can help transform a home or garden. 

As well as people having had the opportunity over the last three months to focus on home improvements, they also want to enjoy getting out again, whilst remaining safe. Webbs is opening a series of drive-thru cinema viewings commencing 30 July, accompanied by award-winning food and drink provided in the form of an in-car picnic. 

Desire to keep improving:

Ed is now looking to ensure that the large Wychbold site becomes self-sufficient in its energy generation and use in the future.

Further guidance

We will be adding more interviews over the coming weeks.

Check out our Business after COVID-19: Transition Knowledge Hub for more guidance and advice on managing the pandemic.