GTN INTERVIEWS
to year-end, despite the local lockdown in Kent, because we were the only retailer open locally who was selling any Christmas”. Which brings us on to the relief universally felt across the industry when, thanks largely to HTA lobbying, garden centres were deemed to be essential retailers, saving the sector from near oblivion. “We can’t underestimate the value of that,” Tammy says “We don’t want to boast about that but everybody says the same – that we are in such a privileged position.” For Will, lockdown #1 took a dark turn when he was threatened with arrest for breaching pandemic restrictions by opening the centre through April, arguing that the butchery, food hall and pet
8 March 2021
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