Wyevale chops back loyalty club as cost-cutting grows

Wyevale Garden Centres has taken a pruning knife to its points-based Garden Club loyalty scheme by replacing it with an instant 5% discount every time members shop.
The new scheme represents the same value for its 2.5 million members, who previously collected five points per £1; for customers over 60, the rewards are even greater, with a 10% discount every Tuesday.
However, the move will cut costs significantly for the retail group which has been forced to flog off scores of outlets to rivals after facing financial collapse.
Wyevale said that all qualifying points collected on purchases made up to April 16, or April 15 if online, will be converted to reward vouchers and sent to Garden Club members by the end of May. This includes points earned over the recent triple points weekend on April 13 and 14.
Wyevale also expects to send out around 1 million reward vouchers with a face value of over £5m, including 560,000 vouchers to Garden Club members who have not reached the minimum threshold but have been “topped up” and sent a £2.50 voucher.
Wyevale chief operating officer Anthony Jones: “I am sure our Garden Club members will welcome the new 5% discount. Additionally, a record £5 million of reward vouchers, which will be sent by the end of May and valid until August 31, should be a welcome boost for members as we move into the summer season.”
The Terra Firma-backed chain has now offloaded 85 of its stores, leaving Wyevale with a portfolio of 60 centres, and a further four centres that are operating under licence. Rival Dobbies has bought a total of 37 stores, while others have been sold off piecemeal to local operators.
It is not known how the changes will affect Wyevale’s relationship with both DST Applied Analytics, which handles the loyalty scheme, and WDMP, which runs the CRM account.