03/11/2022

Dobbies Garden Centre opens flagship store in Cotswolds Designer Outlet

Premium retail and leisure destination Cotswolds Designer Outlet celebrates the opening of a 70,000 sq ft flagship Dobbies Garden Centre.

The opening marks the completion of the first stage of a 180-acre mixed-use development, which in addition to the designer outlet also includes 1,310 homes alongside significant infrastructure works.

The Dobbies centre is one of the company’s biggest to date and the largest in Southwest England, expected to welcome more than 750,000 customers each year.  In addition, Dobbies Garden Centre features a Little Seedlings soft play area and a 10,000 sq ft restaurant offering all-day dining, adding to the substantial F&B and leisure offering of the wider scheme and creating an appealing day-out experience for the significant local, regional and tourist population.

When opening in 2025, Cotswolds Designer Outlet will be a best-in-class fashion destination, attracting a range of popular brands from premium labels to high street favourites with year-round savings of up to 70% off RRP.

Cotswolds Designer Outlet will be built in two phases with a combined total of 181,000 sq ft and up to 78 stores.

Phase 1 will total 135,000 sq ft and up to 55 stores.

The scheme will feature 1,770 car parking spaces, electric charger points and a picnic area with child’s adventure play equipment.

Featuring a mix of flagship and statement stores across premium, aspirational, lifestyle and mass market brands there will be a generous provision of F&B to extend dwell times.

All units will be designed to meet the needs of a modern outlet physical store including high visibility windows including canopies, storage options for click and collect and online fulfilment. Optional mezzanine levels and premium illuminated bus stop signage will elevate store specifications and convey a quality feel at all touchpoints. Sizes range from 1,100 sq ft to 8,500 sq ft.

Simon Tothill, Property and Development Director of Robert Hitchins Ltd, said: “The opening of Dobbies Garden Centre is a major milestone for what is one of the most exciting mixed-use developments in the country. Having Dobbies as our leisure anchor is a major asset to the wider development, adding to the mix of uses it will offer and creating positive synergies across the scheme with a large number of linked visits expected once the Designer Outlet element opens.”

He added: “With Dobbies now open to the public, we are excited to keep up momentum across the rest of this compelling development. The  construction of Cotswolds Designer Outlet is due to commence in spring next year and the level of brand interest in the scheme is very exciting with a number of major names due to be announced  in the next few months.”

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies Garden Centres, added: “We’re proud to be the first to open, in what will be a fantastic destination for locals and tourists alike. We’ve had a really excellent response from customers so far, and we look forward to building on this success moving forward. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the project.”