Dobbies increases sales

Dobbies, the UK garden centre chain, in which Tesco acquired a majority stake last year, increased its sales in the 2007 financial year by 21.4 per cent to £ 83.5 mio (€ 104.4 mio). Although the chain recorded sales down by 12 per cent in the outdoor living section, sales rose by 8.1 per cent in the indoor living category, by 9.9 per cent for cookware, and 22 per cent for fruit and vegetables. Pre-tax profit went down by 11.7 per cent to £ 3.8 mio (€ 4.8 mio).