 Want to get garden retailers riled up? Post a query about DIY landscaping trends on several online forums. After you wade through the gripes and groans, a general consensus emerges: Sales opportunities in this realm are limited to smaller “niche” projects.Why? Retailers cite the housing market, which remains uncertain. Many consumers are still hesitant to invest money in big-budget landscaping or hardscape projects. This assumption is echoed by findings from the Garden Writers Association Foundation Spring Survey, showing a continued drop in average dollars spent on gardening. The average currently stands at $468, down from a high of over $600 in 2009. The silver lining is the continued interest in constructing raised beds, vertical gardens and other “container-type” projects. Now comes the big question: How deeply do you delve into the hard-goods side of this project equation? Blocks, boards, edging, barrier fabrics and specialty containers cater to this gardening trend. But they’re not particularly fast moving—leaving many retailers with slow turns. Kat White, moderator of a popular retail forum on Facebook, had this to say: “Selling block in a garden center is another problem product. Our minimum order for any type of block material from our supplier is 16 pallets. Even with that large amount, the markup is minimal. I disagree that garden centers need to carry everything a customer needs [for raised bed projects, etc.]. There really isn't a lot of room financially for items that are unprofitable, slow-selling, but may complete a customer's list.” Some garden centers have countered this retail reality by forging an informal alliance with locally owned hardware stores. They’ll send customers there for hard goods to complete these projects. In return, the hardware stores recommend the garden center for plant purchases. Other garden retailers suck it up, carry a shallow selection of hard goods for these projects—anticipating they won’t be fast-moving. How is DIY faring in your world? Send your success stories (or “learning moments”) to smartinez@gie.net and look for your comments in an upcoming issue. |
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