The outdoor living category

Despite a faltering economy, outdoor living remains popular nationwide. Independent garden centers can capture a large portion of this category if they stock products from the rich middle ground between expensive landscaper-level quality and cheap products stocked at mass merchants.

Outdoor living

* If you got out of the casual furniture business, perhaps it’s time to rethink your position. Manufacturers are hungry for business and are creating more flexible terms than before. Another bonus is that outdoor fabric has improved and become affordable.

* As purses tighten, do-it-yourself projects will likely make a strong comeback. Stock out-of-the ordinary building materials that aren’t likely to be found at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Items like bamboo and birch can be used to build a pergola or a simple plant support.

* If you carry paving stones, make sure you carry all the associated products your customer will need to install them: sand, spacers, grout, sealant and so on. A how-to handout wouldn’t hurt, either.

* Container gardens are as important to outdoor living as the hard goods. Keep a fresh supply of attractive potted shrubs, perennials and color pots in a wide range of prices mixed in with outdoor living departments.

Poolside living

Just because you will never sell chlorine and other pool amendments doesn’t mean you can’t sell poolside living products. Look at stocking pool toys, towels, lightweight loungers that are bathing suit friendly and plastic dishes.

Pets

People love their pets and spend huge amounts of money on them yearly, but only 27 percent of garden centers carry pet products. Why let the big-box pet stores make all the profits?

Hammocks

What could be better than a hammock? They don’t take up much room when rolled and packaged, but most garden centers don’t even think about them.

Grills

With intense competition from mass merchants, grills are undeniably a challenging category for garden centers (fewer than 20 percent carry them). Those independents that succeed tend to focus in on a specific line and promote that line strongly.

Outdoor lighting

Patio lighting offers fun products at great prices, but the category is not without its challenges. Competition is fierce, so retailers should treat this category as a fashion category and assign buyers with this in mind. You should carry a mix of electric and candle lanterns and lights. Merchandising is a must. Hang lanterns from umbrellas, hang lights along a trellis and place table-top lanterns around the umbrella pole.

Fireplaces and pits

Few categories are more diverse in quality than outdoor fireplaces or fire pits. Leave the cheap ones that will corrode quickly to mass merchants and stock mid-range, quality fireplaces at good prices. You might want to hold a focus group to judge what customers want. It’s not as obvious a fashion item as lights, but customers are fussy about styles.

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- Carolee Anita Boyles

Carolee Anita Boyles is a freelance writer in Tampa, Fla.

August 2008