Open Register

U.K. garden sales fall 8.29% in September

Sales at garden centres in the United Kingdom fell 8.29% last month, according to the Garden Centre Association (GCA) Barometer of trade. Average turnover at the 57 garden centres surveyed by the association was £207,600 during the period; 47 centres recorded a decline.

Plants sales fell across all product categories, with outdoor plants down 8.96 per cent to £46,165 and seeds and bulbs down 9.32 per cent to £15,148. Furniture and barbecues was the worst-hit product area, with sales down 26 per cent to £14,860. This was closely followed by hard landscaping, where sales fell 17.79 per cent to £8,034.

-- Sarah

Photo of the week

 

Seen at A.J.Tomasi Nurseries, Pembroke, Mass.

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A winning team

Kudos to Master Nursery Garden Centers for a business plan that mutually benefits not only the party of the first party and the party of the second party, but the party thrower, to boot. Indeed, for roughly five decades, the multi-million dollar, member-owned nursery cooperative has served member growers and retailers well. In turn, the customer has become the ultimate winner.

To wit: Master Nursery Garden Centers’ Garden Elements program, which is an exclusive brand of premium annual s grown and sold by MNGC partners. Garden Elements was begun on the East Coast in 2007 with one grower supplying 27 garden centers. By 2008, there were four growers and 92 retail outlets in the program. In 2009, Master Nursery anticipates that well over 100 of its member garden centers will participate, served by seven growers. The Garden Elements program features both individual plants and dramatic combination baskets and planters. Each year, new varieties are introduced.

Part of what has made Garden Elements work is the partnership concept between grower and retailer. While there are other branded annual programs, Garden Elements is unique in that it is owned by the garden centers that sell it. The cooperative program puts the retailers in good stead with the customers, who love the quality and variety of the exclusive plants. In the meantime, growers benefit from the partnership because they can pre-book a large block of sales, knowing they are growing just what the retailers want.

In business parlance, that’s called win-win …

… win.

-- Yale

Lexington Gardens to close doors

Lexington Gardens in Connecticut will be closing its doors in early December according to a news blogger at the Hartford Courant. Owner Craig Cavanaugh told the paper big box competition lead to his decision, with the coming winter heating season affecting the timing.

-- Sarah

Syngenta acquires Goldsmith Seeds

Syngenta has signed an agreement to acquire Goldsmith Seeds, Inc., an industry leading breeder and producer of flower seeds, for an amount of $74 million, on a cash and debt-free basis. Goldsmith breeds, produces and sells a broad range of pot and bedding products, including major crops such as cyclamen, impatiens and petunia.

“This acquisition is a perfect strategic fit with Syngenta Flowers and it significantly increases our proprietary flower seed portfolio”, says Robert Berendes, Head of Business Development at Syngenta. “The Goldsmith family has built up a world-class breeding company with an outstanding reputation that is known for its consistent quality. This acquisition further strengthens our leadership position in the global flowers industry.”

Syngenta will maintain the Goldsmith brand in the market under the Syngenta Flowers umbrella.

Read the complete news release here.

-- Sarah

Is a local economy more secure?

The small Vermont town of Hardwick is banking its future on growing and cultivating food products sustainably, according to a New York Times article. Until recently, Hardwick had followed the path of many small communities that aren’t satellites to large cities. The main employers, granite companies, shut down years ago, then the bars and X-rated theaters that sprung up in its wake faded away.

Today, Hardwick’s citizens collaborate to help each other start up companies based on local farming, and it’s working. So far, about 100 jobs have been created.

A soy company that uses beans from local farms has grown from five clients to 350. Another company that ages cheese handles not only its own products, but ages cheese for other enterprises as well. Add to these two companies other small, local-based enterprises for organic seeds, support-equipment suppliers, and you have a mini-economy that’s flourishing.

The leaders in the effort have formed a non-profit enterprise to encourage other agriculture businesses in the area and expect to help 15 to 20 entrepreneurs next year.

With our economy as shaky as it is, Hardwick strikes me as a town that is embracing a more secure, old-fashioned, supply-and-demand economic foundation. And it sounds like one that many garden retailers can help create in their own communities.

I’ve come across such a venture before. Former Garden Center Magazine Innovator winner Bayview Farm & Gardens on Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound (that's a photo of owner Maureen Rowley under the store's arbor above) is part of a symbiotic gathering of businesses. Sited on a triangular piece of land called Bayview Corner, Bayview and its neighboring businesses, which include a small specialty grocery, an art gallery and a restaurant, collaborate on several levels. They host a regular farmers’ market, they hold coordinated events, and share parking and bathroom facilities. Beyond the business goals, the stores also encourage community life and gathering. A richer community life, the business owners feel, leads to more success in business.

Are there businesses near you that could form a Hardwick-like initiative to support the local economy? Garden centers already buy many supplies from local businesses, and are well positioned to lead this type of effort. How can you and fellow businesses reach beyond what you are already doing that will boost your local economy?

-- Carol

 

An accepted use of propanity

I’m not going to deny that the Green movement is still gaining momentum. Heck, I read a story the other day that said if every person painted his/her roof white, we would virtually eliminate global warming, what with all the reflected light and heat doing something magical to the environment. Candidly, the article was so technical that it gave me tired-head trying to figure out just why white is Green.

No matter, I still endorse/embrace products and services that help ensure that my kids’ world — and their kids’ world — will still have important things like air and water and outdoor baseball. To that end, I salute the folks at Lehr, who have crafted a line of tools that use clean propane instead of the other, less environmentally friendly fossil fuels.

Propane is a nontoxic, nonpoisonous gas that does not contaminate soil or water. It is already in use by millions of Americans every day in furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners, fireplaces, appliances and outdoor grills — and has long been recognized as “green” energy. And now it’s part of a line of tools that could come to be recognized as “the next big thing.”

Well, next to white roofs, of course. 

-- Yale

Photo of the week

 

An interesting take on the "potting bench," eh? Submitted by Stacy, who's visiting the Woonbeurs lifestyle show in Amsterdam.

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Don’t put away those trowels just yet!

Staying on top of home and garden trends is part of my job. In any given week, I scan dozens of gardening e-newsletters, magazines and newspaper articles from across the country.

And each year about this time I’m treated to the same tiresome round of gardening advice. “Time to put the garden to bed!” one article proclaims. “Clean up your garden tools before storing them for winter,” another chides. “Prepare your garden now for the winter onslaught,” advises another.

None of this advice applies to me. I’m lucky. Here in North Texas, fall is a second spring. The weather is fantastic right now. My daylilies, which lay curling and dormant during the wretched summer heat, are promising to bloom before cold weather comes in December. I’ve got a fall vegetable crop in: cucumbers, tomatoes, mini-pumpkins and hot peppers. New flowers are appearing every day on my rose bushes, and my cannas are putting out their fall display.

In short, it’s the perfect time to garden. The garden gurus in my part of the country are kept quite busy doling out information.

I realize that not everyone lives in a temperate climate. But that’s no reason to close up shop. I want to read articles about bulbs to plant for the new year, houseplants to experiment with indoors, living holiday-decor, seeds you can start in preparation for spring…

In short, anything that’ll get consumers into the garden center. (I’ve got a vested interest in generating traffic. I admit it.)

Here’s my challenge to you fine retailers out there: If your local gardening personality isn’t drumming up excitement, do it yourself. Let customers know that cultivating plants can be a year-round endeavor. Give consumers a reason to visit the store today.

-- Sarah

NRF predicts increased Halloween spending

The National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey shows more consumers plan to celebrate the holiday in 2008 (64.5% vs. 58.7%). This year, the average person plans to spend $66.54 on the holiday, up from $64.82 one year ago. Total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion.

“Though the economy is struggling, Halloween sales may be a bright spot for retailers this fall,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF president and CEO. “Consumers -- who have been anxious and uncertain for the past several months -- may be looking at Halloween as an opportunity to forget the stresses of daily life and just have a little fun.”

-- Sarah