Nursery and Garden Center Operations

1
Nursery and Garden Center Operations

• Chapter 11

2
objectives

• Retailing Plants Successfully

3
The Container Revolution

• Late 1960s and early 1970s
• Research on how to grow in a container
• Watering, fertilizer, media,
• Results were good and started containers instead
  of field production

4
Consumer Revolution

• Change of lifestyles and wants
• Accumulated wealth
• Moved from buying staples to luxuries
• Travel, sports, restaurants, and gardening

5
Profit Revolution

• Plants have a higher gross profit than most
  things
• Look for sales and profit per square foot
• Down side, perishables harder to maintain

6
Distribution Revolution

• Moving perishable products around the country
  then expanded around the world
• Supermarket can have fruit from 50 countries

7
Evolution of Distribution

• From nursery gate sales to plant centers with
  qualified sales people
• Now it has evolved into lifestyle center, with
  outdoor furniture, coffee, crafts

8
Other competition

• Grocery stores
• Hardware stores
• Internet outlets

9
Strategies for garden centers

• USP unique selling proposition
• Clear and precise reason to come to your business
• Wide range of plants
• Expert advice
• Range of garden products

10
Key points to be different

• Wide and deep range of plants for local
  conditions
• Clear and precise promotion
• Signage system provides customers with ideas
• Trained horticulturists as sales people

11
continued

• Ongoing training program
• Displays reflect lifestyle,
• Impulse sales are high
• Consumers come for ideas not plants

12
Strategies for hardware stores

• Lack expertise in the gardening areas
• Range of plants are more shallow
• Do it yourself store
• Usually on a grid layout
• Wages to sales percentage is 4 lower than in
  garden centers
• Invest in more technology ie watering

13
Strategies for supermarkets

• Highest traffic flow
• Female domain
• Impulse sales are high
• Low gross profit products
• Key is to locate perishable products in prime
  spots
• Turn stock quickly

14
Strategies for a market

• Farmers markets, flea markets, garage sales
• 7000 years old
• Social contact for buyers
• Personality is needed
• Unique, one-of-a-kind
• Clearly priced, no middle man

15
Strategies for Cyberspace

• Started in early 1990s
• 70 of homes now have internet
• Cyberspace retailing of plants
• Chapter 23 is about this

16
Strategies for mail order

• Just last few decades, mail order has expanded
• FedEx has helped
• Bulbs, perennials, young plants, rare plants
• Glossy catalog needed

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conclusion

• You can sell plants many different ways, which
  one will work the best for You?