What you need to know
Garden retailing has been through a period of wide-ranging change and competition is intensifying. Wyevale, which has been growing through acquisition, tabled a bid for Tesco-owned Dobbies in April 2016, which at the time of writing is not finalised. The combined group would have 189 outlets, far larger than the next largest specialist, Klondyke which has 24 outlets. Garden specialists are continuing to evolve into destination stores for all seasons, developing restaurants and adding a broader range of merchandise including clothing, homewares and pet shops. This reduces their dependence on seasonal sales and the volatility of sales created by cold or wet weather over the key gardening seasons. The specialists are beginning to play catch-up with the rest of retailing and are developing online selling, adding new services such as click-and-collect and expanding their online choices. Online shopping is an important factor in the suite of services which consumers will expect.
Meanwhile in the DIY sector B&Q, the leading garden retailer in the UK, faces new direct challenges from Bunnings, which has bought Homebase and will change the group’s positioning and identity with greater focus on everyday great value. Elsewhere a broad range of other retailers are stepping up their efforts to serve the growing market for outdoor living. While Argos (recently purchased by Sainsbury’s) has been a market leader in durable garden goods, it faces stiff competition from the home sector, notably IKEA, Next, Dunelm, Wilko (Wilkinson) and the Range. The grocery multiples continue to serve a convenience role, carrying garden and outdoor living ranges in season, plus Waitrose is developing its Waitrose Garden offer, both online and at its stores.
Products covered in this Report
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
There is a very broad definition of gardening used in this Report, covering everything from growing stock, gardening tools and sundries to those consumer products bought for the garden such as furniture, barbecues and sheds. The main categories and their broad definitions break down as follows:
Growing stock – plants, shrubs, trees, bulbs, seeds
Gardening equipment – lawnmowers, other power tools, hand tools, irrigation equipment
Garden buildings – conservatories, sheds, greenhouses
Garden chemicals and growing media – compost, peat, chippings, fertiliser, pesticides, weed killers
Garden furniture and barbecues – furniture, parasols, patio heaters, cushions, barbecues
Enhancement features and sundries – statuary, aggregates, etc.
The Report also makes reference to other products stocked and services provided by garden retailers (such as Christmas decorations, pets and cafés) to develop footfall and counteract the inherent problems of seasonality in gardening.
