 In a perfect world, sales of branded annuals and perennials would go thusly: Step 1. Owner of the brand promotes the product. Step 2. Consumers see the promotion, want the product and head to a local retail store. Step 3. The retailer has the product, sells it for high margins, and everybody is happy. Unfortunately, real world problems get in the way. Timing, crop failures, local availability and a host of other issues muddy the waters. Retailers are the front line of plant brands. Unlike growers and brand owners (seed companies, breeders, etc.), they’re the ones face to face with consumers. So it’s understandable that retailers want a heavy say regarding the direction plant brands are coming. They don’t want to be left at the whim of what their growers make available to them. It’s the garden center operators that do their homework – attend trials and other industry events; research what’s new on the market – and communicate with their vendors year-round that get what they want. It’s these retailers that truly influence plant brands, and the ones that are succeeding with these high-end products.  A success story A good case study of a garden center excelling with plant brands is Emily’s Gift Barn at Harvey’s Farm in Westborough, Mass. Sales of branded color products has expanded greatly at the company, said Emily Harvey. “It’s definitely expanding. It’s what we’re known for,” Harvey said. “We’re selling more branded annuals and perennials – particularly perennials – than non-branded material. It’s the dominant part of our selection, certainly.” And the markup for these products is significant. A generic 4-inch annual sells for about $4, while branded 4-inch annuals sell for $5 or $5.50, she said. Her company is also a Proven Winners certified garden center. The company achieves this by members of the staff taking online training courses provided by Proven Winners. Harvey continually keeps on top of the latest branded material hitting the market. She does this through trade magazines, attending trade shows and plant trials, and by meeting vendors in person. “We make suggestions to growers and we work with them. We ask, ‘How can we get more of this?’ or ‘I haven’t seen any of this, can we get it?’ It’s open communication,” Harvey said. Around June, she typically begins planning what bedding plant varieties she wants to sell for the following spring. “Even though we don’t do a huge amount of volume, our growers are really open. They have a vested interest in our company succeeding and growing. Their goal is to make us a better customer, no matter what level we’re buying at the current moment,” Harvey said. A good example is Supertunia Pretty Much Picasso, she said. Harvey had anticipated high demand for it this spring and convinced her growers to produce more of it. Customer requests An issue at most retail garden centers is customer requests. These days, advertisements for branded plant lines can be found on national television, radio, consumer gardening magazines and the internet. Homeowners see these ads and head for their local retail chains. If the store doesn’t have the product, it leads to frustrations. Usually there’s no way to help this customer, said Donna Buchanan with Buchanan’s Native Plants in Houston. She said customers frequently come in requesting certain branded plants. “They usually see them in a magazine like Southern Living. [The company’s plant buyers] say that trying to obtain these plants is usually unsuccessful the first year they appear in the press, as there is usually a year or two lead time until they are available to us,” Buchanan said. “This is extremely frustrating for us, but we deal with it.” But even worse than not having the plant, is calling a grower and being sent unfinished or poor-quality plants. “Again, it’s a communication issue,” Harvey said. “We have a good enough relationship with our growers that if we request something and it doesn’t look good, they won’t ship it.” Sticking with the locals Unlike woody nursery crops, it’s usually not practical to ship bedding plants across the country. Most retail garden centers buy from a fairly local area for their bedding plants. But sometimes this does mean you get stuck with what they have available. Buchanan’s Native Plants is selling more branded material every year. And Buchanan is heavily reliant on what his vendors have available. “We stick with our preferred vendors, and in many cases we take what they can provide. We take their recommendations on what looks good coming into the weekend, and what they think will sell best,” Buchanan said. “But we are aware of what our customers want. Consumers give us that feedback fairly regularly what they want. In my opinion, people are asking for what they’re seeing in magazines or on the internet.” She said growers are receptive to her staff’s suggestions. This is especially the case with the smaller, local growers. “The larger the operation, the less flexibility we find,” Buchanan said. Merchandising help Chain and big-box retailers rely heavily on growers for marketing support. Growers that sell to these markets (often on a pay-by-scan basis) know that it’s their responsibility to create visually appealing displays and end caps with their products. If product is to move off those benches, it’s also up to the grower to keep the product fresh. However, few growers provide this help to independent retailers. “Very little,” Buchanan said. “Beyond the tags and the pots, they leave that up to us.” And this often has much to do with her local growers’ two-sided customer base. “A lot of our growers also sell to landscapers and that means they have two customers to please. And it’s usually cheaper to please landscapers,” Buchanan said. Again, it’s all about relationships and what certain retailers demand. If the relationship is there, and the garden center asks for something long enough, they’ll likely get it. Harvey said her vendors have gone as far as sending company representatives to her store on weekends to give seminars. Not for everyone Don Shor with Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, Calif., said branded plants benefit chain stores more than small independent garden centers. His company operates on a total of about 8,000 square feet in Northern California. “Branding helps the chains more. If I were our local Ace Hardware, I’d be thrilled to sell as many branded products as I could,” Shor said. “These stores typically have very high turnover, and the branded materials really help their staff sell those products.” While he has no exact amounts, he guesses the amount of branded plants he sells is on the decline. “We use small, local growers as our annual suppliers. In many cases, these growers are offended and have been turned off by the large cost associated with these branding programs,” Shor said. “And personally, I’m not in favor of having these splashy pots and labels distracting from our product. We want our plants to sell themselves.” So then, how does he handle special requests from shoppers? “When somebody has a special request, they usually ask, ‘What do you recommend?’ rather than asking for a particular plant,” Shor said. “If somebody has seen a product that’s been promoted, we occasionally special order it for them. That’s something every small retailer has to do these days. We’ll special order a purple Wave petunia when somebody needs it. “But more likely we’ll suggest good alternatives that will make the customer happy. We’ll say, ‘We can’t sell you Flower Carpet roses, but we have Drift roses, which are similar,’” Shor said. Another disadvantage is the problem with big boxes and independents carrying the same lines in the same market, Shor said. “If you have the exact same product as a chain store, then of course we have to charge more and that puts us at a disadvantage there,” Shor said. That’s one reason why many growers are offering to custom brand material for individual retail customers. Harvey said she has one company that will print labels complete with her store’s logo, custom care information and contact information. “The order is pulled and they tag it with our information. It’s worked out really great,” Harvey said. “For such a small extra cost, it’s really worth it. It gives a great impression to the consumer.” For more: Emily’s Gift Barn at Harvey’s Farm; www.harveysfarm.com. Buchanan’s Native Plants, www.buchanansplants.com. Redwood Barn Nursery, redbarn@omsoft.com. |
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