| The industry gets excited about new plants and products, consumers do too, but just how important are they for promotion and profit. Leigh Siebler asked some of the key players.
I wondered to myself, mid January, how positive people would be to my phone call but the response was excellent.
GARDEN CENTRES
John van der Horst, Acorn Nursery, Vic spoke like a true retailer. “The consumer seems to want them and we enjoy them as they usually sell and give us a higher price than some other plants”, said John. “Promotion from companies such as PGA helps us all and provided that the plant is good and quality is correct, then we support them.”
John was not quite so strong on new products. “We tend to stick with market leaders and don’t experiment too much but if the product works and we can get a good price such as with ‘Harry’s Gardenia Food’ then we stock and recommend them”, continued John.
was positive too. “We grow most of our own stock and now grow a lot of new plants and new roses under license”, said Ian. “This gives us the ability to stock a larger range than the competition and offer choice to our customers”, he said. Customer’s reaction has been good to the new ranges from Ramm and other breeders.
Ian continued, “Dawson’s are very much going down the path of natural and organics so we are trying new products in that range from OCP and others. We believe it’s the direction to head.”
was a little more circumspect. “Unfortunately some new plants have not performed in gardens so this is a negative. Many of our customers are not traditional gardeners any more but are decorators. They respond to promotions, to good displays and our recommendations. They often buy what they see planted in a display home or garden. If the quality is good then they sell. We see little interest in new products except for a definite swing to organic/natural remedies. To some degree we are driving that”, continued Milton.
was very enthusiastic about new plants though. “We have a huge interest in new plants if the quality is right. Colour sells, grey foliage is good, sales of selected grasses are strong and there’s a definite swing to the better Australian Natives. Ground cover or low banksias are great as are sales of the various forms of Acacia cognata. , Proteas and leucadendrons sell well too”, continued Greg.
“We have implemented ‘multiple buys’ in the garden centre with great success and we encourage customers to ‘Mix N Match’. For example we will have $10.95EA or 3 for $30; $8.95EA or 5 for $40. This has increased sales and our average sale too”, said Greg.
Mark was not quite so positive about new plant releases but it was mainly because ‘Eden’ seems to struggle to get the quantity and quality required. “PGA does a great job as they supply display plants and the range is excellent. Quality and good labeling sets them apart”, said Mark.
“There is not a lot of hype around new products but we do have an interesting approach at ‘Eden’ in conjunction with Yates. We have set aside a large ‘Problem Solver’ area and use Yates resources and products to provide a service. However, we have not seen a ‘volume seller’ like the Zero Weed Wand for some years now and probably need one, continued Mark.
“It’s certainly not new, but we sold Trachelospermum jasminoides really well last year because we had plenty of stock grown and merchandised it well. It shows that quantity, display and quality sells”.
“No New Products, No Sales Growth! Ozren Valcic,
Brunnings Garden Products
HOW ARE NEW PLANTS DETERMINED?
RAMM BOTANICALS
Although we still work with selected overseas breeders, the vast majority of our new plant varieties are sourced from breeding programs within Australia. These plants come predominantly from Nu Flora International and our own extensive breeding program. Our emphasis is on marketing plants that are drought tolerant, low maintenance and colourful. They must also be production-friendly, non-invasive and disease tolerant.
Are you able to tell me what % of your business is with Bunnings, other hardware and garden centres?
We supply wholesale growers and do not supply retailers directly. It’s therefore impossible for us to estimate the ratio of our product into the various retail channels. Anecdotally, garden centre business continues to decline in response to a dominant Bunnings market position.
With the economic situation around the world, are you positive or negative about 2009?
Personally, I believe the worst of the financial crisis is still to come and none of us will have witnessed a worse global economic situation in our lifetime. Nevertheless, I remain positive about sales prospects for 2009 and beyond. The current situation will tend to keep people at home and the purchase of a few plants to brighten their home and garden is no big deal. The continued decline in interest rates and impending tax cuts will give people more disposable income and this should more than compensate for the predicted rise in unemployment.
Do you release new plants seasonally or as required?
We have a strong track record of regular plant releases, particularly over the past two years. Given the long lead- time involved in plant breeding, which is typically 5-6 years, we endeavour to anticipate the market trends rather than respond to known demand.
Any other comments on New Plant releases?
It’s been our policy to become self reliant in terms of new plant releases. Overseas bred product is developed for the key markets of USA and Europe but that doesn’t mean the plants are suited to Australian conditions. We are all about developing and marketing Australian-bred plants that have application in global markets.
BALL AUSTRALIA
At Ball Australia we travel to major plant expos’ around the world and are regularly approached by local and international plant breeders and distributors to distribute their products. Every market has its own unique set of prerequisites that determines the success of a product. In the world of flowering annuals and perennials, Europeans like compact plants that flower uniformly and on time. They do not have long summers and mild winters. They need their gardens looking good early. They are also very much a gift plant market where high value plants with the highest quality breeding are grown with high value packaging. In Japan they have a love for small flowers and small flowered varieties do well. In Australia we are blessed with great gardening weather and have a broader window of opportunity to garden compared to other parts of the world. We do have a love for big bold colours and big bold flowers and unlike other parts of the world we do tend to treat our flowering plants as landscape lines with an expectation of longevity in the garden. Therefore, while our varieties need to be eye catching they need to have the strength to hold up in the garden environment.
I presume you travel extensively overseas or are a lot of the plants found in Australia.
There is some outstanding breeding that originates from Australia and while Australian breeders may not breed the volume of plants that European, Asian or American breeders do, what we do breed is quality. Further, these plants are well represented overseas and plants like Brachyscome ‘Mauve Delight’, Erysimum ‘Pastel Patchwork’, Argyranthemum ‘Maidera’, to name a few, are leaders in their class around the world. A growing percentage of our product range at Ball Australia originates from Australian breeders but the majority is still coming from overseas breeding programs.
Are you able to tell me what % of your business is with Bunnings, other hardware and garden centres?
You only have to look at the Garden Market Monitor to see that chain stores and hardware outlets have commanded a significant share of the retail garden market. That said, the Garden Centre market is achieving good levels of growth and is healthy and prosperous. We see this growth in our marketing programs designed for this sector. Those garden centres that have capitalised on offering the consumer a different experience to the chain stores and differentiated themselves are doing well. Further, I have no doubt that if it was not for the fact that some garden centres cashed in on exceptional land value, growth figures in this sector would be even greater than the current figures show.
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With the economic situation around the world, are you positive or negative about 2009?
As a business you are continually monitoring the market and assessing the market’s strength and weaknesses. There is a lot of general negativity at present, whether it is in the media, around the dinner table talking with friends or even talking with customers. We need to be careful that the negativity does not become self fulfilling; fear breeds more fear. In analysing the current market environment, our industry has many strengths and we should be focusing and capitalising on those strengths like never before.
People staying home = increased activity in the garden.
People feeling gloomy = increased desire to buy flowers and plants. .
People’s grocery budgets are stretched = increased vegetable and herb gardening. .
People are far more water savvy in the garden = increased confidence in gardening. .
People concerned about the environment = more tree planting.
The unknown is will this downturn result in the same outcome for our industry as previous downturns. People have far more options today to keep themselves occupied, cheaply, than during previous down turns; the internet for a start was not around in previous downturns. Speaking to a colleague in the U.S. recently he highlighted that while job losses are hitting people hard within his social network, his wife who works for a DVD distribution company is seeing record growth; people who stay home still need things to do. So we need to be mindful that despite all the positives listed above we still need to promote and market our industry and products aggressively to compete for those dollars going through the internet or to the DVD companies. I am just glad we are not in the automotive industry or the white goods industry. As the saying goes, ‘every dog has its day’ and the automotive and whites good/plasma TV industry have had boom times recently, while we struggled. It is now our period of prosperity. .
Do you release new plants seasonally or as required? .
As a general rule we release new plants seasonally. They tend to coincide with our three main flower trials. .
Our February/March open month which displays new heat loving annuals and perennials along with vegetables in our garden beds surrounding the office.
Our May trials which features new and existing plant varieties in your typical ‘pack trial’ format.
And then there is our Hortivations event each November; a leading industry showcase of not only new varieties but new and innovative ways of marketing and packaging products.
Any other comments on New Plant releases?
This year will be a particularly prosperous year for the release of new and exciting plants varieties at Ball Australia. Petunia ‘Raspberry Blast’ will hit the market this spring, a truly remarkable breeding development in petunias, the strong raspberry and pink strips of the petunia flower is like nothing I have seen. In addition Tomatoberry, a strawberry shaped tomato, has fantastic flavour and juiciness along with the eye catching shape of a strawberry; great for the kids lunch boxes. Ptilotus Joey is a striking Australian native from seed with its mauve/blue ‘feather-like’ flowers. Finally, a real innovation for the Panola series of flowers, Panola Spredz, a spreading Panola, will be available this coming autumn.
I ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS OF CHRIS SARGENT, MANAGER OF PLANTS MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA (PMA)
PMA works with both domestic and international breeders making it a diverse portfolio of varieties. All new varieties are assessed on their merits in trials throughout Australia to ensure their suitability to our climate, pot production, garden performance and weed potential right through to marketability.
We appoint certain strategic growers within each state to service each avenue to market being the Box Stores, Garden Centres, Landscapers and Independents.
PMA promotes through many and varied sources and therefore our retail sales through both Boxes and Garden Centres are strong. That said the landscape sector is certainly where we’re seeing our biggest growth due to our portfolio mix of genus. I would say that PMA’s strength is in making sure all these avenues /channels to market are covered and fully explored to ensure maximum penetration and hence greatest returns for our breeders are achieved.
I believe that 2009 will be a positive year for our industry and those businesses with a clear and solid direction will survive through these tough times ahead.
PMA releases plants when required in the appropriate season to maximise returns to the breeders, wholesalers and retailers.
Any other comments on New Plant releases?
The industry still needs new plant releases to stimulate growth, interest and a positive forward thinking. PMA feels that the life blood of our industry is in developing and releasing not only new varieties but varieties suitable to our markets and environment. Even through tough economic times, plants will still be a desirable commodity to ensure that our own personal spaces and open public spaces provide comfort and safe havens for everyone to enjoy.
MATT DE VILLE, OASIS YOUNG PLANTS MANAGER, RESPONDED TOO
Of the 315 Plant Breeders Rights applications received during 2008, approximately 170 varieties could be classified as food & cut flower crops, while the remaining 145 varieties could be classified as ‘ornamental’ crops. Of the 145 ‘ornamental’ varieties, it appears the majority of varieties (approx. 100) are owned by Australian breeders.
As Oasis Young Plants doesn’t sell directly to the retail market, I can only comment on the general advice given by our wholesale customers, which is that Bunnings continues to drive demand for the larger Greenlife suppliers, while small to medium sized Greenlife suppliers have had good sales to brokers and independently-operated retail outlets.
Unemployment will be the big concern in 2009. If rates start to increase then buyer behaviour for Greenlife will most likely contract, as consumers cut back on non-essential items, such as plants.
New plants are generally released at the time of the year they are at their best; if that happens to be spring then so be it. However, one of our most successful releases of 2008 was the winter introduction of SENETTI, under the Colourwave brand. Summer 08/09 will see the introduction of TRADEWINDS, a new range of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plants.
Successful new introductions need to perform very well for not only the wholesale supplier, but also the consumer. Whether it’s a pot plant or landscape plant, breeders need to be clear about the advantage such new varieties have, compared to existing varieties. Otherwise, breeders will find themselves competing just on price!
ALLIED PRODUCTS
“During the last six months we are seeing the benefits of product re-engineering but that was with large investments being made. I am one of the many who are optimistic about the next six to nine months as historically the industry is not effected like many others. There are some negatives from overseas markets and some large price increases in glyphosate and fertilisers but sales are still strong.”
“We take a long term view at Yates with new products and like to introduce something new if possible every season. Our packet seed packaging is continually updated as is other packaging. I see a stable market shift to ‘Organics/Natural’ products,” continued Richard.
comment to me was, “No New Products, No Sales Growth! New products are tremendously important for Brunnings and Gardman Australia. They are important for our reputation as well as for new sales. New products in fact drive the market. ‘New products’ could be:
Brand new
A good ‘oldie’ repackaged OR
A new format
Repackaging or new formats that have worked for Brunnings recently were the introduction of its Marathon Kikuyu and Couch 500g packs. These items were re-blended to ensure a more effective consumer outcome and a reduced price. Result – increased sales and happy customers.
A new format example would be when we added a wetting agent to fertilisers to create the Easy Wetta Fertiliser range. Another great success!
A very successful new product range for Brunnings has been its Tomato Magic range incorporating Plant Food, Potting Mix and Coir Gro-Bag. The attractive packaging has been a winner for retailers who merchandise it effectively.
Gardman Australia is constantly launching new products as fashion and consumer-needs change."
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