| GW: What sort of sales growth have bulbs been showing over the last couple of years?
David: Up until a couple of years ago, bulb sales were steady to a slow decline. I believe that a lack of merchandising, a fear of low water availability (or drought conditions), and a general lack of commitment to range by retailers were factors in this. However the last two years have proven solid sales, store enthusiasm and some growth for flower bulbs. I expect to see some further growth as retailers benefit from resurgence in gardening with these financial times. I believe that the last two years have seen retailers happy to have sell-through on initial purchasing and a growing inclination to actually replenish stock in order to increase sales.
GW: Is there a trend to any particular bulb?
David: Not really. Naturally low maintenance, low water, and value purchases have led the way. By value I mean larger packs at higher price points, but also small bulbs that have higher bulb counts. Daffodils have continued to be popular, however also as cut flowers reducing supply volumes. Tulips and Hyacinths continue to face the adversity of ‘perceived climate zones’. Whilst both of these lines have traditional cold climate origins, their ability to perform as an annual in slightly warmer climates fails to be accepted. Freesias and Ranunculi continue to be outstandingly popular.
GW: Are you seeing interest in bulbs for pots? If so, are any particular suitable pots selling well and maybe Bulb Mix too?
David: Well maybe a different take is an interest in potted bulbs. Similar to the increase in average flower bunch prices, potted bulb color is also increasing in pot size and retail value. Miniature daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are consistent sellers, with larger daffodils a more boutique market. I have seen some Dutch iris around, however these seem to fail to stay the course to good flowering if they have a dry spell. More recently liliums have become favourable in pots as have calla lilies (zantedeschias). As for buying bulbs for pots, I haven’t noticed a trend towards them, nor are they exceptionally marketed that way either in packs or at store level. My belief is that unlike a long term plant, customers don’t see the value in an expensive decorative pot purchase for a seasonal flower such as bulbs. As such potting mixes are often too large a bag for a few pots. Retailers could enhance this area dramatically through the use of combination planting with annual seedlings or seed to extend enjoyment of the pots flowering time. It’s a great opportunity to upsell!
GW: Any other comments?
David: Yes, buy flower bulbs. Get the consumer to understand that they do their growing through Winter and flower in Spring during the period water is most abundant. Bulbs re-flower year after year, and once planted are low maintenance. They make just fantastic accessories to an established garden by providing an intense period of sparkle and excitement. They are easy for kids to grow, a little patience required, however once they start growing, they actually develop quite fast. A mixture of bulbs provides a large season of color.
|
We posed the same questions to two other key bulb suppliers.
Graeme Joyce – HEINIGER Home & Garden Care Vic.
2009 Spring flowering bulb sales growth approx 21% from 2008
2009 Summer flowering bulb season remained the same as 2008
2008 Spring flowering bulb sales growth approx 50 % from 2007
2008 Summer flowering bulb season 50% increase in sales from 2007
The independent bulb market has tended to remain static over the last two years with the number of stores willing to promote bulbs declining. However, the stores that make the effort to have a good display do show good sales. This tends to be the bigger independent stores. E.g. Gardenworld, The Greenery, Banksia Nursery, Gardens R Us etc.
Is there a trend to any particular bulb?
Tulip sales are trending to slow although having two complementary coloured varieties in a packet has created some interest; e.g. Tulip Magpie (White & Black tulip) . There is strong interest/demand for daffodils; anemones & ranunculi remain steady. Some interest in unusual varieties or less mainstream varieties but this area is fickle.
Potted bulbs are low on the demand; retailers are reluctant to stock due to short flower period. The price point is sensitive with potted lines; demand for potted liliums has slowed compared to previous years.
Aaron Whitehouse – Mr Fothergill’s, NSW
Spring Flowering bulb sales were buoyant last year with the most significant increases observed in the value-orientated offers we do. New varieties attracted interest with consumers seemingly looking for something a little different along with the traditional favourites.
After analyzing the sales of varieties suitable for pots, I can confirm that the overall performance of these lines was slightly better than the growth overall so there may be a trend there but it’s hard to say with any confidence.
I spoke with an ACT retailer, Bruno Zimmerman, who does an excellent job with bulbs
Bruno from The Heritage Nursery obviously has excellent sales of bulbs and I caught him just before he was heading off for another overseas jaunt. He shared a few pointers with me:
Buy in bulk if you can and create that ‘Rural, Loose Look’. It works.
Package them yourselves into largish packs as you need to encourage gardeners to plant lots of bulbs for the best display.
Bruno packs his bulbs himself into fruiterers onion bags and even borrows the local fruiterers bagging machine.
Keep the large packs at a reasonable price to ensure volume sales.
Tulips are good sellers as are King Alfreds or any other ‘look-alike’ bulb.
His hand written signs work really well and add to the Rural look.
|
