The U.S. Lawn and Garden Market : Packaged Facts

The U.S. Lawn and Garden Market

Mar 1, 2001
200 Pages - Pub ID: LA605

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Abstract

Table of Contents

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Executive Summary
Scope and Methodology
Market Parameters
Study Methodology

The Overall Market
L&G Market at $21 Billion in 2000
Prime Factor in Positive Outlook
Projected Sales Near $26 Billion in 2005
Services to Drive Growth
Size of Marketers
Retail Channels: Equipment/Supplies
The Consumer: Gardening as Activity

Lawn and Garden Equipment
Equipment Category: Three Segments
Equipment Sales Flattening
OPE the Dominant Segment
OPE Unit Share by Product Type
Major OPE Marketers
Major Tools/Implements Marketers
Major Watering Equipment Marketers
Competition: General
Equipment Product Trends
Consumer Advertising Expenditures
Retail Outlet Share
Home Depot and Lowe's
L&G Equipment: Overall Owner Profile

Lawn and Garden Supplies
Two Product Segments: Fertilizers/Growth Media; Pest Control Supplies
Supplies Sales at $4.9 Billion
Sales Trends by Segment
Factors in Growth: Overview
Scotts an Overwhelming Force in Supplies
Bayer-Pursell Arises to Challenge Scotts
Competition: Fertilizers
Competition: Growth Media
Competition: Pesticides
Consumer Advertising Expenditures
A Wide Range of Retail Outlets
Mass Retailers Lead in Share
The Consumer: Factors Favoring Supplies Purchasing

Professional Lawncare Services
The Services: Defined
Sales: 2000 Continues Strong Growth
Reasons for Growth Explosion
Size and Types of Marketers
TruGreen-ChemLawn with Lion's Share
A Second Tier
Consumer Advertising Expenditures
The Consumer
The Overall Market
Introduction
- Scope of Study
- Areas Outside Scope
- Brief History: L&G in Antiquity
- Modern Technological Breakthroughs
- Post WWII: Market Takes Off
The Products
- Three Categories: Equipment, Supplies, and Services
- The Equipment Category: Three Segments
- Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE)
- Tools and Implements
- Watering/Spraying Equipment
- The Supplies Category: Two Segments
- Fertilizers/Growth Media
- Pest Control Products
- The Services Category: Professional Lawncare Services
Government Regulation
- At the Federal Level
- The EPA
- EPA and OPE
- EPA and Pest Control
- The Food Quality Protection Act
- At the State Level
- At the Local Level
Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- Telling It Like It Is
- Spot Tracking by Trade Associations
- Wild Disparities in Figures from Research Firms and Trade Journals
- Government Numbers Not Much Help
- No Monitoring at Retail Level
- Our Best "Guesstimates"
- Special Note: Lowering Our Previous Estimates
- L&G Market at $21 Billion in 2000
- Table 2-1: Estimated Retail Sales of the U.S. Lawn and Garden Market by Category: 1996-2000
- Figure 2-1: Estimated Total Retail Sales of U.S. Lawncare and Garden Market, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Reasons for Recent Flattening
- Services Show Most Impressive Growth
- Equipment Falls off Most
- Supplies Make Modest Gains
- Equipment the Dominant Sales Category
- Retail Share: Big Boxes Overthrow Traditional Hierarchy
- Home Centers Surpass Discount Chains
- Figure 2-2: Dollar Share of U.S. Lawn and Garden Market by Category, 2000
- Traditional Retailers Down
- Table 2-2: Estimated Retail Share of U.S. Lawn and Garden Sales by Outlet Type, 2000 (percent)
- OPE Dealers Even, Direct Sales Up
- "Other" Retailers
- Seasonality: Most Sales in Spring and Early Summer
- Regionality: Even Distribution by Population Patterns
Factors in Future Growth
- The Major Positive: Growth in Middle-Agers
- Huge Baby Boom Populating Middle Age
- Table 2-3: Number of U.S. Population by Age Group, 2000-2010 (Number)
- An Aging Population Overall
- Table 2-4: Percent of U.S. Population by Age Group, 2000-2010 (Percent)
- Understanding the Aging Baby Boom
- Understanding Generation X
- The Red-Hot Economy
- Signs of Cooling?
- The Economy and the L&G Market
- The Boom in Home Sales
- Table 2-5: Sales of New and Existing Single-Family Homes, 1995-1999 (number)
- Record Number of Housing Starts
- Table 2-6: U.S. Housing Starts, 1991-1999 (percent)
- L&G and the Housing Market: Extremely Positive Implications
- L&G and the Weather
- Extreme Springs
- Global Warming?
- Climate Change and L&G Opportunities
- The Outdoor Living Phenomenon (OLP)
- Outdoor Livers on a Spending Spree
- OLP Driven by Demographics, Economics
- OLP Reinforced by Cable, Internet
- Magazines Also Play a Part
- The Queen of Outdoor Living: Martha Stewart
- OLP Going Strong into 2001
- Proliferating Retail L&G Outlets
- L&G Marketers Gradually Consolidating
- Is This Good or Bad?
- Regulations: Potentially Positive
- Technological Innovation Stimulates Sales
- Biotechnology and L&G
Projected Market Growth
- Moderately Salutary Outlook
- Near $26 Billion in 2005
- Services to Drive Growth
- Table 2-7: Projected Retail Sales of the U.S. Lawn and Garden Market by Category: 2000-2005 (dollars)
The Marketers: Overview
- Size of Marketers
- Types of Marketers
- Typological Overlaps
- Most Marketers Are Specialists
- The Rare Generalist
Major Lawn and Garden Marketers
- "Major Marketers": Explanations and Qualifications
- Majors: Outdoor Power Equipment
- Majors: Tools and Implements
- Majors: Watering/Spraying Equipment
- Majors: Supplies
- Majors: Services
- Majors: Private-Label Marketers
- Table 2-8: List of Selected Major U.S. Lawn and Garden Marketers, Top Brands, and Product Specialization, 2000 (21 marketers)
Distribution
- Distribution Channels: Equipment/Supplies
- Anomalous Distribution: Lawncare Services
- Distribution Patterns: Direct vs. Intermediary
- OPE Dealership Distribution
- Distributors Still Play Vital Role
At the Retail Level
- The Gang of Four
- Home Depot: Undisputed Champion
- The Home Center Concept
- Home Depot: Sales, Units, and Store Plan
- Is Home Depot Hitting a Wall?
- Big Box Goes Small(er) Box: HD's Villager's Hardware
- HD Tests Specialty Formats
- Profile: Lowe's Cos.
- Profile: Wal-Mart
- Profile: Kmart
- Kmart and Martha Stewart
- Profile: Target
- Profile: Sears
- Garden Centers/Nurseries: Being Squeezed
- Upscaling the Garden Center Concept
- Reinventing the Concept
- Direct Sales: Mail-Order on the Rise
- E-Commerce: Wheeling and Dealing in 1999
- A Mail-Order/Internet Crossover?
- Who's Left in Internet Retailing
- Regionality/Seasonality: North vs. South Retailing
- Regionality/Seasonality: Weather Uncertainty and Retailing
The Consumer: L&G Surveys/Polls
- The NGA Survey
- Harris Poll
- USA Today
- Grapevine Consumer Network
- American Demographics
- Roper Public Pulse Poll
- Simmons: Flower Gardening
- Simmons: Vegetable Gardening
- Profile: Flower Gardeners
- Profile: Vegetable Gardeners
Lawn and Garden Equipment
The Products
- Equipment Category: Three Segments
- Outdoor Power Equipment: Brief Description
- Gas-Powered Engines: Two-Stroke vs. Four-Stroke
- Electric-Powered Engines: Corded and Cordless
- Two OPE Classes: Large and Portable
- Large OPE: Wheeled vs. Stationary
- Large Wheeled OPE: Four Product Types
- Mowers/Tractors: Four Classes
- Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers
- Riding Mowers
- Lawn Tractors
- Garden Tractors
- Power Tillers/Cultivators
- Snowthrowers
- Power Spreaders/Seeders
- Large Stationary OPE: Two Product Types
- Chipper/Shredders
- Power Composters
- Portable OPE: Three General Product Types
- Trimmers
- String Trimmers
- Trimmer/Brushcutters
- Hedge Trimmers
- Edge Trimmers
- Hand Trimmers
- Blowers
- Wood-Cutters
- Tools/Implements: Description
- Tools/Implements: Classifications
- Cutting Tools
- Cutting Tools on Wheels
- Cultivating Tools
- Weeding Tools
- Digging Tools
- Raking Tools
- Wheeled Implements
- Stationary Composting Implements
- Watering/Spraying Equipment: Classifications
- Watering Equipment: Three Product Types
- Garden Hoses
- Aboveground Sprinklers/Drip Systems
- Underground Irrigation Systems
- Water Wands/Bubblers
- Spraying Equipment: Product Types
Government Regulations
- Federal Labeling Standards
- Federal Performance Safety Standards
- EPA and Phase I
- EPA and Phase II
- CARB Tier 2
- EPA and CARB Agree
- Manufacturers Meeting Challenges
- The Leaf Blower Controversy
- Blower Makers More Proactive
- Local Waste Restrictions
Brief History
- Evolution of Outdoor Power Equipment
- The Otto-Cycle Engine
- The Rotary Mower
- Lawn Mowers Perfected
- Future Mower Developments
- Portable OPE History Is Recent
- Evolving Engines in Portable OPE
Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- Equipment Sales Flattening
- Table 3-1: Estimated U.S. Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Equipment by Product Segment, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Figure 3-1: Estimated Total Retail Sales of U.S. Lawn and Garden Equipment, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Possible Causes
- Sales Trends by Segment
- OPE the Dominant Segment
- OPE Unit Share by Product Type
- Table 3-2: Share of U.S. Outdoor Power Equipment Shipments by Product Type, 2000
- Unit Share: Large OPE
- Figure 3-2: Share of Dollar Sales of Lawn and Garden Equipment by Product Segment, 2000 (percent)
- Unit Share: Portable OPE
- Portable Share by Power Source
- Most Popular Tools/Implements
Factors in Future Growth
- Flat for Now But Room to Grow
- Consider Walk-Behind Mowers…
- …And Riding Mowers/Tractors
- Overall Mower Ownership Is Up
- Economy Boosts Portable OPE, Pressures Tools, Watering
- A Slowing Economy?
- Demographics Strong for Equipment
- The Strong Economy, Demographics Boost Services
- Weather
- A Budding Trend to "Natural" Lawncare?
- Factors in Tools Growth
- Factors in Watering Equipment Growth
Projected Market Growth
- Equipment Sales Forecast to Rise, But Slowly
- OPE Forecast
- Watering/Spraying Forecast
- Tools/Implements Forecast
- To $14 Billion by 2005
- Table 3-3: Projected Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Equipment by Product Segment, 2000-2005 (dollars)
The Marketers
- Size and Types of Marketers
- Most Marketers Are Manufacturers
- Many Marketers Have Deep Historical Roots
- Domestic vs. Foreign Marketers
- Most OPE Makers with Diversified Interests
- Consumer Conglomerates Exiting Tools/Implements
- Industrial Conglomerates in Watering/Spraying Equipment
- Rigid Segmentation Slowly Melting
Marketers: OPE
- Major Marketers
- Second-Tier OPE Marketers
- Marketers: Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers
- Table 3-4: Selected Marketers/Brands: Walk-Behind Mowers, 2000 (list)
- Marketers: Riding Mowers and Lawn/Garden Tractors
- Table 3-5: Selected Marketers/Brands: Riding Mowers and Lawn/Garden Tractors, 2000 (list)
- Marketers: String Trimmers
- Table 3-6: Selected Marketers/Brands: String Trimmers, 2000 (list)
- Marketers: Chainsaws
- Table 3-7: Selected Marketers/Brands: Chainsaws, 2000 (list)
- Table 3-8: Selected Marketers/Brands: Leaf Blowers, 2000 (list)
- Table 3-9: Selected Marketers/Brands: Blowers/Vacs, 2000 (list)
- Table 3-10: Selected Marketers/Brands: Hedge Trimmers, 2000 (list)
- Marketers: Chipper/Shredders
- Table 3-11: Selected Marketers: Chipper/Shredders, 2000 (list)
- Marketers: Power Tillers
- Niche OPE Marketers
- Large OPE Engine Manufacturers
- Portable OPE Engine Manufacturers
Marketers: L&G Tools
- Three Major Marketers
- Second-Tier Tools Marketers
- Marketers: Reel Mowers
- Marketers: Wheeled Implements
- Marketers: Composters
Marketers: Watering/Spraying Equipment
- Watering Equipment Marketers
- Marketers: Garden Hoses
- Marketers: Sprinkler Systems
- Marketers: Irrigation Systems
- Marketers: Spraying Equipment
- Table 3-12: Selected List of U.S. Lawn and Garden Equipment Marketers and Brands (72 Marketers)
Marketer Share: OPE
- Only "Guesstimates"
- Majors: Gas Walk-Behind Mowers
- Majors: Riding Mowers
- Majors: Snowthrowers
- Majors: Electric Leaf Blowers
- Majors: Electric String Trimmers
- Majors: Gas String Trimmers
- Majors: Gas Leaf Blowers
- Majors: Chainsaws
- Electrolux Comes Out on Top
- Toro and Deere Strong Crossover Contenders
- MTD/Ryobi Vies for Dominance
- Second-Tier Marketers Murray and Black & Decker
- Private Labels Get Their Foot in the OPE Door
Brand Rankings: Tools and Watering/Spraying Equipment
- Perceived Brand Strengths
- Evaluating Brand Ranking
- Caveats
- Brand Rank: Cutting Tools
- Brand Rank: Short-Handled Tools
- Brand Rank: Long-Handled Tools
- Brand Rank: Garden Hoses
- Brand Rank: Soaker Hoses
- Brand Rank: Water Nozzles
- Brand Rank: Hose Reels
- Brand Rank: Hose-End Sprinklers
- Brand Rank: Underground Sprinklers
- Brand Rank: Aboveground Sprinklers
- Brand Rank: Watering Wands
- Brand Rank: Compressed Air Sprayers
The Competitive Situation
- Consolidation and Shakeout
- Major Acquisitions in OPE and Tools
- The Grim Side of Consolidation
- LBO Limbo
- Murray
- Snow & Nealley
- Smith & Hawken
- Sold Off to Foreigners
- Absorption
- Competitive Continuities
- Improvements, Innovations
- Niche Strategies
- Expanding through Diversification
- Focusing through Divestiture
- Strategic Reorientation
- Shifting Retail Strategies
Competitive Profile: The Toro Company
- From Bull Tractor to OPE Major
- Sales Double over 1990s
- Business Segments
- From Residential to Professional Focus
- Professional Acquisitions
- A Long-Time Golf Course Major
- Consumer Brands
- Marketing Innovator
- Toro CareFree
- Lawn-Boy Gold, Silver
- Toro Personal Pace for Home Centers
- Recent Pockets of Turbulence
- Portable Gas OPE Out
Competitive Profile: Electrolux AB
- Global Leader in Appliances and Outdoor Goods
- A Rich History of Invention
- Strategic Acquisitions
- Frigidaire Home Products
- Poulan/Weed Eater
- Husqvarna Forest and Garden
- American Yard Products
Competitive Profile: Deere & Co.
- A Global Equipment Powerhouse
- Sales in 2000
- Deere in Lawn Care for Almost 40 Years
- Homelite and Sabre
- Restructuring in Mid-1990s
- Partnering with Scotts and Home Depot
- The Unique "Ready to Mow" Service Program
- A 2-Stroke Engine Advance
- Sabre 2000
- Homelite Continues to Innovate
Competitive Profile: MTD Products, Inc.
- Originally the Modern Tool and Die Co.
- A Dominant Force in Mowers
- Mechanical Systems
- International Presence
- Four Comprehensive Brand Lines
- The Yard-Bug—For the Ladies?
- Multifunction Cub Cadet
- Major Move: MTD Acquires Ryobi
- Ryobi's Designer-Celebrity Line
Competitive Profile: Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co.
- First Lucrative Niche: Wheel Toys
- Enters Lawn Mowers in '60's
- Good News: Acquired by Tomkins
- Bad News: Tomkins Implodes
- Sold for a Song to Summersong
Competitive Profile: Black & Decker Corp.
- World Leader in Electrics
- Three Business Segments
- An Innovator in Electric OPE
- The "Hog" Line
Competitive Profile: Ames True Temper
- World Leader in Tools
- New Products Constantly Flow
- The True Temper Acquisition by U.S. Industries
- Previous Strategic Acquisitions
- True Temper Provides Strong Synergy
Competitive Profile: Fiskars Corp.
- Old World Cutting Tool Major
- Brief History
- Fiskars on an Acquisition Binge
- The Fiskars "House of Brands"
- Reorganization in 2000
- A Major Force in L&G Cutting Tools, Soaker Hoses
- On Cutting-Edge of Tool Design
- Under Pricing Pressure
Competitive Profile: Union Tools, Inc.
- Major Force in Long-Handled Tools
- Numerous Brand Lines
- UT Is Consumer-Savvy
- Lady Gardener
- Quality, Innovation
- Wins Golden Hammer Award
Brief Competitive Overviews: OPE Marketers
- Simplicity Mfg. Co.
- Echo, Inc.
Brief Competitive Overviews: Tools/Implements Marketers
- Overall: Shifting Picture in Ownership
- Olympia Group
- Corona Clipper
- Flexrake
- Garden Pals
- Kenyon Tools
- Rumford Gardener
Brief Competitive Overviews: Watering Equipment Marketers
- Overall: More Stable than Tools
- Colorite Plastics Co.
- Teknor Apex Co.
- Dayco Swan Corp.
- Rain Bird
- Melnor, Inc.
- Gilmour Group
- L.R. Nelson
- Orbit Irrigation Products
- Root-Lowell Mfg. Co.
New Product Trends: OPE
- Whither Engines?
- Large OPE and 4-Strokes
- Portable OPE and 2-Strokes
- Liquid-Cooled Engines
- Fuel Cells
- Innovative 4-Strokes, Modified 2-Strokes
- Mower Trend: Pro Products for Exurbanites
- Mower Trend: Targeting Women with "Bugs"
- Portable Trend: Designer-Celebrity Products
- OPE Trend: Multifunction Products
- Convenience Trend in Portable OPE
- Portable Engine Trend: Meeting Emissions Standards
- Leaf Blowers Await Breakthrough
- Commercial Trend: Stand-On Mowers
- Blade Trend: Back to the Drawing Board
- Most-Hyped Trend: Robotic Lawnmowers
New Product Trends: Tools and Watering Equipment
- Major Trends in Tools
- Easier-to-Use Tools
- Targeting Women and Seniors
- Directly Addressing Women
- Children's Tools
- Pro-Quality Tools
- "Try-Me" Packaging
- Fiberglass Long-Handles
- Trend to Improving Import Quality
- Trends in Garden Hoses
- Trends in Aboveground Sprinklers
- Multipack Accessories
- Table 3-13: Selected New Product Introductions: Lawn and Garden Equipment, 1999-2000 (list)
Advertising and Promotion
- Consumer Advertising Expenditures: OPE
- Consumer Ad Expenditures: Tools
- Media Employed
- Equipment Advertising Positioning: Quality the Primary Thematic
- The Performance Theme
- The Longevity Theme
- Secondary Themes: Value and Comfort
- The Direct Pitch
- Few Consumer Promotions
- Charity Promotions
- Trade Advertising
- Trade Promotion
- Examples of Advertising
Distribution and Retail
- Distribution Patterns
- Retail Outlet Share
- Home Depot and Lowe's
- Discounters
- Gradual Erosion of Dealers by Home Centers
- Dealers Continue to Be Viable
- Hardware Stores
- Home Centers and Sears Enter Hardware Arena
- Sears
- Smith & Hawken
The Consumer
- Explanatory Note on Simmons Market Research
- Number of Equipment Owners
- OPE: Number of Owners/Buyers/Renters
- Number of OPE Owners by Product Type
- Table 3-14: Outdoor Power Equipment: Number of Owners by Product Type, 2000 (number, percent)
- Tools/Implements: Number of Owners/Buyers
- Number of Tool/Implement Owners by Product Type
- Table 3-15: Tools/Implements: Number of Owners by Product Type, 2000 (number, percent)
- L&G Equipment: Overall Owner Profile
- OPE and Tools/Implements: Owner/Buyer Profiles
- Profile: OPE Owners/Buyers
- Profile: Tools/Implements Owner/Buyers
- Table 3-16: Demographic Characteristics Favoring Ownership and Purchasing of Lawn and Garden Equipment: By Product Segment (U.S. adults)
- Factors Favoring Ownership: All OPE
- Walk-Behind Gas Mowers
- Walk-Behind Electric Mowers
- Riding Mowers/Lawn Tractors and Garden Tractors
- Garden Tillers
- Fertilizer Spreaders
- Edge Trimmers
- Hedge Trimmers
- Yard Trimmers: Gas and Electric
- Leaf Blower/Vacs
- Factors Favoring Ownership: Tools/Implements
- Grass Mowers an Anomaly
- Table 3-17: Demographic Characteristics Favoring Ownership of Outdoor Power Equipment: By Product Type, 2000 (11 types)
- Table 3-18: Demographic Characteristics Favoring Ownership of Tools/Implements: By Product Type, 2000 (12 types)
Lawn and Garden Supplies
The Products
- Two Product Segments: Fertilizers/Growth Media (F/GM); Pest Control Supplies (Pesticides)
- Fertilizers/Growth Media: Four Product Types
- Fertilizers: Supplements, Not Foods
- Fertilizers: Organic and Synthetic
- Fertilizer Forms/Terminology
- Growth Media
- Soils
- Soil Amendments
- Mulches
- Compost Accelerators
- Pest Control Supplies: Three Product Types
- Insecticides
- Herbicides
- Fungicides
Governmental Regulation
- Pesticide Registration
- The Food Quality Protection Act
- Dursban Banned
- Diazinon Next on Nix List
- International Trends in Regulation
- Industry Response: RISE Arises
- Local/State Fertilizer Restrictions
- Vermiculite the Next Asbestos?
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
- Regulations: Packaging/Labeling
Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- Supplies Sales at $4.9 Billion
- Table 4-1: Estimated U.S. Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Supplies by Product Segment, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Sales Trends by Segment
- Figure 4-1: Estimated Total Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Supplies, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Share by Segment
- Share by Type
- Weed/Feed Most Popular Fertilizer
- Insecticides Most Popular Pesticide Type
- Mulch Most Popular Growth Media
- Supplies: Retail Share
Factors in Future Growth
- Overview: A Mixed Picture
- Climate Change Could Be Favorable
- Extending the Season into Fall
- A Marketing-Driven Approach to Growth
- Cleverly Blunting Negative Perceptions
- Consolidation Favors Greater Marketing Efforts
- Shift to Organic Solutions Would Be Positive
- "Natural" Niches Could Expand
- The Container Gardening Trend
Projected Market Growth
- Fertilizers and Growth Media to Drive Growth
- Forecast: Pesticides
- $5.8 Billion by 2005
- Table 4-2: Projected Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Supplies by Product Segment, 2000-2005 (dollars)
The Marketers
- Concentration at the Top
- Size and Types of Marketers
- From Specialists to Generalists
- Scotts an Overwhelming Force in Supplies
- Bayer-Pursell Arises to Challenge Scotts
- Second-Tier Marketers
- Significant Minors: Fertilizers
- Significant Minors: Growth Media
- Significant Minors: Pesticides
- Table 4-3: Selected List of U.S. Lawn and Garden Supplies, 1998-2000 (40 marketers)
Brand Rankings: L&G Supplies
- Perceived Brand Strengths
- Evaluating Brand Ranking
- Caveats
- Brand Rank: Lawn Fertilizer
- Brand Rank: Water-Soluble Plant Food
- Brand Rank: Granular Plant Food
- Brand Rank: Peat Moss
- Brand Rank: Potting Soil
- Brand Rank: Landscape Fabric
- Brand Rank: Granular Insecticide
- Brand Rank: Liquid Insecticide
- Brand Rank: Liquid Herbicide
The Competitive Situation
- Most Important Challenge: Branding
- Scotts the "Brand Master"
- Can Bayer-Pursell Take on Scotts?
- Musical Chairs: Acquisition Activity
- Global Chemical Consolidation
- Competition: Fertilizers
- Competition: Growth Media
- Competition: Pesticides
- Bayer's Hardball Tactics
- Pesticides: Niche Competition
Competitive Profile: The Scotts Co.
- Napoleonic L&G Ambitions
- International Sales
- Astonishing Dominance in U.S. Supplies
- Record Sales in 2000
- Six Marketing Groups
- Sales Trends by Group
- Scotts' Brands
- The U.K. and Europe
- Ortho and Roundup
- Most Business through Top Home Centers and Discounters
- Brief History
- A Series of Strategic Acquisitions
- Scotts' Major Move: The Miracle-Gro Merger
- Miracle-Gro: The Magic of the Hard Sell
- Synergy: Product Strength and Marketing Chutzpah
- A "Consumer-Pull" Marketing Approach
- Targeting Users and Non-Users
- James Hagedorn to Inherit the Throne
- A Vast Extension of the Miracle-Gro Franchise
- Sold Off Pro Turf Business
- Acquires Marketing Rights to Substral
- Two Strategical Faux Pas: A Lawsuit
- And a Product Recall
- Shakeup in Distribution
- Scotts and Its Debts
Competitive Profile: Bayer-Pursell
- Pursell the World Leader in Time-Release Fertilizers
- Pursell's Flagship Brand: Sta-Green with Polyon
- Recent Brand Acquisitions
- Thriving Private-Label Business
- Organics in the Future?
- Mineral-Based Growth Media
- The Bayer-Pursell Alliance
- Boxing with Scotts in Pesticides
- Bayer Pulls the Rug Out with Di-Syston
- Scotts Suffers a Hit
- Pursell's Role
Second-Tier Supplies Marketers
- United Industries/Spectrum Brands
- Schultz Co.
- Green Light Co.
- Bonide Products
- U.S. Home & Garden
- Sun Gro Horticulture
- Premier Horticulture
- Southdown, Inc.
- Lebanon Seaboard Corp.
- Southern Importers, Inc.
- Verdant Brands
- Good Earth Organics/A.H. Hoffman
- Central Garden & Pet
New Product Trends
- Combo Products
- Autumn Products
- Trends in Fertilizer: Time-Release
- More Spikes
- Minor Fertilizer Niches: Dog Spots and Tea Bags
- Trends in Potting Soil
- Trends in Peat Moss
- Trends in Mulch
- Trends in Lawn Lime
- Soil Amendment Trend: Lawn and Garden Supplements
- Trends in Pesticides: Price and Convenience
- Trends in "Preventers"
- "Natural" Pesticides
- High-Tech Pesticides
- Table 4-4: Selected New Product Introductions: Lawn and Garden Supplies, 1999-2000 (list)
Advertising and Promotion
- Consumer Advertising Expenditures
- Advertising Positioning: Performance the Primary Thematic
- The Professional Theme
- The Superior Theme
- The Humor Theme
- Celebrity Endorsements
- Huckster Ads
- The Convenience Theme
- Typical Consumer Promotions
- Educational, Charitable Promotions
- Trade Advertising
- Examples of Advertising
Distribution and Retail
- Distribution Patterns
- Scotts Takes Direct Control
- Shakeup at Central Garden & Pet
- A Wide Range of Retail Outlets
- Mass Retailers Lead in Share
- Home Centers Winning vs. Discounters
- Discounters Continue to Battle
- Garden Centers/Nurseries in Trouble
- Frank's Nursery & Crafts
- Agway
- Agway's Upscale Store: Cultivations
- Other Upscaling Attempts
- Garden Centers' Best Defense: Coop Buying Groups
- Major L&G Buying Groups
The Consumer
- Overview
- Number of Purchasers by Product Type
- Table 4-5: Number of Purchasers of Lawn and Garden Supplies by Product Type, 2000 (number, percent)
- Purchasing Patterns by Sex
- Factors Favoring Supplies Purchasing: Overall
- Factors Favoring Purchase: Weed/Feed Products
- Plant Food
- Flower Garden Fertilizer
- Insecticide (Synthetic)
- Lawn Fertilizer
- Vegetable Garden Fertilizer
- Compost
- Herbicide (Synthetic)
- Insecticide (Organic)
- Table 4-6: Demographic Characteristics Favoring Purchasing of Supplies: By Product Type, 2000 (9 types)
Professional Lawncare Services
The Services
- Category Definition
- Focus: Professional Lawncare Services
- The Standard Treatment Program
- Synthetic vs. Organic Programs
Government Regulation
- Licensing Requirements
- Disclosure Policies
- State Notification Policies
- The New York Neighbor Notification Law
- Federal Pesticide Bans
- State Pesticide Bans
- Local/State Fertilizer Restrictions
Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- 2000 Continues Strong Growth
- Table 5-1: Estimated U.S. Sales of Professional Lawncare Services, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Reasons for Growth Explosion
- Figure 5-1: Estimated U.S. Sales of Professional Lawncare Services, 1996-2000 (dollars)
- Reasons for Slight Slowdown
- Testimonials to Record Growth
- Most Sales in Standard Programs
- Trend to Customized IPM Programs
- Residential vs. Commercial Sales
- Seasonality
- Regionality
Factors in Future Growth
- The More Money/Less Time Equation Is Positive
- But What About the Downturn?
- Strong Housing Market and Services
- Appeal to Elite Is Positive
- Almost Can't Miss with Aging Boomers
- Three Wild Cards
- The Weather Could Upset Services
- Dursban Ban Spells Temporary Trouble
- Notifying Neighbors Can Be Costly
- Will Regulation Violate IPM?
- The Shrug-Off Response
- The Vitriolic Response
- Looks Like a More Lenient Regime—For a While
- Labor Shortage Reaches Crisis Proportions
- Temp Workers Yes; Middle Managers No
- How Will the Labor Situation Be Resolved?
- Consolidation a Positive but Ancillary Factor
- Consolidation Implications
Projected Category Growth
- Services to Continue Double-Digit Growth
- Table 5-2: Projected Sales of Professional Lawncare Services, 2000-2005 (dollars)
- Why the Rosy Prediction
The Marketers
- Number of Marketers
- Size and Types of Marketers
- TruGreen-ChemLawn with Lion's Share
- A Second Tier
- Significant Minor Franchise Operators
- Table 5-3: Selected U.S. Marketers of Professional Lawncare Services (35 marketers)
The Competitive Situation
- The Old Days: A Metro-Based "Mom and Pop" Affair
- The New Days: Transformation through Consolidation
- Easy to Enter, Hard to Grow
- Safe Expansion; Risky Expansion
- Barefoot and the Risky Approach
- ServiceMaster Gobbles up Successful Firms
- Franchising the Safest Route to Expansion
- Franchisee Benefits
- Fees/Royalties a Small Price to Pay
- Scotts Lawn Service the Exception
- Lowballers and Higher Costs Leave Services Vulnerable
- Education Is in Order
- Consolidation Pressures Remain
- Vertical or Horizontal Integration?
Competitive Profile: ServiceMaster LP
- From Servant to Master
- Consumer/Commercial and Other Divisions
- A Highly Unique Strategy
- Rise to Dominance in Lawn Services
- A More Recent Takeover Move
- The Same White Knight: The LandCare Acquisition
- TruGreen-ChemLawn: Overview
- TruGreen's Recent Acquisitions
- Has ServiceMaster Bitten Off More than It Can Chew?
- TruGreen's Troubles
- New Watchword: Integration
Competitive Profile: Weed Man/Turf Holdings, Inc.
- Canada's Leading Firm Expanding to U.S.
- The Time Is Right
- A Well-Prepared Strategy
- Industry Bigwigs Sign Up
- Why They Are Joining Weed Man
- Weed Man's Plan
- A Confident Challenger
Competitive Profile: Lawn Doctor
- No. 2 Service Firm
- Franchise Fees
- Standard Program
- Customized Treatment Services
- Lawn Doctor a Major Advertiser
Competitive Profile: Terra Systems
- Entrepreneur Swayed by Organic Approach
- Savvy Salesman Achieves Success
- The Crux of the System
- Higher Education, Better Service
- A Harbinger of Things to Come?
Advertising and Promotion
- Low Advertising Expenditures
- TGCL and Lawn Doctor
- Marketing through Branding
- Services Positioning
- Services Promotion
- Free Estimates, Discounts
The Consumer
- Estimated Number of Users
- Factors Favoring Use: Lawn Maintenance and Garden Services
- Table 5-4: Demographic Characteristics Favoring Use of Lawn Maintenance Services, 2000 (U.S. adults)
Appendix I: Examples of consumer and trade advertising and promotions
Appendix II: Addresses of selected marketers

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