Retail Market Tour Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Metro Areas March 10-11, 2016 Perfect spring weather with nights in the high 60s and days starting in the low 70s and topping out in the high 80s. Lots of consumer activity in the garden centers with huge quantities of mulch and garden soil going through the registers. There was good activity in green goods albeit most of the national retailers were not yet at inventory capacity. Walmart had high quality merchandise but small inventories relative to others. Clearly spring is off to a good start in the Deep South. Home Depot -Stores were not overly stocked, rightfully so this early in the season. The inside greenhouses had a good array of annuals and perennials from both vendors Pure Beauty and Riverview. New Guinea Impatiens is clearly filling the void left by Wallerana and SunPatiens constitutes a huge portion of that category. Some of the top HD stores relative to merchandising that we have visited over the past several years Home Depot offers SunPatiens under the Viva brand in the following sizes, 306 handle pack, quarts and I gallons. There is also a hanging basket SKU. SunPatiens is a perfect example of adding value and commanding higher prices driven by sizeable patent fee. But it does not seem to matter because it fills need for sun-tolerant New Guinea Impatiens. Launched in spring 2006 SunPatiens has become the clear leader in the New Guinea category, much like Wave Petunia owns the spreading Petunia category. The Florida Friendly plan brand looked great in all THD stores with a nice assortment of annuals and, perennials in quarts and gallons. Their offering also included several SKUs in the succulent category most notably a 9 count tray retail $14.98 along with some succulent bowls. Succulents continue to play an increasing role with Smart Planet from Altman Plants and Florida Friendly Plants both offering assortments. Tapping into the public s concern regarding the destruction of bees as the main source of pollination Home Depot has launched a program named Nature s Nutrients featuring logo containers and a POS signage in each store. All the displays were on the outside aprons. The POS signs messages are: Pollinating Flowers/Feed the Pollinators Provide food and habitat for butterflies, hummingbirds and bees to pollinate gardens/crops 1 P a g e
Lowe s The Monrovia brand is still the main vector for premium annuals at Lowe s, we observed no activity in the perennials category relative to Monrovia of course this is Florida and the line is cloudy between annuals and perennials. There were new and improved Monrovia POS signage for annuals and shrubs. In these Florida stores there is a large presence of the brand Flowers for Florida offered in quarts and 1 gallons featuring annuals and perennials that that do well in the extreme heat and humidity. The brand features logo containers and labeling and is priced under the Monrovia brand that is the premium offering at Lowe s. These stores were clean neat and well merchandised it is just challenging to find the prices. Lowe s has a nice succulent offering, the Desert Escape brand from Costa Farms. Walmart Walmart was at less capacity than the other national retails obviously being a little cautious in the early part of the season. Although they did not have huge inventories their merchandise was high quality and they really make good use of colored containers that always make the displays more eye catching. On notable category really stood out and that is the Geranium category offering a high quality 1 gallon and 8 SKUs. What made them standout was the higher flower count of nice mounded plants and value prices. In the 4 annual category they are now using a printed pot that included the name of the genus and tips for success eliminating the need for labels. Merchandising has vastly improved over the past several years making the Florida stores that we now rate as A performers. Costco The only outdoor garden item was a 12 caged vegetable program retailing at $12.99. The also offered a 5 Orchid retail $14.99. Sam s Club No outdoor garden plants but a 5 Orchid SKU retail $13.38 Flamingo Road Nursery-Davie, Florida Arguably the most interesting garden center in Florida, a huge garden center on an estimated 5 acres with more diversity than we seldom see including a lot more than a traditional garden center. Besides a huge selection of plants in all the main categories there is a florist shop, Farmer s Market, deli, BBQ restaurant open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Once you go through the main entrance there is a large pond surrounded by kiosks with various themes, there is one of the largest displays of upscale containers that we have ever seen in a garden center. There is also a staff that seeks out and helps customer s find the ideal product, this is we call effective selling. They also feature very informative signage. 2 P a g e
Retailers Visited Southeast Florida Retailer Store # City Annuals Annuals Perennials Home Depot 0224 Boynton Beach Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 0218 Deerfield Beach Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6356 Coconut Creek Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 0249 Oakland Park Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 0258 Sunrise Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 0222 Davie Pure beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6343 Miami Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6306 Miami Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 0206 Miami Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6372 Fort Lauderdale Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6322 Miami Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Home Depot 6856 Miami Pure Beauty Riverview Riverview Lowe s 1111 Boynton Beach Costa Windmill Lowe s 1792 Pompano Beach Costa Windmill Lowe s 0704 Coral Springs Costa Windmill Lowe s 0754 Oakland Park Costa Windmill Lowe s 1113 Sunrise Costa Windmill Lowe s 1681 Pembroke Pines Costa Windmill Lowe s 1841 Hialeah Costa Windmill Lowe s 2254 Hialeah Costa Windmill Lowe s 2904 Miami Costa Windmill Lowe s 0725 Southwest Ranches Costa Windmill Walmart 3625 Lauderdale Lakes American Farms American Farms Walmart 2987 Davie American Farms American Farms Walmart 2151 Sunrise American Farms American Farms Walmart 2591 Pembroke Pines American Farms American Farms Walmart 2814 Hialeah American Farms American Farms Walmart 2091 Doral American Farms American Farms Walmart 4661 Miami No outdoor garden Walmart 2946 Fort Lauderdale American Farms American Farms Walmart 1996 Hallandale American Farms American Farms Walmart 3235 Miami Beach American Farms American Farms Walmart 5854 Miami No outdoor garden Costco Sam s Club Flamingo Road Pembroke Pines Sunrise Davie Retail Fort Lauderdale-Miami Metro 3 P a g e
Item Size Depot Lowe s Walmart Basic Annuals 4.5 1.12 1.15 1.07 1201 9.98 9.98 FF 1g 3.48 2.98 2.96 FF Quart 2.48 1 g 3.48 8 4.48 Premium Annuals SunPatiens Viva 306 9.98 7.98 Qt. 3,98 1g 5.98 306 7.96 4.5 1.98 Vigoro Select 1g 4.98 New Guinea Imp. 1801 21.96 Viva annuals 1g 5.98 Gerbera Dasiyland 1g 7.98 Nature s Nutrients 1g 4.98 Nature s Nutrients Qt. 3.98 Smart Planet 1g 6.98 Smart Planet Qt. 4.48 FF 16tray Succulents 16 ct. 19.98 FF 9 count Succulents 9 ct. 14.98- Monrovia Qt. 3.98 Monrovia 1g 5.98 Monrovia Asiatic 1g 6.98 Wave 6 4.48 Wave 306 7.98 Flowers for Florida 306 5.98 Flowers for Florida Qt. 2.98 Flowers for Florida 1g 5.98 Geraniums 1.25 qt. 4.48 Cora Vinca 306 7.98 Value Pack 306 7.98 Proven Winners Grande 3.98 Calipetite 8 7.98 Calla Lily 1g 9.98 FF Sun Harmony NGI 304 6.98 Geranium 1g 3.88 Geranium 8 6.24 Kalanchoe Qt. 3.24 Kalanchoe 1g 7.94 Kalanchoe 10 10.96 Kalanchoe 12 13.33 Gerbera Qt. 3.24 Dahlia 1g 4.00 BH&G 1g 4.27 Super Cal 1g 3.88 Hanging Baskets Basic 10 7.98 7.98 7.47 Premium 10 11.98 10.88 4 P a g e
Item Size Depot Lowe s Walmart Fern 10 9.97 Vigoro 11 12.98 SunPatiens 12 16.98 Premium 12 16.98 19.98 Geranium 12 14.98 14.43 Perennials Qt. 2.98 FF Perennials Qt. 2.98 FF Perennials 1g 4.48 1g 5.98 Premium 1g 6,98 Wave 12 15.98 Coco Fiber-Aqua Saver 12 24.98 Patio Planters Chatham Planter 18 39.98 Wooden planter 12.5 49.98 Drop n Bloom 14 19.98 Square 7.5 7.98 Color bowl 12 11.98 11.98 11.88 Drop n Bloom Succulents 10 24.98 Ready Refill 8 7.98 Ready Refill 10 11.98 Ready Refill 14 16.98 Calliope color Bowl 12 15.98 Gerbera Daisy 11 12.98 Aloha Calibrachoa 12 15.98 Combo 12 29.98 New Guinea Imp. 10 13.98 Dianthus 10 10.88 Mandevilla 3g 22.44 Geranium NGI 12 14,77 Cupcake Color Pot 8 7.94 Geraniums 10 10.96 FF=Florida Friendly Plants by Riverview Greenhouses Summary The spring season is clearly off to a great start in South Florida with ideal weather and stores that are prepared for the season. Home Depot has clearly addressed the concerns of consumers relative to the potential decline of pollinators particularly bees by launching the Nature s Nutrient plant brand the focuses on creating pollen for bees, humming birds and butterflies. New Guinea impatiens are clearly a growth category displacing the Wallerana and SunPatiens from Sakata is the overwhelming favorite of growers, retailers and consumers We noticed a consider amount of Calibrachoa in several premium SKUs and that category seems to be dominated by the Aloha series from Dummen Orange 5 P a g e
Ugly black pots just don t cut it anymore as colored containers just keep becoming more important. Retail displays are so much more compelling with colorful containers, high quality plants are only a ticket to play. It s what you do before and after the plants are grown that creates a profitable enterprise. 6 P a g e