February 2008
From the Inside Out By Darhiana Mateo

Today’s garden centers recognize their role stretches beyond helping match a customer with that perfect plant. Customers seek inspiration, a venue to help create the kind of lifestyle they’ve always imagined for themselves. As more homeowners view their gardens as extensions of their homes, their favorite garden center might be the first place they turn to. In an attempt to respond to this new need, some garden centers are slowly adding outdoor living furniture to their inventories. Unlike plants, patio benches won’t die on you and, if you are successful, can lead to big-ticket sales.

Seasons Four, a patio and porch furniture retailer and garden center based in Lexington, Mass., is by no means new to this concept. They have been selling high-end outdoor living furniture (mainly dining sets and seating groups in an array of styles and materials) and green goods for 38 years. But whereas many garden centers dabble into selling patio furniture, at Seasons Four, the 14,000- square-foot furniture sales floor featuring a wide selection is the main focus. “People will call me a garden center, but most garden centers don’t do furniture the way I do,” says owner and manager Laura Hopkins. “And the guys that do furniture don’t have plants.”

More garden centers are leaning toward incorporating garden gifts, accessories and accents to their mix, Hopkins says. Having those niches in your garden center to entice customers can definitely build up sales, but Hopkins cautions traditional garden centers not to “try to be everything to everybody.” Due to challenges like limited space and unfamiliarity with the furniture market, many garden centers would not be able to compete head on with the sweeping selections and expertise of places like Seasons Four, she says. Nor should they want to. However, when done smartly, adding classic and novel furniture pieces that you know your customers would love to see in their backyard oasis can be a viable new opportunity.

Selling Inspiration

Whether you’re selling a wicker bench or a purple petunia, the premise is the same: inspiration. Your task is to provide customers with the right product to create the kind of lifestyle they envision. “You still have to inspire people with a vision,” Hopkins says. “Otherwise, what’s the point of having a nice garden?”

In a soft housing market where many people are buying fewer second homes, some homeowners will invest in sprucing up their current homes. By mixing a whimsical garden with contemporary or classic furniture pieces, homeowners can “create a family gathering or event in the comfort of their extended home space,” she adds. “Outdoor furniture allows the outdoors space to function as an additional dining area or living area, or both. It allows you have to have more value for yourself as far as quality of life or family time.”

Do Your Homework

As independent retailers, you probably already recognize the importance of understanding the needs and wants of your customers. You might not be able to provide the wealth of choices a customer can find in a furniture store, but if you do your homework, that shouldn’t be an issue. Before you stock up on a “warehouse full of mistakes,” make sure you understand your customer base. How much space are they working with? Do most of your customers have large families or children to entertain? Are they an older group that might prefer more classical pieces, or does your business draw young homeowners that might be looking for something edgier? Researching fashion trends — and relating them to your customers’ buying habits — can also help you narrow your selection.

Cross Merchandising

When merchandising her store or garden center, Hopkins takes advantage of the interplay between nature and home. A well-placed dining set sitting decorating a section of your garden center can help your customer grasp the bigger picture and want to replicate that same look and feel in their homes. Bringing in urns and containers from the garden center to accessorize the furniture can help punch up your displays.

Build Your Customer Base

One definite perk of selling outdoor living furniture is the potential to attract new customers from a wider region. The one-acre garden center at Seasons Four attracts mostly local shoppers, but the furniture store draws people from a much larger geographical area, Hopkins says. Your furniture offerings might attract a non-gardener, but once they’re there, you might be able to persuade them to step into your garden center, and vice versa. “Instead of someone buying six perennials, they can buy six perennials and that cute bench they saw,” she says.



Darhiana Mateo

Darhiana Mateo is associate editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. She can be reached at (847) 391-1013 or [email protected].