In shade of big retailers, some nurseries flourish

A Boardman retailer says service and quality are keys to keeping customers.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
The rap on so-called big-box retailers is that they squeeze out smaller independents, but that's apparently not the case in the gardening industry where both say there's plenty of green in the green-thumb market.
In fact, Paul Gaglia, an independent gardener, says he wishes a big box would open next to him. Eventually, he figures, it would scare customers to him.
"The big difference between us and the mass merchant or the big boxes is, they can't give personalized and individualized service and they cannot hire the knowledgeable people that we can," said Gaglia, president of Flamingo Gardens in Allegheny and Butler counties.
While The Home Depot or Lowe's will beat him on price, Gaglia says he offers better quality plants and more variety -- 500 to 600 perennials compared with a couple hundred at a bigger store.
In Boardman, Home Depot and Lowe's certainly have taken sales away from independents because shoppers will buy flowers or garden supplies while stopping for something else, said Kathie Lutz, one of the owners of Inglis Greenhouse and Gift Shop.
Knowledgeable staff
The 87-year-old Southern Boulevard shop has been able to maintain its business, however, because of a staff that can help customers and knows how to tend plants, she said. Ninety percent of what Inglis sells is grown on premises.
"People that want quality and service come to us," she said.
Besides being able to answer questions, the staff takes the time to fertilize plants and pinch dying blossoms to make sure only good products are on the shelves, Lutz said. If a flat of flowers grows too large, the staff will cut it back, rather than hope someone will buy it, she said.
Gregg Robertson, president of the 750-member Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, said gardening is "a competitive industry, there's no question about that, but it's a growing industry with plenty of room."
Big business
The do-it-yourself gardening and lawn care market is a nearly $40 billion-a-year industry, which has been growing 8 percent annually since 1997, said Bruce Butterfield, research director for the National Garden Association in Vermont.
And Butterfield says the gardening industry is virtually recession-proof.
"For many folks, with what the stock market is doing, the home is their biggest investment," he said.
Now, people are also spending more time at home since the terrorist attacks and want a nice environment, said Jeff Morey, editor of Nursery Retailer magazine. And when the economy is strong, people want to boost their home value, he said.
While some independents have closed because of competition, the ones that have gone out of business tended to be poor retailers to begin with, according to some industry experts.
Independents "can't compete on price for Miracle-Gro fertilizer or something like that -- and they shouldn't be trying to," said Nancy Jacks Montgomery, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based American Nursery & amp; Landscape Association.
Hannah Hogan, co-owner of Snipes Farm and Nursery in Morrisville, Pa., said both independents and chains must be creative to stay competitive.
"We always have to look for new product lines or new customers or new niches or just a gimmick in order to stay in business," Hogan said.
Snipes has been around since 1767 and Hannah, a ninth-generation Snipes, says the store has succeeded because of its ability to change.
"Change has to be constant. Knowing what to change is always the fun part," Hannah said.
Corporate responses
Don Harrison, a spokesman for The Home Depot, said he's heard the "category killer" charges levied against the Atlanta-based chain, but dismisses them. Time and again, he's seen independents survive if they offer service and value.
Contrary to claims that his staff isn't as knowledgeable, Harrison said Home Depot employees are trained and frequently are hired from independents.
"You do not just hire somebody and drape an orange apron around the neck and call them a Home Depot associate," he said.
Brian Peace, a spokesman for Wilkesboro, N.C.-based Lowe's, said its nursery division makes up a small portion of its 40,000 products and accounts for about 6 percent of sales, or about $1.65 billion annually.
What Lowe's offers, he said, is convenience of one-stop shopping.
"Certainly it's a big market, but a lot of our customers shop at more than one store," Peace said.
Roberston, the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association president, agreed. "You'll find as a gardener gets more sophisticated, they'll tend to shop at the [independent] shops, but may shop at both."