Executive Summary
Garden equipment is a growth market. The value of sales in 1996 is estimated
at £342m. This figure represents a 1.4% increase on 1995 which, in turn,
was 0.9% down on the 1994 figure.
The reason for this apparent paradox is due almost entirely to the vagaries of
the weather. Much of the buying is seasonal. Not only does it take place in
spring, but much of it is concentrated around the Easter weekend. To emphasise
this point, 91% of lawn mower advertising expenditure took place in 1997, from
March to June.
This report analyses four sectors: lawn mowers, powered equipment, hand tools
and gardening aids, which is synonymous with water management equipment. The
lawn mower has been the main piece of equipment over the last 60 years. Weak
sales in 1995 and 1996, allied to low rainfall, is responsible for the poor
sales figures in these 2 years.
The lawn mower will remain the single most important piece of equipment.
However, the industry is changing and there is a growing number of powered
tools. There is a lot of growth in this sector to the point where Key Note
expects it to collectively take over from lawn mowers as the largest sector in
value terms before the end of the century.
The other sector which has strong potential growth is water management because
recent dry summers have heightened peoples, awareness of the need for efficient
watering and there is a growing interest in water features in the garden.
The present market is large, the second largest in the European Union (EU), and
is expanding with the growth in the number of households. The latter will have
grown by 43% from 1996 to the year 2001, and will increase by 40% in each of
the following 5-year periods to 2011. The majority of these new households,
which will total around 2.6 million by 2011, will have gardens and therefore be
potential purchasers.
Many companies involved in manufacturing are involved in producing for other
commercial markets. Lawn mower manufacturers produce for golf courses, other
outdoor sports and local authorities. Hand tools are used in agriculture,
forestry and local authorities among others. For this reason, it has not always
been certain as to how much commitment has been given to the consumer market.
Nevertheless, the commercial markets have sustained the gardening
enterprises.
Eighth Edition 1997
Edited by Simon Howitt
ISBN 1-85765-780-2
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