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 Landscape distributors package plant material, hard goods for convenience By Kelli Rodda The landscape distribution segment of the green industry is exploding, and some highly recognized brands have entered the ring. Landscape distribution focuses on convenience for the contractor. Many distributors have most, if not all, of a landscape contractor's needs on site. Also, many growers have started landscape distribution centers on their sites. Overall, it's a segment of the industry that many have taken advantage of in the past 10 years. And if new home construction and nationwide landscape sales keep increasing, there's no sign of landscape distribution waning any time soon.
Home Depot Landscape Supply is one of the newest members of the growing landscape distribution club. Home Depot identified a market the company had yet to tap -- the landscape contractor. Because the garden center in a Home Depot store was set up for the retail customer, it couldn't meet all the needs of a landscape professional, said Todd Williams, director of Home Depot Landscape Supply. But the new Home Depot Landscape Supply store is equipped and designed for the professional, although retail customers are welcome to shop. The new landscape stores carry bigger shrubs, larger-caliper trees, a wider variety of plants and all the hard goods needed for a landscape job. "But we can serve the retail customer from the same footprint," Williams said. "There's a separate entrance, a separate restroom and a contractor desk where our associates speak the landscape professional's language on the live goods and supply side." Home Depot Landscape Supply partnered with Lesco Inc. in Cleveland and will supply the new stores with fertilizer and combination products, such as pre- and post-emergence products mixed with fertilizer. The first Home Depot Landscape Supply store opened in Atlanta on Labor Day weekend. Two more Atlanta-area stores were slated to open by mid-September, and a Dallas-area store will open this year. Store sites encompass 5-7 acres, which provides a large depth of inventory, Williams said. "That size store and yard provides us the ability to hold the larger trees and shrubs and bulk goods," he said. "We've had several vendors in the past we couldn't use because of the size of their material. Now we can buy their material and they're getting some exposure to the retail customer, which allows them to sell more product."
John Deere entered the landscape distribution game in 2001 when the well-branded company acquired McGinnis Farms, which included Jenco Nursery and Pipe 'N Heads. Its newest venture is called John Deere Landscapes. Next the company acquired Richton International, a publicly traded company that owned Century Rain Aid. "Century Rain Aid had sales in excess of $200 million," said Michael McGrady, senior vice president of John Deere Landscapes. "We closed on Century Rain Aid last October and combined it and Richton into John Deere Landscapes. Now we're the largest national wholesale distributor of green-industry products." There are 240 John Deere Landscapes outlets in 39 states and Canada. The stores are set up to expedite jobs for landscape contractors. "The mechanics of doing a landscape job is a zero-value-added function," McGrady said. "To get the job done, a contractor has to spend a lot of time just acquiring material. But we provide full turnkey kitting -- we assemble all the components for the job and put them in our rewholesale branch." John Deere Landscapes is expanding into the Midwest, although they already have a presence in the area. "Our direct sales staff is already up there making sales, we just don't have any physical stores there yet," he said. The benefit of buying from a rewholesaler is primarily convenience, he said. "Growers tend to specialize, but we buy in substantial volume and can offer a wider variety of products," he said. "It all comes down to a decrease in the contractor's time and expenses." John Deere Landscape uses a vast number of nursery suppliers and tends to buy locally. The company also does multiyear contracts with some growers, he said. "We have semi-autonomous branches and each branch is empowered to maintain its nursery product mixes to meet its needs," he said. The company is contemplating offering benefits to landscape contractors, such as healthcare, he said.
Skinner Nurseries, based in Jacksonville, Fla., not only grows container trees, but also operates seven landscape distribution centers with plans to open two more, said Andy Etters, marketing manager at Skinner. The company recently opened a new site in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and leased land in Freeport, Fla., which will serve Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and South Georgia. That location is scheduled to open in October, and Skinner purchased 50 acres in Austin, Texas, for a new site. Skinner stresses the concept of time and money savings at its distribution sites. "One issue that is crucial to the success of the landscape distribution concept is educating landscape contractors on the value of service," Etters said. "We have found that the value our customers receive from using our centers is that they save time and money by using us as a resource, not only to purchase plant material, but to locate and deliver that material to their job sites. This extra time gives them the freedom to pursue other jobs and allows them to focus attention on their customers' needs." Production nurseries are product centric, he said. "Their crops are ready no sooner than nature (and good fertilizer) will allow. Landscape distribution centers, on the other hand, are customer centric. If our customers need something that we do not grow, we will find the material from one of our partner nurseries," Etters said. "Landscape distribution centers exist to serve the landscape professional in a given market area and to make their lives easier. Gone are the days of spending hours on the phone just to put together a bid. Now with one call to a landscape distributor, contractors can have everything they need from current availability to shipping schedules." Shemin offers warranty Shemin Nurseries Inc. in Danbury, Conn., is an exclusive rewholesaler with 31 distribution centers. They offer a one-year warranty on woody landscape plants, said Adam Henderson, marketing manager. The warranty covers woodies from Shemin that are installed by a landscape professional. It lasts for one year from the purchase date and Shemin will replace it as long as it was planted according to the conditions of its professional planting guide.
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