4 | Orgill Case Study Some of the potential advantages independent retailers have when it comes to the lawn and garden category include: The need for guidance. The lawn and garden category can be complicated for consumers to navigate. Understanding which soil amendments, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or seed to use may vary by market and can often be different from household to household. These kinds of complexities often require consumers to seek guidance from a trusted resource like the employees found at independent home improvement stores. A wide range of brand selections. There are a variety of brands within the market space that can add to consumer confusion. While competition among brands is typically good, that doesn’t mean it makes consumers’ choices as to what products to use any easier. Again, this often requires consumers to consult with team members for insights. Convenience. Because some of the most-used lawn and garden products require multiple applications, this means multiple trips for consumers to the store. The convenient nature of independent retailers with smaller parking lots and quick in-and-out efficiencies make these retailers a more desirable option than the big boxes. Limited online competition. While there are many online options for consumers when it comes to purchasing tools and other home repair items, the ability to effectively purchase products such as seed, fertilizer or lawn amendments online is not particularly practical. Once again, this current market reality favors the position of independent retailers. Unique assortments. Finally, when consumers consider the lawn and garden category more holistically, they also tend to favor retailers that can provide them with unique options for creating and maintaining their ideal outdoor spaces. Often, independent retailers can augment their selection of lawn and garden staples with unique or market-focused items that are not found at a typical discounter or big-box location. Given the growing importance of the category, its potential to drive repeat store visits and the opportunities for independent retailers to leverage it as a point of differentiation, driving opportunity in lawn and garden is highly important to Orgill and its customers. Orgill has always offered customers a broad selection of products from the lawn and garden category and worked to help retailers build their business within this segment. However, in 2015, as the importance of the category continued to grow, Orgill targeted lawn and garden as an area where it could better focus its resources. “We really decided that, because the category was so important to our customers, we were going to do whatever we needed to make lawn and garden one of our core competencies,” says Alan Shore, Orgill’s director of seasonal merchandise.
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