Outdoor living adds fashionable flair

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 28, 2005 by Debbie Howell

Most experts agree Wal-Mart is unbeatable in the mass channel for its selection and pricing of basic lawn and garden supplies, from fertilizer to insect-control products. But in recent years, the retailer has taken a beating for being less than trendy in outdoor living.

Those critiques have definitely rallied the buying troops at Wal-Mart, with clear evidence in spring selections that the retailer is becoming much more fashion-forward and aggressive in this segment. The selection of barbecue grills, patio furniture, landscape lighting and garden decor seems to expand each year to a wider range of price points to suit different family incomes, albeit with each item priced at a value compared with most rivals.

Outdoor living has been a hot growth category for several years now, with retail industry sales in 2004 estimated by Unity Marketing at $12.8 billion. A survey of 1,000 homeowners in January by the research firm revealed that 61% of those polled purchased outdoor living items in 2004, with many of those planning to increase their spending this year.

"About a third of the people said they are spending more on outdoor living products," said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. "This is a category that is slated for rapid, strong growth in the future. Consumers are turning their decorating to the outdoors."

Unity's survey also showed that the most frequently purchased item in 2004 was a grill, followed by bird feeders, patio and porch decorative accents, patio furniture and landscape lighting.

These buying trends appear right in line with Wal-Mart's radar on the category. At one store surveyed in Garland, Texas, about 20 different models of grills were on display in the covered outdoor garden center, ranging from a tabletop Sunbeam charcoal grill for $9.92 to the high-end Igloo Outdoor Living Series LP stainless steel grill gas for $377.

Patio furniture was also set up, with brochures by each display describing the collections. Prices ranged from $99, for a seven-piece set with sling folding chairs, table and market umbrella, to $448, for a five-piece cast-aluminum patio set featuring plush chair cushions. Most of the pricier sets were under Wal-Mart's Better Homes & Gardens, HomeTrends and Mainstays labels, supplemented by wrought-iron sets from Plantation Patterns. Wal-Mart's patio styles have become more in tune with fashion trends, such as the new Palm Valley collection featuring all-weather resin that mimics woven furniture, priced at $348 for a five-piece set including a glass table. Lower-end resin pieces are also a Wal-Mart mainstay, ranging from $3.96 for a small chair to $34.72 for a mock mosaic table.

Garden decor has been another interesting category to watch at Wal-Mart. Again, most of the offerings here are under Wal-Mart brands, with items becoming more detailed and in some cases larger. Examples include resin solar light figurines of a lighthouse or sea captain, a dressable "weather duck" for the porch and a child-size resin angel.

"You have to be on top of the trends to have the right product for the next year. I think they do a fabulous job," said Larrisa Gleason, marketing manager for Beckett, which supplies Wal-Mart with starter water garden kits and fountains.

Even in pottery, Wal-Mart has made an effort to upgrade its house-branded pottery to capture the latest fad in this segment--antique, weathered looks. New designs in the Better Homes & Gardens line included mock old-world urns priced from $29.84 to $39.84.

Though still not up to par perhaps with the cache Target receives for marketing coordinating garden decor accessories or the name power of a Martha Stewart at Kmart, Wal-Mart nevertheless is making a much stronger fashion-forward statement in outdoor living.