New products cater to busier customers

Home Channel News, Nov 9, 1998

Lawn and garden vendors have introduced a slew of new products and merchandising programs; many are designed to appeal to older and more time-pressed shoppers. For older gardeners, John Deere's Homelite division has introduced the Yardvark, a lightweight leaf blower that can be hand-held, or wheeled around on its own little cart. Fiskars, based in Sauk City, Wis., recently debuted its EZ Reach pruner, which weighs just two pounds and extends up to 16 feet.

For those hard-to-reach places that need watering, Swan Hose of Columbus, Ohio, offers its Hoserap. The product is a bendable hose extender equipped with a sprinkler attachment, enabling the user to create a water wand in any shape desired.

Another company that's considering the changing face of outdoor living customers is Bemis. The company's casual furniture division is producing new outdoor furniture with extra-wide seats.

And for lazy gardeners who can't be bothered to learn which plants go well together, The Garden Group in New York City offers eight varieties of The Garden Wheel. The rotating wheels, which include shade, perennial and annual garden assortments, help customers mix and match color-coordinating plants.

Vendors in this category are also presenting new, cost-effective products. One example is Ames' 2-in-i spreader; the product, with its broadcast and direct seeding settings, spares customers the expense of having to buy two different machines.

When homeowners are ready for a break from gardening chores, they can save more money with Rubbermaid's new filtered water bottle. Rather than buy an endless series of spring-water bottles, shoppers can purchase one of two sizes of Rubbermaid filtered bottles, good for up to 90 days; the larger size features a replaceable cartridge. The company is marketing the product with the slogan, "Drink Free Water Again!"

While some products are focused on saving money, others try to save customers' garden-chore time. The "Rake, Gather and Go" rake system from True Temper comes with a detachable scoop that makes it easy to gather up raked leaves for disposal. True Temper's Jackson wheelbarrow line now features a front roll bar near the wheel that makes contact with the ground and allows the user to more easily control the emptying of tile wheelbarrow's contents.

Wells Lamont, the work-glove supplier, has brought out its "Earthworks" line, made from all-natural materials that don't require the use of chromium, a chemical regularly employed for tanning. The Niles, Ill.- based supplier also now offers dealers a line of washable gloves. (Wells Lamont included a small box of Cheer detergent with the press information.)

Other products capitalize on tin hottest segments in tile category, indoor gardening and water gardening. A .H. Hoffman has introduced specially formulated, extra-heavy soil designed to sink to the bottom of ponds. And Fiskars just introduced a new line of "interiorscaping" products, including an indoor potting drop-cloth.

Serving retailers

New merchandising programs aimed at making life easier for retailers were featured at the recent National Hardware Show. Tuff-Bilt Lattice, based in Flint, Mich., created a lattice merchandising system that allows lattice and accessories to be displayed on a four- by five-foot pad. Recently, the company was selected as Lowe's Cos.' 1998 lawn and garden vendor of the year, in part owing to the new system, available in both small-store, and warehouse-sized formats. Its newly introduced paintable and wood-look lattice models also worked in their favor.

At least one lawn and garden manufacturer unveiled an entirely new corporate image. Naan Sprinklers & Irrigation Systems, based in Cypress, Calif., is shaking the dust off its Israeli-kibbutz heritage with its new branding, "Irrigator by Naan." The new company mascot is an alligator.

Company general manager Tom Spain was brought aboard last October to create a new brand identity for the 60-year-old firm, known for its "whisper-quiet" garden sprinklers. Spain said he worked with The Hickman Group in Irvine, Calif., on the new image, which included a switch to standardize the company color scheme to gray and yellow.

While some companies focused on new merchandising. others heeded retailers' warnings about wanting fewer vendors by teaming up with other suppliers to create broader assortments. Recently, New England Pottery in Foxboro, Mass., was purchased by American Tack & Hardware, according to a spokesperson at the latter company. The makers of Hold-All basket planters, as well as an extensive line of decorative wall switch plates. American Tack is based in Monsey, N.Y.