Despite Frank's Nursery & Crafts failure, LI nurseries optimistic

Long Island Business News, Sep 17, 2004 by David Reich-Hale

Joseph Tota is surrounded.

To his west is a Home Depot in Copiague. To his north, a Home Depot in Deer Park. And to his east - that's right, a Home Depot, in West Islip.

Their stores are everywhere, said Tota, owner of Better Gro Garden Center, a family-owned and operated nursery. There's also one in Farmingdale. It's pretty much a fact of life.

The same way that local hardware stores have had to fight off the proliferation of big-box chain stores, nurseries have had to survive in a market that's become more competitive because Home Depot, Lowe's, Target and Wal-Mart have pushed their way into the business. Need clothes and garden tools? You can get them both at Target.

And while big-box stores have helped lead to the recent demise of Frank's Nursery & Crafts, a Michigan-based chain with a presence on Long Island, locally owned nurseries say they're concerned about the competition but survive by offering a better variety of products and good customer service.

We have a tremendous following for a neighborhood business, Tota said. We sell pretty much all garden center needs. Annuals, small bushes, mulches, small trees and shrubs - we have all of it. Lawn decorations, bird baths, flowers - we try and carry as much as possible.

And that's why many small nurseries on Long Island stay in business, said Bob Pospischil, chief financial officer of Bissett Nursery Corp. of Holtsville, a nursery wholesaler.

Home Depot can bring in a lot of something, Pospischil said. For instance, they could bring in a whole bunch of silver maples, because that's what's popular at the moment. But they're not going to have the same variations and sizes as a smaller nursery. Home Depot and Lowe's bring in a large quantity of a specific item for a pre- determined price.

Tota, who also operates Garden Gate Nursery and Florist in Syosset, said that without variations and selection, he'd be in trouble.

Now that the fall is here, we'll carry a lot of the items that are popular that time of year, like mums, he said. So it's important to have all the products.

The product is key, but so is the fact that we offer our expertise [to customers]. A lot of people like being dealt with one-on-one. They don't want to wait 15 minutes and they want advice. I'm not so sure that the big stores can give them that service. We can, Tota added.

That, he said, includes carrying purchases to a customer's car.

They can go to Home Depot or Wal-Mart to get grass seed, but where's the personal service? Tota said.

As a way to strengthen its relationship with customers and the community, 150-year-old Hicks Nurseries in Woodbury offers seminars and workshops. It also has a fall festival, which includes hay rides for kids and pumpkin-carving contests.

A Hicks representative wasn't available to comment.

Florists are also facing the reality of more competition, though Marty Halleran, owner of Glo-Dot Florist in North Babylon, isn't worried about Home Depot. His sights are on King Kullen, which is in the same strip mall as his florist - and Stop & Shop, which has a super store just up the road in Deer Park.

About 10 years ago, the supermarkets started selling flowers, and it's made it tough, Halleran said. But my selling points are this: I'll do whatever the customer wants. If they need it delivered, I'll do it. I have to do that to compete. Also, our flowers are fresher and of better quality. The flowers at the supermarkets won't last as long.

Despite the increased competition, Pospischil expects many of the local companies to continue to survive - if not thrive.

Home Depot and Lowe's have been around for a long time. This isn't new, and for the most part, the smaller nurseries are still around, Pospischil said. I subscribe to the school of thought that competition is a healthy thing. And it's also a good thing for the consumer because it controls services and prices.