The gardening market - France (2024)

1.2 Gardening, a dynamic market on a global and European scale

The global market

A distinction is made between the general gardening market, covering plants, outdoor furniture, traditional and mechanical tools, fertilizers, vehicles, etc., and the more restricted market for gardening tools.

The global gardening tools market is valued at US$**.** billion in ****, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of +*.*% over the period ****-****, reaching US$***.** billion in ****. [***]

Gardening tools market size and forecasts World, ****-****, US$ million Source: ****

Major global trends

We can observe three major global trends impacting the gardening market:

Growing urbanization, with **% of the world's population now living in cities, and **% by ****. There can be as much as a *-degree difference between urban and rural environments, and vegetation plays an important role in this phenomenon. So, in this context, planting trees, revegetating and creating green spaces will become increasingly important. Demographic change, with an expected population of some ** billion and an ageing population. Climate change: with almost +* degrees expected by ****.

1.3 The French gardening market

Gardening sales

The evolution of the gardening market can be seen below. In ****, the gardening market will be penalized byinflation, the real estate crisis and the lack of sunshine over part of the country. Distributors saw their sales fall by *% to a total of *.* billion euros.

trend in gardening sales France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

In addition, the gardening sector can be segmented into several categories: indoor plants, outdoor plants, decorative objects and garden products.

Market segmentation

Segmentation of the gardening market France, ****, in Source: ****

We can also look at the evolution of garden market sales by product category. In particular, we can observe a **% drop in sales of garden leisure products and garden decorations, and a *% rise in sales of power tools.

sales trends by garden market segmentation between **** and **** France, ****-****, in Source: ****

Focus on food superstores

The graph below shows an increase in sales in **** with the Covid period, followed by a stagnation in sales since ****.

Indeed, with the pandemic, the French have had more time to tend to their gardens with the various confinements. Even for those who don't have a garden, sales of herb pots and cherry tomatoes, for example, have increased.

Garden sales ...

2.1 The French and gardening

Below, we can see the number of French people with a garden, and therefore the potential number of customers in the gardening market.

In ****, **% of French people had a garden or terrace, i.e. around **.* million households. The average garden size for the **% of French people who have one is *** m².

Percentage of French people with a garden in **** France, ****, in Source: ****

Since ****, there has been a drop in the number of households buying plants in France, from **.* million to almost ** million in ****, i.e. **% of households, * points less than in ****.

change in the number of households buying plants France, ****-****, in millions Source: ****

The penetration rate described above has therefore fallen by almost * points since ****.

evolution of the penetration rate of plant-buying households France, ****-****, in Source: ****

Why do the French have a garden?

The French use their gardens for a variety of reasons, but the main ones remain to relax at nearly **%, then to meet or entertain friends at nearly **%.

Reasons why the French use their garden a lot France, ****, in Source: ****

A new trend is also emerging: the creation of kitchen gardens. This trend not only allows the French to eat tasty vegetables, but also to produce fresh, ...

2.2 Household demand for plants

On an individual level, more thanone adult in two buys plants in France. As with households, the average quantity per individual buyer is falling, while the average budget is rising.

We note that people aged ** and over are the biggest consumers of plants, with a penetration rate of **%, even though they represent only **% of the overall population.

Spending by individual plant buyers according to age France, ****, in Source: ****

Women are also over-represented, accounting for almost **% of consumers.

Breakdown of plant purchases in France by gender France, ****, in Source: ****

Breakdown of French plant purchases by social class France, ****, in % Source: ****

Finally, looking in even more detail, the individuals who spend the most on plants are people without children, as shown in the graph below. They are also more likely to be part of * or *-person households, and have higher incomes .

Breakdown of plant purchases by number of children in the household France, ****, in % Source: ****

Similarly, we note that almost **.*% of households are thinking of reducing their spending on household equipment, and therefore on garden equipment, as shown in the graph below.

Percentage of households planning to cut spending on the following items France, ****, in Source: ****

2.3 Consumer habits

The temporality of consumption

The weather has an enormous influence on the consumption of gardening tools and products. In fact, June **** was a rainy month compared to the normal season. As a result, we are witnessing a drop in consumption, with a fall of almost **% in the Gardening/Animals category.

Breakdown of non-food trends France, ****, in Source: ****

Spring is the time of year when gardening market activity is at its peak. Rising temperatures, the end of frosts and longer days create ideal conditions for planting,landscaping and maintenance work such as lawn mowing and hedge trimming.

So, during the spring, from March to May, sales explode in specialized gardening stores and in all stores in general.

Quantity of plants purchased per month by the French France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Consumption habits: quantities purchased

On average, plant buyers remain small (***).

Quantity of plants by type of buyer France, ****, in Source: ****

Plant volume by type

We are also witnessing a segmentation of plants by type: indoor or outdoor.

We note that outdoor plants have fallen sharply, from nearly *** million to less than *** million in almost * years, a drop of almost **%.

Volume of outdoor plants (***) France, ****-****, in millions Source: ****

Whereas the ...

3.1 Distribution channels for gardening articles and products

Below is an analysis of the gardening market value chain.

Source: ****

There has been a decline in the number of companies registered under NAF code ****Z (***), which covers the following activities:

-Retail sale of flowers, potted or cut flowers and floral arrangements, plants and seeds-Retail sale of plants, trees and shrubs-Retail sale of fertilizers and phytosanitary products-Retail sale of pets, pet food and pet supplies

Number of companies France, ****-****, in number of companies Source: ****

Similarly, the number of employees has fallen sharply as a result of the decline in the number of businesses.

number of employees France, ****-****, in numbers Source: ****

We can also observe the geographical distribution of these gardening companies. The majority are located in the Ile de France region and in the south of France, where the sunshine means more gardens.

3.2 Focus on specialized garden centers

There are eight different distribution channels for garden products:

DIY superstores: Leroy Merlin, Castorama, Bricorama. They are leaders in the garden market, offering a very wide range of tools and outdoor equipment at very attractive prices. They are also ahead of specialist retailers in online sales of garden products. Garden centers: Jardiland, Botanic, Villaverde. Strongly challenged by DIY stores, they have started to grow again since **** and are trying to overcome the seasonal nature of their sales. Self-service agricultural chains (***)[***] Motorcycle specialists: UniVert, Vert Loisirs, etc. Food superstores: E. Leclerc, Carrefour, Auchan. Producers (***); Florists: Monceau Fleurs (***). Pure players, both generalists (***).

Let's now look at the penetration rates of the various outlets for gardening products.

Supermarkets remain the leading distributors. And florists and garden centers remain neck-and-neck in terms of penetration rates.

Penetration rate of different outlets for gardening products France, ****, in Source: ****

The average price spent per plant increases significantly at all points of purchase, particularly in DIY/decorative stores and distance selling, with the exception of florists, where the amount decreases in comparison with ****, as highlighted in the graph below.

Average price per plant France, ****, in Source: ****

There is also a difference in the distribution channels used by small and ...

3.3 The rise of e-commerce and second-hand goods

E-commerce has been growing steadily in recent years:

Admittedly lagging behind in terms of digitalization (***), the gardening and DIY market now presents great opportunities in terms of e-commerce. [***]

Today, the vast majority of garden center chains are absent from online sales, with the exception of a few specialist chains that are developing their online distribution channels, such as Jardiland, Botanic, VillaVerde and Truffaut. In ****, for example, Truffaut developed a ship-from-store system that enables it to offer an express delivery service provided directly from its points of sale. The InVivo cooperative is also looking to launch a marketplace dedicated exclusively to gardening, bringing together the offerings of its various subsidiaries such as Gamm Vert, Jardiland, etc.

Most garden center chains only have a non-commercial website to showcase and inform about their offer. This is because it is difficult for them to adapt their logistics structure to e-commerce, due to the specific nature of bulky garden items and their sensitivity to transport conditions.

But it is above all the generalist platforms such as Amazon and Cdiscount that will benefit from the boom in online sales of garden products. Indeed, thanks to the very large audience for their sites and the competitiveness of their ...

4.1 The different gardening items

Within the garden market, there are eight main product families:

Outdoor plants ; Indoor plants ; Outdoor leisure products; Power tools (***); Landscaping items and furniture; Gardener's equipment (***); Garden products (***); Decorative items

Diversification to cope with market seasonality[***]

Garden centers most often offer products for pets, but they have also developed other offers in recent years in a bid to diversify.

Among the new offers aimed at"deseasonalizing" the market are :

local or organic food skincare products textiles (***)

4.2 Offer pricing

Consumer price index

If we look at tools and equipment for the garden (***), we see two periods with :

an overall rise in prices between **** and **** then a stagnation in prices since ****, with a slight rise in ****, corresponding to inflation since ****

Consumer price index for tools and other household and garden equipment (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

Looking at trends in consumer prices for garden, plant and flower products, we note an overall rise in prices since ****. Prices in **** are on average **.**% higher than in ****, indicating a more than substantial rise in prices.

Consumer price trends for garden, plant and flower products France, ****-****, index base *** **** Source: ****

Average annual budget

Below, we can estimate the average annual budget per purchasing household. This increased significantly in ****, following the covid, with a budget of €***, then fell back to reach almost €*** today.

Average annual budget per purchasing household France, ****-****, in euros Source: ****

Let's take a closer look at the segment of the population that buys on credit. For garden purchases, asmall percentage of the population buys on credit, around **.*%. This can be explained by the fact that garden purchases are not necessarily essential purchases, so households don't particularly buy on credit.

Percentage of households ...

4.3 Supply trends

Interest in organic farming

Market players are committed to sustainable development, in particular by offering organic products. This enables them to boost sales volumes by arousing the interest of consumers, who are increasingly concerned about respect for the environment. For example, the proportion of women buying gardening products that can be used in organic farming almost tripled between **** and ****, rising from **% to **%.The main differences between conventional and organic gardening are as follows: Moderate watering, avoiding irrigation in the middle of the day and in direct sunlight The non-use of chemical components (***) in favor of natural components such as compost Seeds must be organically grown, in order to be in line with this approach Soil should be fertilized as much as possible with compost these products can be organic fertilizers, natural treatments replacing phytosanitary products, etc.

What's more, consumers are increasingly inclined to choose more sustainable solutions such as bio-sourced pots for their plants, as shown in the graph below:

Willingness to pay more for eco-responsible alternatives France, ****, in Source: ****

The introduction of carbon scores

Environmental labelling will undoubtedly be one of tomorrow's key issues in non-food markets. A little like the Nutri-score for food products, ManoMano now offers a carbon ...

5.1 NAF nomenclature

The gardening market can be referenced by Insee under a large number of different NAF codes, depending on whether we're talking about gardening tools, gardening services, or products for garden maintenance. Here are a few examples of the NAF codes concerned:

**Z "Retail sale of flowers, plants, seeds, fertilizers, pets and pet food in specialized stores": this subclass includes the retail sale of flowers, potted or cut flowers and floral arrangements, plants and seeds, seedlings, trees and shrubs, fertilizers and plant protection products, as well as pets, pet food and pet supplies. [***] *.* "Garden products, plants and flowers": This class includes natural and artificial flowers and foliage, plants, shrubs, bulbs, tubers, seeds, fertilizers, composts, garden soil, lawn turf, specially treated soils for ornamental gardens, horticultural preparations, pots and planters, as well as natural and artificial Christmas trees and delivery charges for flowers and plants. [***] *.*: "Large tools and equipment": this class includes motorized tools and equipment such as electric drills, saws, sanders and hedge trimmers, garden tractors, lawn mowers, tillers, chainsaws and water pumps; repair of large tools and equipment. [***] *.* "Miscellaneous services relating to housing": this class includes in particular condominium charges (***) in apartment buildings; services relating to home security; snow removal ...

5.2 Gardening regulations: laws dealing mainly with neighbors

Gardening regulations restrict the activity in terms of the disturbance it can cause to neighbors. These disturbances may arise from the noise the activity may produce, but also from the legal space for planting and growing plants between one's garden and that of one's neighbors.

Regulations governing gardening on property boundariesWhen an individual plants a tree or shrub on a property boundary, he or she must respect a distance of *.* metres from the boundary if the plant is less than or equal to * metres. This distance increases to * metres if the plant itself exceeds * metres.

Maintenance and harvesting of flowers and fruit from plants on property boundaries:

If the plant grows between the two properties, the two gardens concerned are responsible for maintaining the part of the plant that protrudes into the garden. The same logic applies to the harvesting of fruit and flowers from this type of plant. If the plant belongs to your neighbor and protrudes into your property, it's your neighbor's responsibility to look after it, even for the part in your garden. As far as picking is concerned, you can only pick fruit and flowers that have fallen on your property. It is strictly forbidden to pick ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Leroy Merlin France (Adeo)
• Castorama France (Kingfisher)
• Jardiland (Groupe Teract)
• VillaVerde
• Gamm Vert (Teract Groupe)
• Truffaut
• Delbard (Teract groupe)
• Botanic
• Honda Manufacturing France
• Teract (Invivo Retail)
• ITM Equipement (Bricorama, Bricomarché, Brico Cash)
• Kingfisher (Castorama, Bricodépot, KingFisher , Screwfix)
• Florentaise
• Espace Emeraude
• VoltR
• Irrijardin
• Point Vert
• Willemse France
• Jardineries du Terroir
• Nature et Découvertes
• Floralux
• Rustica (Media Participations)
• Evergreen Garden Car - Love the Garden
• Rouchette
• Burgermeister Groupe
• Villa Verde
• Emeraude Création
• Pubert Motoculteurs
• Inédis
• OOGarden