Industry Stats

**"* H* <g*@charter.net>**

This is from The Weekly Dirt, an ezine from Branch-Smith Publishing.
Doreen Howard

New stats reveal state of the garden industry
Reports issued in the last few weeks show garden retailers have challenges 
ahead of them.
. The U.S. lawn and garden market racked up $24 billion in sales in 2006, 
according to a report from Packaged Facts. Sales are only expected to reach 
$25.7 billion by 2011. Organics is 1 category showing growth. This segment 
saw a 12%-14% increase over the past 5 years.
. Total lawn and garden retail sales declined 3% to $34.077 billion in 2006, 
according to the Nat'l. Gardening Survey. Total lawn and garden sales have 
not seen a significant increase in the past 4 years. U.S. households spent 
an average of $401 on lawns and gardens in 2006, 3% more than the $387 spent 
in 2005.
. Home centers have supplanted garden centers as the top outlet for garden 
purchases, Research and Markets reported. Garden centers have been forced to 
refocus on narrower, more specialized inventories to compete.

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