Opportunities indoors and outdoors

Following a sharp decline in 2013, gardening retail value sales in Western Europe have continued to recover, climbing by 0.5 per cent to reach EUR 28.4 bn in 2017. Value growth is expected to inch upwards during 2018 as the economic environment improves; however, uncertainty around Brexit scenarios results in a modest forecast value CAGR of 0.9 per cent over 2017 to 2022. Horticulture (i.e. bedding plants, trees/shrubs, seeds and indoor plants) accounted for just over half of all gardening retail sales in Western Europe in 2017. Other major categories include gardening equipment (i.e. hand tools, power tools, lawnmowers and watering) and garden care (i.e. fertiliser, soil, pest control and herbicides) at 24 per cent and 13 per cent of retail sales respectively. Robotic lawnmowers, bedding plants and indoor plants are the key categories to watch and will likely lead the charge in terms of absolute value growth over 2017 to 2022.

While country-level variations exist, houses continue to be the most popular dwelling type in Western Europe, with 55 per cent of households living in a house, either detached or semi-detached/terraced, in 2017. This translates into larger homes; more than 40 per cent of households have five or more rooms in Western Europe. However, rising property prices, congested spaces for new builds and housing demand in megacities like London and Paris have resulted in downsizing in terms of dwelling size and type. Over 2017 to 2030, an extra 2.5 million households in Western Europe will be living in a detached house, compared with an extra 3.9 million households living in an apartment. The latter appeals to particular consumer types, e.g. millennials looking to apartments and studio flats in metropolitan cities and increasingly in suburban areas and "satellite" cities.

Apartment living, health and wellness (especially grow-your-own trends) and the desire to bring nature indoors all create opportunities for indoor gardening, including demand for hydroponic gardening kits, smart gardening kits and indoor plants. In fact, retail sales for these categories (tracked via indoor plants) are forecast to grow by EUR 178 mio over 2017 to 2022, making it one of the fastest-growing gardening categories in Western Europe. A focus on healthy living drives interest in compact herb and vegetable gardens, while apartment dwellers are also keen to bring nature…