Spanish gardens in good shape

Private households in Spain spend around € 1.217 bn on garden products. This breaks down into about 57 per cent for garden furniture and decorative items, and 25.5 per cent for plants. Households which purchase garden products have an average annual spend of € 134. However, average spending in the individual product groups can be higher. These are some of the figures ascertained by Nielsen and presented at Iberflora in Valencia. It is the first comprehensive survey in Spain to deal with the garden market. According to Antonio de Santos, a Nielsen director, the fact that one out of three households said they spent more on their garden than in 2009 is indicative of a stabilisation of this market. The most important sales channels are supermarkets and hypermarkets, which claim a 17 per cent market share each. They are followed by nursery gardens and garden centres at 14 per cent each, while florists, DIY stores and smaller shops level-peg at twelve per cent each. The internet share comes to two per cent. Slightly over half (55 per cent) of the private households in Spain, a figure of approximately nine million, regularly buy garden products. After all, four-fifths of apartments in Spain have either a patio or a garden. Consumers make an average investment of € 189 when purchasing garden furniture. Those buying tools spend an average of € 64, and the figure is € 56 for plants. Less is spent on other product groups: € 39 annually on fertilizers, € 34 on planters and € 19 on soils. The average Spanish consumer goes shopping for garden articles approximately three times a year. He is extremely satisfied all in all – a result of the survey that Antonio de Santos finds “very positive and not to be underestimated”. What is more, this satisfaction can be noted in all the different sales channels, though it is most evident in garden centres. Even if the sun does shine more frequently in Spain than in other countries, the gardening business is still subject to powerful seasonal influences. More than half of all purchases are made in the months of March through to May, and around one-fifth in July and August. Nielsen also investigated the pet market within the framework of the garden survey. One of the facts featured in the results is that one-quarter of Spanish households keep a pet. The volume of this market is put at € 1.156 bn. Download: