The French gardening industry has experienced exceptional results so far this year. Spring 2011, which was the warmest and driest of the last 50 years, has boosted all garden segments and the overall market increased both in volume and value compared with the year to date 2010. In 2011, the market has been driven by the popularity of environmentally friendly products (organic). Manufacturers and distributors recognized this and took the opportunity to expand their product range. In the YTD comparison, organic gardening products grew by 16.8% in volume and 15.7% in value and now account for almost 25% of all purchases within the gardening industry. Last year, due to the influx of keen gardeners in France (almost 50% of people in the country grow vegetables in their garden) GfK launched a new panel to track seeds (flowers, vegetables, aromatics and pulses). Latest retail data reveals that the seeds market is performing well The latest retail data from this panel reveals that the seeds market is performing well; It was up 8.7% in volume and 7.9% in value for the end of September 2011. This result was boosted by vegetable seeds; Radishes witnessed strong retail sales while carrots and lettuce also achieved robust growth. Within the powered gardening segment, cordless products led the way. In value terms, lawn mowers were the most successful devices and represented 31.5% of the total market value. This year, technology aimed at improving the drudgery of gardening was in demand. Thanks to robot lawn mowers, it is now possible for consumers to have their grass cut from the comfort of their living room. With an average price of EUR 2065, it has an important place within the French gardening industry and amounts to 47.7% of the value for the overall cordless market. The development of lithium battery lawn mowers has also impacted the gardening industry. In 2012, these products are expected to be a dominate force. The retail sales data for this gardening industry news originates from GfK market research 2011.
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