These are unforgettable pictures from the times of the pandemic, the long queues in the parking lots in front of local hardware stores when it was finally possible to buy plants, soil, flower boxes and DIY accessories again. As soon as a lockdown was over and the next one was not yet in sight, the rush was huge. Investments were made in expensive garden furniture, even in swimming pools. – After all, many people spent their holidays at home.
In any case, suppliers of gardening and DIY supplies are preparing for good times. Stocks sparsely stocked due to supply chain disruptions were replenished. And then, when the pandemic finally seemed over, came the Ukraine war, the energy crisis, and inflation. Consumers slammed on the brakes. In view of skyrocketing energy costs, many a hobby gardener and do-it-yourselfer was spoiled for consumption.
On average, Austrian garden owners invested 599 euros in their personal greenery in the previous year, according to the “Garden Trend Study 2023” by IMAS on behalf of Bellaflora. If one considers that more than half of all inhabitants of the country own a garden, one can assume a considerable market volume here. According to the study, despite multiple crises, only 18 percent of those surveyed are currently cutting back on their garden, balcony and terrace expenses.
Garden set saved
Completely different insights result from the data from the Fachverband Heimwerken, Bauen, Garten (BHB). This does not necessarily indicate a crisis in the domestic garden and DIY sector. After all, last year it still had total sales of a respectable EUR 3.17 billion and growth of 4.2 percent compared to the previous year. However, the growth is mainly generated from the recent price increases, as explained by BHB Managing Director Peter Wüst.
If you then take a closer look at the sales by product groups for Austria, it is precisely the garden-related products that show the strongest declines: garden furniture, soil and seeds lost more than five percent by February 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Even with irrigation, garden tools and garden equipment in general, the declines are already a little over three percent.
“Where it is not absolutely necessary, savings are made. Then there is no new seating area for the garden,” says BHB spokesman Jörn Brüningholt, describing the mood in an interview with the “Wiener Zeitung”. The catch-up effects following the lockdown period were a “roll backwards” anyway and the mentality of the “protective castle effect” would have given an additional boost, i.e. people wanted to make themselves comfortable at home.
Multikrisen-Delle
Now, however, given the multi-crisis scenario, there is a dent. “But we are optimistic as an industry. Especially those segments that are linked to renovation and energy saving are doing well at the moment,” explains Brüningholt.
Incidentally, this dent is also visible in the data from Statistics Austria, as Wifo economist Marcus Scheiblecker knows. In an interview with the “Wiener Zeitung”, he explains that at the beginning of 2023 there was a significant drop in retail sales of iron and construction compared to the same period last year. In January this year, a minus of 12 percent was recorded, in February 15 percent. However, he emphasizes, garden expenses are not shown separately here, they are in the same pot as DIY.
“Historically, such slumps are not unusual either,” the economist then adds. The pandemic period with its repeated closure periods “would have messed everything up a bit”. The time that followed was characterized by “back-swing” effects, Scheiblecker explains. The bottom line is that January and February 2023 show a real minus, with January in particular this year also having to be compared with a particularly good January 2022, when the catch-up effects of the Corona years had a particularly strong impact.
DIY for Gen Z
If there is currently little business to do with gardening and DIY, what alternatives are there for the relevant dealers? In fact, a lot is happening in the hardware store scene. During the pandemic, younger people conquered the do-it-yourself bastion, reports BHB spokesman Brüningholt.
At first the boys only tinkered to kill time at home in lockdown, but they are now turning to new challenges. The result: do-it-yourself courses are booming online and are sometimes even offered by hardware stores. This new community is also being driven by the shortage of craftsmen and price increases. Some bravely try new projects. But installing the photovoltaic system in the garden is not that easy, says Brüningholt. The new ranges relating to energy saving and products are popular, but need to be explained. With a little digital tutoring, everything is then tried out, from the balcony power plant to the wind turbine in the garden to the raised bed with vegetables.
Vegetables against crisis
Although the trend towards self-sufficiency is “not serious care, but pure psychology,” as Brüningholt jokes. “You can’t take care of a family with a few heads of lettuce.” – It’s probably more of a crisis management strategy in the vegetable patch. The garden study cited at the beginning confirms that this is still a trend. The interest in self-sufficiency areas with vegetable plants and herbs, fruit trees and berry bushes has increased enormously, it says there. “57 percent of those who have a garden have vegetable or herb beds, 56 percent have fruit trees and 53 percent have a raised bed, followed by berry bushes (52 percent), rain barrels (47 percent) and compost heaps (44 percent)”, it gets meticulous executed.
Although the whole thing could somehow pay off, at least as far as future forecasts are concerned, because, as the saying goes: “Gardeners are the only ones who know what’s blooming for them.”
2023-05-15 05:59:38
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