Nurseries, Garden Centers & Farm Supply
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 9,400 nurseries, garden centers, and farm supply stores in the US sell lawn and garden products and farm supplies. Major product categories include grain and animal feed; fertilizer, lime, chemicals, and other soil treatments; outdoor nursery stock; pet supplies; and hardware, tools, and plumbing and electrical supplies. Companies may also sell fuel (oil, LP gas, wood, charcoal), automotive products and supplies, lawn and garden tools, and indoor plants. Services include equipment rental and repair and consulting services (landscape design, agronomy). Companies may offer delivery services for large orders (fertilizer, sod, dirt).
Competition from Alternative Sources
Nurseries, garden centers, and farm supply stores compete with a variety of alternative retailers, including home improvement and hardware stores and general merchandise retailers.
Highly Seasonal Sales
Sales for farm supply retailers are highly seasonal, with peaks during the spring and fall to support crop schedules.
Industry size & Structure
The average nursery, garden center, or farm supply retailer operates out of a single location, employs 16 workers, and generates $3-4 million annually.
- The nursery, garden center, and farm supply retailing industry consists of about 9,400 companies operating 13,400 stores that employ about 157,000 workers and generate about $35 billion annually.
- The industry is highly fragmented; the top 50 firms account for about 41% of industry sales.
- Tractor Supply is the largest farm supply retailer in the US with over 1,940 stores. Large nursery and garden centers, such as Armstrong Garden Centers and Stein Garden Centers, have multiple locations but typically operate in one or two states. Most companies are small, independent operations.
Industry Forecast
Nurseries, Garden Centers & Farm Supply Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 22, 2024 - Sales Fall, Employment Higher
- According to data from the National Retail Federation, sales at building and garden supply stores declined 3.4% year over year unadjusted and 1.8% month over month seasonally adjusted in June 2024. Producer inflation for nursery, garden, and farm supply retailers declined during the first five months of 2024, according to producer price data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment by nursery, garden center, and farm supply stores grew year to date through May 2024 and remains 22.5% higher than pre-pandemic levels, per the BLS.
- Garden Center has released its Top 100 Independent Garden Centers in North America list, with Armstrong Garden Centers and Pike Nurseries taking the top spot with 48 locations and $212 million in 2023 retail revenue. (Pike was acquired by Armstrong in 2008.) Rounding out the top five were Petitti Garden Centers (9 locations, $104 million in 2023 retail revenue), Meadows Farms Nurseries (17 locations, $73.7 million), Mahoney’s Garden Centers (7 locations, $50.4 million), and Green Thumb Nursery (5 locations, $48 million). Geographically, 37 states and six provinces had garden centers on the top 100 list. California, Iowa, and Ohio had the most independent garden center locations on the list, California with 55 stores, Iowa with 18, and Ohio with 16. The average 2023 retail revenue of the Top 100 Independent Garden Centers was $16.6 million. The list was compiled using 2023 retail revenue as reported by garden centers.
- Consumer confidence levels fell in June 2024, after an uptick in May, according to data from The Conference Board. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index was 100.4 in June 2024 from 101.3 in May 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that confidence was the highest among those under age 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Plans for large appliance and smart phone purchases rose on a six-month basis, while plans for car purchases stalled.
- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) monthly jobs report shows that unfilled job openings fell in June 2024, with a seasonally adjusted 37% of small business owners reporting jobs they could not fill. The reading is down five points from May 2024. A seasonally adjusted net 15% of small business owners plan to create new jobs over the next three months, unchanged from May. About 19% of owners reported labor quality as the most important problem facing the business. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “This summer, small business owners continue to try to hire and find qualified employees for their open positions. The number of small businesses with one or more job openings they can’t fill remains at exceptionally high levels. However, owners are raising compensation at historically high levels to attract and retain employees.”
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