Business Barometer May/June 2008

These responses came from a March 26, 2008, survey and originally appeared in the May/June 2008 issue of Water Garden News.

Spring’s Just Starting
Water garden retailer in Two Rivers, Wis.
Spring is just starting here in Wisconsin. In the winter, we mostly get calls for winter maintenance.

Now that the weather is warming up, customers who already have ponds are coming in for fish and plants. They are looking for unique plant colors.

For fish, they are looking for spotted or black instead of basic orange and white. People also are asking for basic spring maintenance products, such as conditioners and algae control.

Our phones are busy. We are getting ponds ready for the spring by cleaning filters and pumps. If the weather stays nice, the store will begin to be busy as well.

Pond Plants, Koi Sell Fast
Water garden and landscape retailer in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Sales of plants and fish are holding steady so far this year. Those two items are what we sell the most.

Mainly, customers are asking about our lily, lotus and iris varieties. As for fish sales, koi are the most popular. It depends largely on individual homeowners and what size ponds they have. In addition to koi, goldfish and shubunkin tend to sell well.

I’ve noticed that more people are getting into outdoor kitchens and barbecues. We have a lot more customers coming in for estimates on having those type of items installed in their back yards. This year we haven’t installed an outdoor kitchen yet. Our season is just getting started. We expect this outdoor trend to keep growing and boost business.

Right now, things are still pretty quiet. Once we get into the warmer months, we’ll see our sales pick up. There are more new homeowners in this area. With that, we expect a demand for water features, ponds and fountains.

Sales Suffer Overall
Koi retailer in Washington, D.C.
My sales are slow. Business has dropped 10 percent.

I focus on koi, but people aren’t buying much of anything. Virtually across the board, I don’t see as much foot traffic in my store as I did in previous years.

I think the economy is scaring people. My plan is to keep focusing on the customer and offering friendly service.

Small Garden Gifts Maintain Good Sales
Fountain and statue retailer in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
For water features, people are looking for smaller fountains and those made of hand-carved stone. For statues, religious statues are popular as well as bronze pieces, especially spitters for the pond. Birdbaths also are highly popular.

The season for fountains runs from April through October, so the season is just starting. Because my store is in a tourist area, I have a busy Christmas season as well. We are keeping busy with small garden gifts, such as frogs and turtles, as well as table-top fountains. The weather has been nice lately, which helps the business.

For ponds, people are asking for pumps. Many customers also are asking questions about how to keep their pond clean, for example, keeping efflorescence down and reducing cloudy water and algae growth.

The housing slump has made things slower. People are taking more time to make decisions about buying fountains. Customers are looking and asking questions and saying they will come back later, but fewer people return.

Maintenance Mania
Pond and water garden subcontractor in Greenville, S.C.
People here are going more into water gardens. I’ve been busy with new water feature designs and installations.

With that comes a spike in project maintenance. We’re entering our busy season, when people call for pond clean-outs, to restore pumps and check pH levels.

People don’t want to invest the time to maintain a pond. That is good for me because that’s when we get to do all the upgrades and restorations.

For that reason, many people want the pondless waterfall. It requires less work. Some, however, do still want the whole experience with the pond and the fish.

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Business Barometer May/June 2008

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