The Big Box

by Kelly D. Norris

For starters, it’s a big box of worms that I’m opening up with this column.  Heated exchanges have erupted more than once over what some call the big box quandary.  What place do big-box stores have in the horticulture industry?  Here’s something worth throwing around:  why not ease up on the big-box stores since it’s where a lot of gardeners shop and where many start gardening?  Nothing like picking a fight to start the New Year, right?

I’m well aware of the cons.  Many nursery owners feel that big-box stores degrade the value of the products we market and sell.  A laundry list of reasons could be read off including poorly educated help, improper plant care, less-than-bargain pricing, and a host of others.  The land mine in the battle zone is the sight you often see in front of your neighborhood big box around late July.  Crisp, toasty, burnt, and charred are all adjectives that come to mind to the observant shopper.  To a discerning nurseryman the list might include feelings of shame, embarrassment, sympathy (for the plants), and a yearning for justice.  And if you’re thinking that this can’t possibly leave a flattering impression of our industry on consumers, you’re probably on to something.

But I can find some goodness.  In spring, big-box stores are a welcome mat to venturesome folks who might toss around the idea of being a gardener.  Perhaps the biggest coup is cheap prices which ensure no grave loss of investment should they fail at their new project.  These venues lure beginning gardeners away from the tangles of everyday life, our real competitors in the horticulture industry, as they make their way to bargain busting aisles of everyday products.  The one-stop shop is ever appealing to my generation and my parent’s generation.  When it comes to convenience, these stores have it in the bag, no pun intended.

So where does this leave us?  I’m suggesting that independents and the big-box stores reach a symbolic compromise.  Both have changes to make.  Independent operations face price competition and lack the lifestyle elements necessary to make their store a one-stop shop.  Big-box stores, however, often lack the customer service independents pride themselves for.  They also fall short of having high-quality products.  The compromise would be to identify partnering opportunities between big-box chains, independent owners, and growers.  It also involves more specializing, allowing the grower to find a niche that can be exploited by revenue channels that big-box chains have access to.  In order to maintain their identity, independents may have to streamline their offerings to become unique, counterintuitive perhaps but nobody goes to an antique store expecting to buy new furniture.  On the continuum of unique and original, you can’t be too far off either end.  All parties should seek out more opportunities to promote the love of gardening.  This is what it’s about.  Hectic, 21st century lifestyles are what we compete against.  The more opportunities we give consumers to buy our products, the more sales our industry can see overall.  It’s an impulse driven world.

Kelly D. Norris is Farm Manager at Rainbow Iris Farm and, when not in the garden, can be found roaming the greenhouses of Horticulture Hall at Iowa State University.  Check out his blog, the E-Garden Almanac, at his website www.kellydnorris.com.