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The grass is greener
The grass is
greener
As the lawn care & landscaping industry booms, more
companies are entering the local field
Few sights are
more serene than workers mowing beautiful green lawns, trimming shrubs and
hedges, and planting trees. And few industries are enjoying as strong a boom as
lawn care maintenance and landscaping. The demand is so strong, in fact, that
new businesses are rushing to tap into the local market.
“The field is
crowded,” acknowledges George Moore Jr., president of Green Acres, a 26-truck,
50-employee lawn care and landscaping company based in Ridgeville. “It seems
like every day new people are getting into the business.”
In 1997, the
nation’s lawn care & landscaping industry boasted $61 billion in revenues,
up 17 percent from 1996. In a survey conducted last August by Lawn & Landscape magazine, most
contractors predicted additional growth of more than 20 percent over the next
year. Some 70,000 companies and 623,000 employees comprise the industry, and
the number of new lawn care entrepreneurs is rising.
The industry
cites as reasons for its robust growth strong economic performance and consumer
confidence; an active market for sales of new and existing homes; and continued
recognition of the practical benefits of having a professionally designed,
installed and cared-for lawn and landscape.
Moore estimates the Charleston market at approximately $100 million.
Merging mania
At present,
consolidations are rampant. In November TruGreen-ChemLawn, the nation’s largest
lawn care company and an $800 million subsidiary of outsourcing giant
ServiceMaster, announced plans to merge with LandCare USA, the country’s
largest provider of commercial landscape maintenance and tree services. The
merger creates the largest commercial landscaping company in the United States
with annual revenues of more than $400 million.
According to
Moore, ServiceMaster recently extended its nationwide reach to coastal South
Carolina by purchasing Lighthouse Landscaping of Hilton Head. “If ServiceMaster
comes to Charleston, they’ll certainly be a big competitor,” he says. “We’ve
been in business nine years, and we’ve noticed there’s a lot more competition
here.”
Guy Artigues of
Mt. Pleasant-based Pleasant Places agrees.
“Our industry is definitely consolidating. That’s the future. Companies doing $5 million worth of business
and up are being bought up by the big companies.”
The Charleston
area currently has more than 60 lawn care companies. Considering the area’s
warm climate, natural beauty and ongoing commercial and residential
construction, it’s no wonder that the local lawn care industry is booming.
Fortunately,
according to the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), despite
the rapid consolidation and labor shortage, well-managed companies still have
plenty of opportunities to grow.
“Consolidation
will change the face of the industry and make it stronger,” predicts ALCA
President-Elect Steve Glover. “I think it will create a more professional image
and hopefully a higher standard of entry to the industry.” He adds: “The
industry is in its infancy, and we wouldn’t have companies throwing millions of
dollars into it if they didn’t see a future here.”
Pleasant
Place’s Guy Artigues says consolidation isn’t so much a problem as is customer
loyalty. “Customers you’ve done business with for years are now going with the
lowest contract bid. And ninety percent of the time they’re finding that the
lowest bid doesn’t necessarily mean the best quality.”
Artigues adds
that quality service is what keeps companies competitive in a business that’s
easy for newcomers—two-or three-person operations—to enter. Pleasant Places, in
business since 1984, recently won an award for the best-maintained community,
Mount Pleasant’s Brickyard Plantation. “It’s nice to have that kind of feather
in your cap to separate yourself from the competition,” Artigues says.
Moore agrees. “You’ll
stay in this business if you do quality work. Do what you say you’ll do and you
shouldn’t have any problems.” He adds that the ALCA might establish
certification guidelines to help ensure that only quality companies enter the
business.
Charleston is a
virtual Eden for lawn care & landscaping companies. “There’s a lot of
construction going on,” Moore says. “Daniel Island, which is a 25-year project;
Rivertown; Ion; Park West. There’s still plenty of business
here. The future looks good.”
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