Mass market outdoor living product sales stats reflect recession

Pride Family Brands sponsors survey of Top 5 Big Box retailers

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 11/10/2010 9:42:00 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Annual research results on the sales of outdoor living products through big box retailers are published in the November issue of Casual Living magazine, trade publication to the outdoor leisure marketplace.

Pride Family Brands Summer Winds ChatThanks in part to its sponsor, Pride Family Brands, the survey illustrates the Top 5 Big Box or mass market retailers with regard to ranking 2009 sales for outdoor living products.

"As an industry, we are fortunate to have quality research available to bring awareness of the scope of our casual furnishings segment," said Jamie Lowsky, CEO, Pride Family Brands. "As its sponsor, we recognize the importance and acknowledge the valuable insight it provides in relation to our positioning within the consumer buying trends."

Under the supervision of Dana French, director of research for Casual Living, the survey utilized independent market research estimates except in the case of publically held entities. The five retailers captured within the research included Wal-Mart, Lowe's, The Home Depot, Kmart and Target.

Included in the statistics are sales of dining sets, lounge pieces, umbrellas, outdoor tables, bars, bistro sets, hammocks, swings, gliders and outdoor storage. The survey did not include sales of grills, outdoor lighting or outdoor accessories.

Across the entire field of Big Box retailers, the research revealed a decline in sales numbers for the survey period of calendar year 2009. Despite the slip, impressive numbers were garnered by the No. 1 retailer, Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark. With sales in the outdoor segment of $1.8 billion, Wal-Mart held a large margin over the No. 2 retailer, Lowe's, Mooresville, N.C. with outdoor sales of $410 million. At $400 million in sales, The Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga. held the No. 3 spot. Ranked fourth for the second year was Kmart, Hoffman Estates, Ill., at $320 million and in the fifth position was Minneapolis, Minn.'s Target at $185 million.

For all, the category of outdoor living continues to receive heightened emphasis even despite the downturn caused by the effects of the recession. For the leader, Wal-Mart, outdoor living furnishings continue to be sold across its total 3,550 stores.

Each year, Casual Living and its partners embark on numerous surveys covering a variety of topics critical to the industry. Topics range from consumer buying trends to specific item sales numbers or retail venue profiles. Pride Family Brands has partnered with the trade publication in sponsorship of the research for the last two years.

"I would like to thank Pride for continuing to bring timely information to the casual and outdoor industry," French said. "Part of Casual Living magazine's mission is to provide industry data for readers to better run their businesses. We believe this is even more important in today's uncertain economy and appreciate Pride's on-going partnership with us in doing just that."

This exclusive analysis is based on ranking the Top 5 U.S. Big box retailers by 2009 sales of outdoor furniture. The special report was compiled by French with assistance from Database/Web Administrator Cynthia Myers.
For more than 30 years, Pride Family Brands has been a family owned manufacturer of quality handcrafted outdoor furniture. For more information about Pride Family Brands and its lines of outdoor furniture, visit www.pridefamilybrands.com or contact 954-735-9800.