Landscape Management, September 2013
LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET SEPTEMBER 2013 16 PHOTOS LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT ADDING SERVICES Scotts is nothing if not a seller of name brand products In fact the company credits much of SLSs initial success to consumer recognition of the green oval logo associated with the 145 year old brand With that in mind its no surprise part of SLSs growth will come from a strategy to leverage other well known Scotts consumer brands Ortho for insects and Miracle Gro for plants and sell them to current lawn service customers About 15 percent of SLS customers buy more than one service among Scotts LawnService Ortho Pest Control Service or Miracle Gro Professional Tree Shrub programs These offerings arent new but theres a greater focus on increasing their penetration Kura says For the most part SLS techs perform the additional services at the same time as the lawn care applications The tree shrub service includes Miracle Gro plant food applications in addition to monitoring for insects and diseases In some markets mulch delivery and installation are an option featuring not surprisingly Scotts Nature Scapes branded material In Orthos case lawn techs perform exterior perimeter pest control treatments quarterly However in Florida Texas and Georgia SLS has begun selling indoor pest control A next step for growth and it may be the biggest is crossing the threshold and selling Ortho in homes Kura says Pest is seen as a prime opportunity for growth because Scotts estimates it to be an 8 billion category 25 percent SCOTTS LAWNSERVICE Landscape Management visited The Scotts Miracle Gro Co headquarters in June to see some of its research facilities and interview Scotts LawnService President Brian Kura Clockwise from top left Scotts spends about 50 million annually on R D much of it occurs at its headquarters in Marysville Ohio Scotts turfgrass researcher Eric Nelson Ph D shows a trial being conducted in the companys deciduous tree shade trial area Scotts tests its mulch products to see how the colors hold up in the sun
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