Yesterdays results from Marshalls will do little to sway me from my opinion that the Landscaping industry is going to have a very rough time in the coming twelve months.
In a week when Marks and Spencers - probably one of the leading indicators of how high street retail sales are fairing - announced a steep drop in sales with a prediction from Sir Stuart Rose that Britons can expect two years, rather than two months, of pain, Marshalls have provided further evidence that a steep downturn is under way and for the landscape garden providers, fierce competition will now ensue for the reduced number of contracts up for grabs.
Marshalls advance order book for domestic installations is showing signs of stagnating even though this should have been the busiest time of year.
"In the Domestic market, installer order books, from the latest survey at the end of June 2008 at 8.2 weeks, are identical to April 2008. This implies that order intake has matched installations in the seasonally busier spring months. In June 2007 installer order books were at 9.7 weeks (2006: 8.9 weeks); however, this was inflated in 2007 due to the backlog created by the exceptionally wet weather and elooding last year."
Members of the Landscape Juice Network seem realistic about the business climate but further afield ironically, there is still a buoyant mood amongst landscapers, which leads me to believe that provisions have not been made for any severe reduction in income and sadly, many landscaping companies refuse to think about diversification into the domestic and commercial garden maintenance area.
How is 2008 treating your business?
Recent Comments