Merchandising Strategies

Garden centers and hardware stores are traditional retailers of watering cans. Typically watering cans are a commodity item yielding low profit margins. They can be difficult to store or shelve, and are often found hanging from above. Garden centers selling The U CAN watering system benefit in several ways:

1. Differentiation from the big box and home goods stores. Price competition against the retail giants is a futile effort for independent garden centers. Garden centers must instead find ways to sell innovative products coupled with personal service. The U CAN is an innovative watering system that was created by a gardener for gardeners and is exactly the type of unique gardening tool they expect to find at a local garden center.

2. The mark up available to garden centers may align the profit margin on The U CAN to be similar to other hard good products.

3. The U CAN may be purchased in a small 10 pack quantity enabling procurement without a significant investment.

4. Sales of water soluble or liquid fertilizers can increase. The U CAN may be displayed as a holiday, Mothers Day, or Fathers Day gift package with fertilizer and gloves.

5. End cap displays of fertilizer are a wonderful nesting area for The U CAN to be displayed developing a razor/razorblade relationship between The U CAN and the users of water soluble or liquid fertilizers. Another successful but simple low effort sales strategy is to have the checkout cashier simply mention to any customer purchasing fertilizer, “Have you checked out The U CAN?  It works great with the products you are purchasing.”

6. The U CAN has received tremendous recognition and has been referred to as the “perfect watering can” by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and a “Best of the Must-Haves for 2010” by Joe Gardener. Links to these reviews are available on the website.   Click here list of quotes.