The French market for garden equipment and supplies is the second largest in Europe, just behind the leader Germany. Similar to the sports, tourism and leisure sectors, gardening market in France has seen strong demand over the past 5 years - +17% - and today annual sales of garden equipment and supplies in France tops €7.6Bn. In 2005, French households spent more on their gardens than on their home computers.
More than two-thirds of French households have some garden space attached to their principal residence. In 2005, 48% of French households had a garden; 21.5% enjoyed a terrace or balcony and just 28.1% had no garden while 2.7% employed a gardener.
Distribution is dominated by the large chains from specialist gardening chains to DIY stores. The specialists account for roughly 17% of the market. The market leader is Jardiland, which in the last 20 years has built up a network of 113 stores, opening between 7 and 10 a year. Number two specialist Botanic counts 57 stores in France generating €275m sales in 2005. Truffaut, a subsidiary of the Belgian retailer Louis Delhaize, counts 45 stores throughout France while Delbard, which recently bought rival Gally, now has 40 outlets and is targeting €100m this year.
