An economic analysis of the marketing trends of the wholesale nursery industry in Tennessee

Changing marketing trends is a major problem facing nursery wholesalers. Developing markets and maintaining market share is of vital importance to insure short term and long term success. Little research has been conducted on the changing economic and marketing trends of nurseries in Tennessee. The purpose of this study was to gather information on the market structure of the Tennessee nursery industry. A survey questionnaire administered personally by the researcher was used to collect data regarding sales by product category, sales by state, share of sales to the firm's largest trading partners, advertising, and transportation.

Ninety randomly selected nurseries from 17 counties were selected from a list of certified nurseries provided by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Three nursery classifications were created in terms of acreage in production-small (0-9.9 acres); medium (10.0-99.9 acres); and large (100.0 acres or more). Thirty nurseries comprised each classification. In addition to the preceding classifications, nurseries are also divided into six groups according to annual sales - less than $10,000; $10,000-$49,999; $50,000-$99,999; $100,000- $499,999; $500,000-$999,999; and more than $1,000,000.