Interior Business State of the Industry

Interior Business magazine's full State of the Industry report appears in the September/October issue. The report covers issues from the economy to labor and industry pricing, and includes the annual Top 40 interiorscapers listing.

Normally a challenge, plant availability hasn't been as much of an issue this year as in previous years.

In fact, Bert Wingard, president, A-Oak Farms, Lexington, S.C., said availability was "not at all" a problem. "Last year, we started running into problems on large pieces and when they run out, you're out," he said. "This year, we haven't had that problem, nor with small plants."

Though quantity wasn't a problem for some interiorscapers, quality, at times, was. "I think, in general, that plant quality has decreased," noted Nancy Silverman, president, Plantscaping, Cleveland, Ohio. "There are fewer nurseries growing big material and the small material just doesn't seem to be as substantial as in the past. However, it's a vicious cycle of interiorscapers balking at increases from the grower because we can't get increases from our customers. Therefore, how can they continue to spend money growing a better product?"

Chris Wittroch, operations manager, Designs in Foliage, Dallas, Texas, said he has noticed decreased quality in some plants due to a nematode problem in Florida. "Before they can leave the nurseries in Florida, they have to be treated and then a state inspector has to come in before they can be transported," he said. "Due to this problem, some plants have been put on the quarantine list."

In particular, Wittroch has observed lethal yellowing on Kentia palms. As a result, finding these and certain other plants in the desired quantity takes a little longer than it used to. "Each nursery is certified to do certain plants," he said. "We used to be able to call one nursery to pull 15 plants, but now they're only certified to do six, so it takes more time to fulfill the client's requests. We're having to pull plants out of California or nurseries here in town, and we are paying more."

Wittroch also said color plants were harder to come by this year. "Color has been hard to get a hold of," he said. "It used to be you could specify the number of plants and number of colors. But now they'll say - no oranges, no reds and we have to go over our schedules. That has been harder. Usually we only see this from Valentine's Day through Mother's Day (when consumer demand also is high), but it has been tight all year. I've had to go to nurseries in town, but I'm hoping to find some new sources."

Linda Novy, president, Gardeners' Guild, San Rafael, Calif., who uses 10 suppliers consistently, said they are usually able to find all the plants they need, but like Wittroch pointed out, color has been more difficult. "Sometimes color may not be available, so we have to go for substitutes," she said.

LOW-TECH RULES. Overall, the interior landscape industry lags behind others when it comes to using technology in their operations. Most prefer a face-to-face, pencil-and-paper approach to business vs. a cold, digital approach.

Regina Heller, owner, Designscapes, Woodland Hills, Calif., said in terms of technology, she has not added or changed anything this year. "I have clip art for presentations when I need to do that," she said. "I have e-mail, but I don't have a Web site. I have been wanting to do that, but it's always on the backburner, and I've talk to people who have one and I haven't heard anyone talk about really generating a lot of business from it - it's just inquiries and that's it."

Jennifer Bozarth, general manager, Reeds 'N Weeds, Nicholasville, Ky., also said her company didn't invest in any new technology this year. "I don't know that it would help us in the market of Lexington," she said. "What really works is to go out and meet people face to face."

Scott Barron, president, Botanical Designs, Seattle, Wash., has just begun dabbling with computer technology and is deciding how much of an investment to make in it. "I see technology as a positive," he said. "We just have to decide how many resources to put behind it because of the size of the company. We're probably low on the tech end of the world here outside of QuickBooks and Word. We subcontract out our computer imaging and we do big presentations with color binders, which are very tactile. I think ours is a low-tech, highly personalized industry."

On the other end of the spectrum is McRae Anderson, president, McCaren Designs, St. Paul, Minn., who is increasing using the computer to help design his interior landscapes. "I'm really into using digital imaging and using PageMaker to set up our presentations," he said. "CAD is also becoming required to do design work and PowerPoint is becoming a factor in presentations for larger groups."

Like Anderson, Marilyn Holb, sales, Oakland Interiorscapes, Columbus, Ohio, is becoming more technology-oriented. Increasing, she uses pictures on CD Rom as an aid in sales presentations. "I did a presentation a couple weeks ago where I was able to show plant placement because of a computer program," she said, noting another advantage - being up to the client's level. "We are trying to relate to certain industries. We all have our own e-mail and we have a Web site, and certain people know that's the way you want to do business."

This year, the biggest step in technology for Novy has been investing in digital cameras. The cameras have allowed her to take pictures and drop plant images inside pictures of the client's space for a more visual sales presentation. "We don't use CAD - that is more complex than what we need," she said.

Novy said the company is planning on expanding external e-mail, which is only on a few computers currently. "We want to expand it to everyone in the company."

Jim Mumford, president, Good Earth Plant & Flower Co., San Diego, Calif., recently added new technology to his business. "We networked seven computers, got cell phones for five additional employees and did a Web site upgrade."

Madelyn Simon, president, Madelyn Simon & Associates, New York, N.Y., also recently invested in an interactive site, which unlike many other sites, sells services online. But she has been disappointed with the results. "We spent $20,000 initially to get it up and running and designed," she pointed out. "It just didn't work. I have it - I'm not going to disband it, but it was a waste of money."

Click here to view the rest of the September/October issue of Interior Business magazine.