Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/12/2014 -- Gardening remains a niche category in home and garden in the United Arab Emirates and sales of gardening remain much lower in the country than in European countries. This is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the majority of consumers in the United Arab Emirates live in apartments and flats rather than in houses, cottages or villas and hence they have no actual gardens. This means that they have little need for plant protection such as pest control, herbicides and watering. Furthermore, the majority of those living in the United Arab Emirates who do own villas or houses are mainly local Emiratis and it is very rare for local Arab people to become involved in doing their own gardening, an activity which is regarded as more of a chore than a pastime in Arab culture.

That said, however, there has recently been a growing trend for DIY gardening products which are already popular among the few Western expatriates who own villas or houses as they are familiar with these products from their home countries. Many of the companies involved in gardening in the United Arab Emirates have also recently widened their retail distribution networks, expanding out from home and garden specialist retailers to include grocery retailers and this has widened their consumer base to include the local Arab population as well as Asian expatriates. The cost of employing gardeners in the United Arab Emirates has also risen recently, encouraging many consumers to do their own gardening. Nevertheless, the majority of the residential compounds in which people live take care of all maintenance and this includes gardening for the communal garden facilities which are common and this discourages or precludes individual; consumers from doing their own gardening.

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Competitive Landscape

Gardening remained a highly fragmented category during 2013, with the leading player Black & Decker Ltd managing only a 1% value share. Bayer CropScience Ltd and Husqvarna AB were in second and third positions respectively, each with just under 1% value share. The leadership of these three companies was due to a number of reasons, not least their well-established brand reputations amongst Western expatriates, many of whom are familiar with the companies and their brands from their home countries. The growing popularity of gardening power tools is due to the growth being recorded in the ownership of villas and houses. The Gardena brand is also very popular and is widely available in the United Arab Emirates' leading home and garden specialist retailers outlets, although its high prices make it difficult for the brand to compete with private label.

Industry Prospects

Home ownership in the United Arab Emirates is expected to continue rising over the forecast period, with a high number of residential compound developments expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Rising demand for properties has encouraged developers to announce new large-scale residential real estate development projects. These include Mohammad Bin Rashid City, Akoya by DAMAC, Dubai Sustainable City and Jumeirah Island Park by Nakheel, all of which are expected to be completed by 2016. The growing number of expatriates pouring into the country is also expected to continue to contribute positively to gardening categories such as pots and planters, lawn mowers category and soil as the United Arab Emirates' consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the maintenance of their gardens.