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Outdoor products can be big business for specialty retailers. While home entertaining continues to increase in popularity, today's consumer is searching for products which create an impressive statement on the table — whether the table is inside or out.

Marketing lifestyles is an essential tool for retailers. Today's consumer who is in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle equates the purchase of outdoor products as a step towards achieving this goal. Combine this trend with the current fascination with home entertaining and you have the perfect climate to heat up your outdoor product sales.

On the Table

Durable polycarbonate and acrylic products are no longer simply an outdoor statement. They can and should be marketed as lifestyle, home entertainment products. Today's consumers' increasingly busy lives make acrylicware an interesting category to merchandise. The plastic plates of the '50s are history. Today's designs are fashionable, often extensions of existing "indoor" tabletop lines. The result is a growing amount of product suitable for both the indoor and outdoor table — perfect for the customer wanting to entertain outside, as well as the customer who simply wants another option for everyday dishes.

Manufacturers are fusing design and technology to create products both beautiful and functional. Retailers say their customers are buying products that look and feel like glass.

"We carry polycarbonate products because they look like glass rather than plastic. In fact, we refer to it as glassware in the store," said Tracee Clepper, manager of Carlisle, Pa.-based The Kitchen Shoppe. "It's unbreakable, unsmashable, dishwasher safe — it doesn't look like cheap acrylicware."

Clepper said her customers are attracted to the products because of their versatility. She said while they work great outside, many customers also purchase the products for indoor use.

"When you're having a party with a lot of guests, this type of glassware is really great because it doesn't feel or look like plastic. It looks beautiful," she said. "We also find that it makes a nice hostess gift for people who don't really know what to buy, but they know the hostess has a patio or pool deck. We encourage customers to create hostess gifts by combining the glassware with attractive paper goods and acrylic serving pieces."

Customers of The Kitchen Shoppe find the polycarbonate product merchandised in the tabletop department. Clepper said she creates displays with wine accessories for the fourth quarter. For spring and summer displays, she matches the durable glassware with other outdoor products, such as serving trays and barbecue accessories.

"We stay away from patterns and colors. Nice clear styles work well for us because they carry over better indoors. It's universal, which is why we can merchandise it all year," she said. "Our customers like it because it's a high-quality item with a long life."

Dee Park of Lebanon, N.H.-based Board & Basket said her summer picnic and outdoor living merchandise arrives right after Valentine's Day. She concentrated on building collections of colorful dinnerware and drinkware in melamine and polycarbonate.

"We color-coordinate the selections and add lots of really useful serveware — the trip can seem long from kitchen to out of doors without adequate platters, bowls, and baskets. We try to carry over parts of a theme like 'fun fish' from last year for our repeat customers, expanding to include new colors and patterns to offer generous choices."

Park also pays close attention to candle inventory — citronella and untreated — selecting lanterns and hurricane glasses to hold them and dress the table. Place mats, napkins, tablecloths, and napkin rings need to be sturdy and easily laundered or wiped off.

"Our customers also like to choose from fishnet place mats and napkins that match or contrast — summertime's a great time to experiment with color and texture. We don't overlook the children — the Fresh Fish sets of plate, bowl, tumbler, fork, and spoon are great now, and will be used throughout the year."

Randi Meyer, category manager for Albany, Calif.-based Andronico's Market, creates displays filled with everything from the basics to gourmet for the outdoor lifestyle customer.

"We always make sure to stock up on the basics: paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, and plastic cups. No matter what they look like, the basics will always sell," she explained.

Meyer said Andronico's stocks a complete line of acrylics — everything from cups and plates to pitchers and wine glasses. The most important factors for her purchasing decision are hot colors, quality, and reasonable price points.

"Our customers look for what's new. If they saw it on 'Martha Stewart,' they want it," Meyer said. "They want the basic supplies, but they want them with style. The style can be basic, but they want hot colors."

Making sure inventory is varied and unique is another common goal amongst buyers of this category. Gourmet buyer Tim Subcliffe of Houston, Texas-based Berings Home Center said that while Berings carries what he considers basic acrylic styles, the inventory which sells has both a fashionable and functional appeal.

"We carry insulated products, colorful acrylics, and fashionable statements, such as the bubble lines," he said. "What works for us are the colorful, insulated selections."

Subcliffe said his products are displayed around tables in the housewares department throughout the year, but are moved into the main aisles as warmer months approach.

"We do different types of displays close to the main aisles during the warmer seasons," he said. "We merchandise outdoor products to our customers just as we would any other seasonal item."

Meyer merchandises to her customers by creating eye-catching displays with themes. She said, "We have wood tables in our stores at the checkout stands and we will make big, full displays that are eye catching. We will fill it with the basics and then put the unique hard-to-find items in as well to give it flair. We want our customers to get the everyday items and then get the things they wouldn't be able to get at your ordinary grocery store."

Beyond Ordinary

With the ever-changing landscape of outdoor products, keeping abreast of new introductions is critical. Many retailers said they are excited about new products designed for the outdoor market. Meyer said new enamelware introductions are generating customer interest because of their ability to translate both inside and outside the home.

"There is a line of enamelware by a company called Marble Canyon. They have some of the neatest stuff I've seen in a long time. Since it is made out of enamel, you can take it camping or picnicking, but it's nice enough to use on your dinner table. It's definitely a step above the boring paper plate."

Schmidt said she is always looking beyond the ordinary when investigating new products. She's excited about a new gourmet cutlery set designed to travel with her customers.

"It's called The Traveler by Wüstof, an eight-piece set consisting of a five-inch cook's knife, boning/fillet/slicer, scalloped utility, paring knife, sharpening steel, peeler, corkscrew, and carrying case," she said. "All of the pieces fit into pockets of the carrying case, and then it rolls up for easy traveling."

Park said, "Looking for the most exciting new products for outdoors is fun and sometimes challenging. We take cues from customers, finding that the food tent, that gauzy-looking cover to keep little critters away from food outdoors, has been dressed up with pocket inserts and they've brought out a large, economy-size tent."

Tradition Sells

While we're discussing traveling with outdoor products, don't forget picnic baskets. As retro designs continue to show force in both apparel and home fashion, consumers are nostalgic for traditional picnic basket styles.

Subcliffe said his customers appreciate traditional picnic supplies. The independent department store merchandises its outdoor items in both the gourmet and housewares sections.

"We sell a wide variety of picnic baskets from wicker to nylon. Most of our customers tend to go for the traditional wicker varieties," Subcliffe stated.

Berings offers its customers the choice of purchasing empty picnic baskets or ones prestocked with accessories. Customers who want to stock their own baskets may select from a wide range of acrylic tabletop in the store's housewares department.

While traditional wicker and willow baskets grab the attention of one segment of customers, new compact designs are reaching another target audience. Today's picnic offerings include blanket totes, insulated wine bottle totes, stadium packs, sports chairs, wine-and-cheese totes, and more.

Meyer explained, "There's a company that makes backpacks with picnic accessories already in them. The design varies from whimsical to beautiful. Anything you might need for a picnic is in the backpack — wine glasses, napkins, cheese cutting boards, spreaders, cork pullers, plates, and utensils. It's a great idea."

Park said her customers appreciate blanket totes for outdoor sporting events, and beach backpacks, folding sport chairs, and folding tables for extra seating and tabletop needs.

"For walkers, hikers, tailgaters, and even stay-at-homers, we like the selections of products to include the super sturdy backpacks outfitted to hold food, beverages, and tabletop necessities to feed two or four people. The fabrics offered are sturdy canvases, with liners in a variety of great patterns," Park explained. "We like Picnic at Ascot and Picnic Time. Cooler bags, insulated water bottle carriers, and wine pouches are also nice. Picnic baskets have always been popular, and classics from Basketville are staples. Our customers have liked specially outfitted baskets for bridal, graduation, and 'just because' giving."

Further Outside The Box

The outdoor products category literally takes retailers and consumers outside the box. Essential to a successful outdoor program is marketing to customers outside your store. Find ways to put your name in front of customers who want reusable, fashionable, and functional outdoor products. A variety of ways to accomplish this goal range from traditional advertising to direct mail to participating in community environmental cleanup events.

Andronico's advertising program heats up as the summer months approach. Meyer prepares special advertisements around Spring Break and the Fourth of July, highlighting these unique housewares items, along with everyday needs such as chips, beverages, and paper products.

"Preparations for the upcoming outdoor season began at Board & Basket months ago, before Thanksgiving, when we ordered from several key manufacturers," Park said. "Sitting with knowledgeable reps is essential for that to happen successfully. The catalogs are great, but having some 'real products' from which to choose is really helpful."

Cross-merchandising is essential to tell the outdoor story. At Board & Basket, they coordinate books on barbecuing with grilling and serving products, mixing the new with the familiar to suggest through the display what's needed for great outdoor living. Displays change often, and include two windows and a large area inside the store that are devoted to warm weather living as the season approaches and goes along.

"Board & Basket advertises year-round in newspapers and on radio. Our spring tabloid will highlight outdoor living products. Signage in-store tells customers what's new — but the products really speak for themselves."

Helene Schmidt of Minneapolis, Minn.-based Kitchen Window carries polycarbonate glasses and pitchers, as well as mats and napkins within their regular tabletop inventory. The store also stocks inexpensive, colorful plastic plates, bowls, and glasses. The product is merchandised in a cart near the front entrance.

During a "Waste-Free Fridays" event last year, Kitchen Window sold over 3,500 pieces from the cart, while promoting the reusable plastic as an option for those who are environmentally aware.

"Everyone was supposed to promote reuse of items, so we tied our promotional plastic items into that program," Schmidt said. "Companies like Starbucks passed out coffee grounds to use on gardens, while Caribou Coffee gave away free coffee if you brought your own mug."

Chances are your community has an Environmental Awareness Day, whether it be a beach cleanup sponsored by an environmental group or a merchants association event like the one at Kitchen Window.

Communicate with your local business organization and get involved. By associating your name with the event, you will inspire community goodwill and generate foot traffic for your store. It may be a matter of donating reusable plastic cups for participants in the beach cleanup. The donation not only provides free publicity outside your store, but by including discounts to anyone involved in the cleanup, you'll attract new customers to your store.

Each of these promotions proves there are as many ways to promote this category as there are products to buy. So as the temperature rises outside, remember the great outdoors is definitely a category worthy of further investigation.

Key Points:

• Durable polycarbonate and acrylic products are no longer simply an outdoor item. They should be marketed as a lifestyle, home entertainment product.



• Retro designs render consumers nostalgic about traditional picnic basket styles.



• Find ways to put your name in front of customers who want reusable, fashionable, and functional outdoor products.



• Making sure inventory is varied and unique is another common goal of buyers of this category.