Further development of internationalism

The Kress und Kastner era at Gardena came to an end after more than 40 years when, in late March, the two founding families sold their majority in the holding company to a business corporation set up by the Swedish Industri Kapital 2000 Fonds. Industri Kapital intends to complete its takeover of the Ulm-based manufacturer of garden tools by stages.
According to information from the company’s head office in Ulm, the presence of Industri Kapital is finally resulting in clarification of the further orientation of the European market’s leading manufacturer of garden tools. Gardena wants to remain independent.
Recognisably Gardena, even if the product seems almost irrelevant.
Gardena’s growth strategy envisages the widening of distribution on foreign markets as well as acquisitions, in addition to the continuation of its policy of innovation.
Gardena intends to reposition its brand on the markets of America and Asia, for only relatively modest success had been achieved in the US by the middle of last year. As market studies have shown, European positioning in the US market is only partly possible because the purchasing decisions of American consumers are more strongly shaped by a product’s “convenience”. In Asia, on the other hand, the future positioning of the Gardena brand will more closely follow the European positioning.
Wolfgang Becker, a member of the executive management of Gardena Holding, explains that, “It is a major goal of our brand management to market the Gardena brand name on the most global scale possible and to establish a consistent appreciation of the brand as a solution to gardeners’ problems. Nevertheless, the company hopes to meet the demands and requirements of consumers in the different regions of the world despite global marketing.
The proportion of products sold abroad is rising steeply and has already reached over 60 per cent. The distinctive international design of the products plus informative packaging are intended to safeguard the brand image. In the field of communication the focus is now also on the garden as the embodiment of emotional experience, whereas the emphasis was previously more on conveying the advantages offered by the products.