26 TURF GRASS FOR THE RETAIL MARKET Lawns for ornamental purposes and play In the retail market for private consumers, we meet our customers’ needs by offering innovative concepts for various turf solutions using DLF brands, private-label brands and straight varieties for the wholesale market. We offer various tailored customer solutions depending on the local climate and other conditions – with seed packages available in sizes ranging from 20 g to 100 kg. These concepts and products are marketed using a range of social media platforms, printed media, the press, in-store point of sale materials and direct sales. Strong growth in sales of turf seeds to private consumers The second quarter of 2020 will be remembered for extraordinary turf seed sales to private consumers. The combination of spring drought, which in many places hits turfs hard, and a Coronavirus lockdown giving people more time at home in their gardens, fuelled demand for turf seeds. Many seized the chance to upgrade their lawns with new grass seeds. Garden centres, Do-It-Yourself chains and other shops where consumers buy turf seeds had to submit extra orders to refill empty shelves with cartons and bags of grass seeds. This left production departments facing an extra workload as well as the challenge of following government guidelines to avoid spreading the virus. "The second quarter of 2020 will be remembered for extraordinary turf seed sales to private consumers" Strong growth in the American market The increased retail sales also hit the American market. Here, the distribution company X-Seed, which DLF acquired in 2017, saw a significant increase in organic growth via a big customer with over 200 Farm and Home outlets in the Midwest targeting farmers and private customers. For this season, X-Seed developed a new turf seed product in the Mastergreen series with ProNitro-coated seeds, which were well received. Sales to agricultural customers more than doubled compared with the previous season, and sales via Amazon’s online platform grew significantly as more customers bought seeds online.
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