Landscaping Services

The US landscaping services industry includes over 70,000 companies with combined annual revenue of $40 billion. Large companies include the TruGreen Landcare division of ServiceMaster, The Davey Tree Expert Company, The Brickman Group, and Asplundh Tree Expert. The vast majority of companies are small with annual revenue less than $2 million. The industry is highly fragmented: the top 50 companies hold only 15 percent of the market.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven partly by construction of new commercial properties and partly by the economy's overall health. Because management and equipment costs are mainly fixed, the profitability of individual companies depends on demand volume and operations' efficiency. Small companies can easily compete with big ones, except in providing services to large customers. Big companies operate mainly through local branches or offices that have operations almost identical to those of local companies. Annual revenue per employee is about $70,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Landscaping services include commercial and residential landscape maintenance, landscape installation, irrigation systems, tree services, chemical lawn care, and "line-clearing": branch removal around utility lines. Larger companies may offer several of these services, but most provide just one. Landscape installation and maintenance account for the bulk of industry revenue; tree services account for about 30 percent. In winter, many companies provide snow removal services.

For a typical commercial client, a landscape maintenance company might provide mulching, fertilizing, and flower planting in spring; mowing, pruning, irrigation, and fertilizing in summer; ...