garden.com

Hmmm, lots of heat and fire here but a lack of data. :-)  And, just for the
record, I don't have insider access but I've just finished up a week of
giving talks to trade shows both in Halifax and in Chicago (Ball
publishing's GrowerExpo) where this was part of the discussion. Among other
things as a full time garden writer, I write a monthly column on Internet
marketing for Grower Talks - a Ball Publishing publication.

There are undoubtedly are unpaid accounts at garden.com - that's what
happens when a company goes bankrupt.;-)  Walmart got the content and
graphics. Burpee got the url and client list.  Approx 4.5 million dollars
changed hands in this bid. This means that shareowners are currently likely
to get .10 per share on payout. Vendors will be handled differently
according to contracts and relevant bankruptcy laws.  There are still
assets for sale - i.e. the backend trellis ecommerce system etc. So, all
this may change. :-)  The bankruptcy of garden.com is because the revenue
model was not a viable one.  You don't invest +100 million dollars and then
lose +5 million per quarter and expect to stay in business for very long.
All this is part of nasdaq public information.

Re: Burpee - The seed company is held inside a holding company (a normal
procedure) but the holding company also owns or part owns a variety of
companies - from Ball Seed (a wholesale broker), Burpee, Story Books,
Macmillan Publishing, several garden centres etc. etc. And yes, Burpee
bought Heronswood.  All this is part of the public record.

This is all part of the consolidation in the trade. Whether this is good or
bad depends on your point of view. It is however, no different than what is
happening in many other parts of the economy. Nobody said it was easy to
run an independent garden centre but surviving and competing against the
big box stores is possible (that was one of the topics of one of my Halifax 
speeches);-).  

After 23 years in the trade, I could go on about what makes a good nursery
or an economic successful one but that is really irrelevant to the
discussion at hand and to the topic of this list. Perennials are "hot" and
continue to be so in the trade - you as gardeners ensure this is happening.  

Doug
Doug Green
Syndicated gardening columnist, Freelance writer
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
Gardens should be like love affairs - hot and spicy.


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