Park Seed/Jackson & Perkins - bankrupt

[digitS']

their press release: As the general economic situation declined starting in 2008, demand for luxury, non-essential purchases dropped sharply. All of our brands experienced significant decreases in sales for core products, including roses, perennials, and garden-inspired gifts."

story here, click

A more complete story here: Horticultural giant files for Chapter 11

 

[patandchickens]

Yah, well, that's what they get for investing in stock so far from their historical core of seed sales.

But whoa, that's a big surprise and shakeup. I did not read the story (dialup + almost dinnertime), are they going out of business for real, or just reorganizing?

Pat

 

[digitS']

Yes Pat, I think they just need to pull back a bit. They've been getting a fair amount of bad press from gardeners this year. It looked like they were imploding.

When I saw the headline, my first thought was George C. Ball, Jr. not George W. Park - I thought Burpee was going bankrupt again.

Don't understand it . . . I see these little outfits and so many just keep going and going, year after year. The big boys are in it for the bucks and maybe that's it . . .

I recently learned that Gardens Alive owns both Thompson and Morgan in the USA and Canada! How did something like that happen?

The selections of these big outfits are wonderful, I just don't know about the financial shenanigans they get themselves into.

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

Don't understand it . . . I see these little outfits and so many just keep going and going, year after year. The big boys are in it for the bucks and maybe that's it . . .

I think they get ambitious. "Look, we're doing this well with just seeds, imagine how much MORE profit we could make if we added this, this and this... and bought that other company there... and expanded into such and such...". Was it Burpees or Parks that bought out Heronswood a while back, I forget? What a stupid disaster THAT was :/

I would imagine that plenty of smaller companies have ambitions too, but are small enough to have a well-grounded Fear Of Overextending Self.

I recently learned that Gardens Alive owns both Thompson and Morgan in the USA and Canada! How did something like that happen?

Huh? Weird!!! (I am not a big Gardens Alive fan... :/)

Do you know if there is some list somewhere of what companies own what other companies, in the gardening world? I would be *really* curious to know which few are still independant entities, as opposed to being eaten up by megacorporations...

Thanks for posting this news item,

Pat

 

[digitS']

.... Was it Burpees or Parks that bought out Heronswood a while back, I forget? What a stupid disaster THAT was :/

. . . Do you know if there is some list somewhere of what companies own what other companies, in the gardening world? I would be *really* curious to know which few are still independant entities, as opposed to being eaten up by megacorporations...

Burpee owned Heronswood, briefly.

Who Owns What

I was curious about Jackson & Perkins and so read a little about it on Wikipedia. As a kid, I lived within a couple of miles from Harry & Davids and the Bear Creek Orchards. My former FIL worked for them.

Reading about Jackson & Perkins in recent years is kind of sad.

Steve

 

[vfem]

My mother swore by Jackson & Perkins... and every rose she ever planted was from them. Its so sad to hear.

But like most seed companies having issues, they are trying to sell more then seeds and plants anymore!

 

[ducks4you]

So Sad! Hopefully, they'll be able to re-trench, and focus on their best sellers, then weather the economic storm. It would be a shame that this company, which survived through the great depression, should fall under the current one. Yes, I said it, we're in a depression. sorry!!

 

[digitS']

I understand that this is the way things work in this country but it also seems to me that this is the way things DON'T work (from Wikipedia):

1963, Charlie Perkins died . . .
1966, Jackson & Perkins Company was purchased by Harry and David
1972, Bear Creek Corporation, an umbrella organization, was formed over Harry and David and Jackson & Perkins companies.
1984, the corporation was sold to R.J. Reynolds Development Corporation*
1986, Bear Creek Corporation, which included Jackson & Perkins, was purchased by Shaklee Corporation**
1989, which in turn was purchased by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd of Japan.***
2007, Harry and David Holdings sold most of the assets of Jackson & Perkins to an investment group headed by Donald and Glenda Hachenberger.**** The Hachenberger investment group also owns an interest in the Park Seed Company.

*a tobacco company?

**Shaklee Corporation - nutritional supplements, weight-management, beauty, and household products.

***drugs?

****these are the owners of RE/MAX real estate outfit in Florida, North & South Carolina.

I wonder what the collapse of the real estate market contributed to the problems at Park and J&P.

Steve

 

[vfem]

GOOD analysis there! I think they are connected for sure! Re/max here is having restructual issues that began about 5 months ago in the area. In which means, many realtors left the mother ship to reform themselves as their own bosses, or began new careers leaving Re/max high and dry!

I know of 2 offices that closed and formed partnerships with other outfits in the area NON-re/max.

 

[digitS']