Garden News - OT
totototo@telus.net (Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:14:07 PDT)
On 17 Aug 2010, at 23:16, James Waddick wrote:
Just read that Park Seed and Jackson & Perkins are up for
sale to the highest bidder. These used to be the 'Gold Standard' for
perennials, roses and more, but now have debts well above their face
value...
Another sign of the economy.
Support your local growers.
I'd say it's another sign that the people who run large corporations simply
don't know what they are doing. There have been endless reports of such and
such well known specialty firm being bought by Giant Humongous Ltd. Pty and
being promptly, and irretrievably, run into the ground.
Another example from the nursery business: Dan Hinkley's Heronswood Nursery,
bought by Burpees, who then proceeded to dumb down the offerings to accommodate
buyers in the NE states who simply couldn't grow a lot of Heronswood offerings.
Other, non-horticultural examples:
1. The Bon Marche, a PacNW department store, bought by Macy's. Macy's evidently
does all their decision making in New York, so they no longer carry the
everyday plaid flannel shirts commonly worn in the PacNW. And men's
handkerchiefs are now a seasonal item sold only during the run up to Christmas.
2. Brier's ice cream, formerly the one ice cream widely available that is (was)
made from real ingredients (notably sugar), bought by Nestle. The formulas were
immediately reworked to use cheaper ingredients, notably the pervasive high
fructose corn syrup, in (I suppose) the belief that no one would notice. I
notice the price of Brier's hasn't gone down, but I don't buy their ice cream
anymore.
The list is endless.
Corporations seem to take a one-size-fits-all approach, so any kind of business
they get involved in that demands real attention to, and care for, their
customers goes to the dogs overnight. Behind this I detect whiffs of the lie
taught to MBA students, that any MBA can manage any business.
Sayonara, Parks. Sayonara, Jackson & Perkins.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island