It looks like Hines nurseries are having further troubles. The second largest wholesale nursery in the country was just de-listed on the New York stock exchange according to Open Register.
Well over a year ago we discussed the problems at Hines. I said then, “We don’t have too much sympathy for Hines. We don’t buy from them as they are thick in the box stores. Could this be that the boxes are squeezing the wholesale nursery trade? I know that at Home Depot, vendors like Hines, don’t get paid until the product is sold at the retail level. If the plants remain unsold for any reason, Home Depot does not pay. Considering the care plants receive at my local Home Depot I am not surprised that there are many unsold plants. I wouldn't get the same treatment from Hines or any of my vendors. I have to pay, and then do my best to sell them.â€
One of the reasons I have a negative reaction to “Urban Outfitters†getting into the garden center business is because it’s a publicly traded company. Stockholders don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to rainy springs, hot summers, the real estate market slowing, and other common problems that our industry deals with. How do you explain to them that next year, if the weather co-operates share prices might go up?
I hope Urban-Outfitters stores make it. It’s just that pressure to have an up season every year makes companies do strange things. Hines and other wholesalers not being paid until the product is sold is one example.