According to Home Channel News, Jim Hagedorn, CEO of Scotts/Miracle Gro say's, "he would sell Smith & Hawken for a reasonable offer. But until then, Scotts intends to 'run it hard.'" At a recent investors conference on February 10th it was learned that, "Scotts upscale Smith & Hawken lawn-and-garden chain recorded a 23 percent drop in sales to $31.9 million, suffering from a big decline in holiday sales". Some major reductions have taken place including, "'job cuts and pay cuts. Anybody who stayed, unless they're operating a store, had to agree to a 25 percent pay reduction, and they did,' Hagedorn said." Interesting is the news that, "overall, Scotts Miracle-Gro reported a first-quarter loss of $57 million, on sales of $318 million -- up 3 percent over sales in the same quarter last year." Scotts has put their hope in Pat Farrah who was one of the founders of Home Depot. According to Hagedorn, "'He is one of the best merchants in the world, for sure, and he's got some team members he added that, I think, can get this thing righted.'"

Any bets?