Smith & Hawken Closure

Smith & Hawken was an upscale garden retail outlet with 56 stores in the United States. On July 10, 2009, it was announced that all Smith & Hawken stores would cease operation. Smith & Hawken stores were located in upscale retail locations in 22 states.

Smith & Hawken was founded in 1979 originally as a garden tool supplier. The company was acquired by Scotts Miracle-Gro company in 2004 for $70 million dollars. When Smith & Hawken closed, it had approximately 700 employees in the United States.

Scotts Miracle-Gro chairman and CEO, Jim Hagedorn, cited the continuing weak economy and "lack of scale" as the primary drivers behind Smith Hawken's closure. According to Scotts' May 2009 quarterly report, Smith & Hawkens net sales were down 22.4% for the first half of fiscal 2009. Smith & Hawken's founders were reportedly not upset to learn the company they founded 30 years earlier was closing. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Dave Smith and Paul Hawken were relieved by the announcement, stating that "Scotts couldn't have been a worse corporate owner."

Smith said he asked friends not to shop there after Scotts purchased the company in 2004.