Dr. Evil may have wanted to (mistakenly, in 90s currency) steal ONE MILLION DOLLARS, but I think he even would have agreed with me that what Scott Miracle Gro has done to the brand and concept of Smith and Hawken is just, well, evil.
I have already posted a link to a more detailed account on facebook, but it bears re-sharing, as this story is not about hard times for retailers in a bad economy, but one of greed and primarily, stupidity. A big company bought something it didn't understand. They didn't know what they had, and they didn't take any time to try and make it work—to the detriment of a thirty-year company and 700 lost jobs.
I used to shop at the SoHo Smith and Hawken when I lived in New York. It was definitely a downtown oasis. When I moved to D.C. I was happy to visit the Georgetown store. Both stores were regular haunts during the holidays—many of the ornaments on my Xmas tree were purchased there. Living in the city, I was more likely to buy a potted orchid than garden supplies, but it was always a fragrant, tasteful, pleasant place to visit, whether making a purchase or just browsing. Browsing is highly under-rated.
Like the lunkheads who killed Gourmet magazine, this decision just screams, "Huh?" No one thought about building up the online business before closing all the stores? Why would they have them all close mid-November and miss the holiday season? Why was there not more fanfare? I found out after-the-fact. Why must we be surrounded by such frickin' idiots? Like I said, I don't have a garden, but you can be sure there won't be any Scott product purchases in my future.
