One of the larger names in Marin business lore has gone the way of all flesh, though its soul departed long ago. Smith & Hawken, at one time, was synonymous with words like “community” and “compassion.” Now the garden retailer brings to mind phrases like “equity buyout” and “close-out specials.”
For about 100 employees in Marin, 70 at the Hangar Four Hamilton Landing company headquarters and 30 at the Mill Valley retail location in Strawberry, the closing of the company is sad news, indeed. Today, almost any gig is a good gig—and to be fair, most of the staff probably wasn’t around when Dave Smith and Paul Hawken operated a funky store kitty-corner from Mill Valley City Hall. In its salad days, the company was well known by locals for aiding nonprofits and doing right by its employees.
The company had its start in, of all places, the back pages of New Yorker magazine. Propelled by a love of gardening and a frustration over the availability of quality tools, Smith and Hawken started their business. With a one-inch by one-inch ad, the pair hyped sturdy, hard-to-find English garden tools via mail order in 1979. Three years later, they opened their first store.
But Smith became frustrated with Hawken’s managerial style and left the company in 1987. Along the way, Hawken became a business guru, starring in a PBS series on how to grow a business, as well as an author. But even as Hawken’s star was on the rise, his company was losing ground. Prior to the advent of online sales, the retailer operated a catalog business as well as retail stores. Taking a page from catalog stalwart L.L Bean, Smith & Hawken began offering clothing.
The togs were less than enthusiastically received, and rumblings about troubles began making their way into sidewalk cafes and watering holes. Rumors of discontent between the company board and the remaining founder wouldn’t go away. In the end, however, Hawken did, stepping down in 1992. The following year, the company was sold to CML Group, the same folks that brought you NordicTrack and the Nature Company.
By 1999, CML had gone belly up, filing for bankruptcy and dumping the garden retailer with equity provider DDJ Capital for $75 million. Five years later, DDJ jettisoned Smith & Hawken to Scotts Miracle Gro Company for $58 million and the assumption of $14 million in debt. Scotts, which manufacturers Ortho weed killer, never seemed to know what to do with the company. It pushed further into image retailing, hawking high-end outdoor furniture and then chasing more down-to-earth shoppers via a sales agreement with Target. Last year, Scotts hired Home Depot co-founder Pat Farah to revive the brand, but by then the 56-store chain was reeling, lurching in directions it had never tried. Demonstrating how far the brand had strayed from its gardening roots, it rolled out a line of TV sets designed to be viewed outdoors—apparently they weren’t the answer.
In the Marin Independent Journal, Hawken has hinted he might get back into the garden tool business via the Web, possibly in a venture with Marin Roots Farm owner Jesse Kuhn.
BioMarin on a roll
News of a local business actually growing is notable. So look to Bel Marin Keys as BioMarin adds both jobs and revenues. The pharmaceutical company that’s focused on therapies for rare diseases isn’t only hiring, it’s spending $60 million on renovating several buildings in Novato to pump up production. Since last year, BioMarin has added about 100 jobs and says that more should be added into 2010.
Though the biotech industry is cash-intense, BioMarin has plenty of the long green in reserve—$550 million as of the second quarter. The company has a number of different products in research, and thanks to its strategy of targeting rare diseases, the FDA approval process is shorter and less costly. Oftentimes, the feds grant BioMarin’s products “orphan” status, because they’re aimed at afflictions that affect less than 200,000 Americans. This status encourages study of rare diseases by providing tax reductions and the exclusive rights to the cure for a specific condition for seven years post-approval.
Thanks to its rising revenues and cash glut, BioMarin is now a more attractive target for takeover. The rumor mill has churned out Genzyme as a possible suitor, and now Teva Pharmaceutical has popped up as well. BioMarin denies any interest in a sale. Teva has acknowledged it’s in the market for a biotech move, but has not talked about possible targets.
Drakes Bay Oyster a lock for new Fed agreement
Loyal readers of this column (and BioMarin is working on a therapy for you) know the fight over whether Drakes Bay Oyster Company can stay put when its current lease and use agreement expired in 2012 is only slightly less bitter than Sarah Palin’s feelings for the press. On one side was Kevin Lunny’s company, which has invested time and money in its operation. On the other, the National Parks Service, the Point Reyes National Seashore staff, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network.
To the naked eye, it would appear Lunny was certainly auditioning for the part of David, but that was before the Big Dogs got off the porch and began to howl. Lunny now has Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey in his corner, so that and $4 will buy him a latté at Toby’s Feed Barn in Bolinas. But Senator Diane Feinstein added language to the National Park Service funding bill that allows for a 10-year extension of Lunny’s lease. Senator Barbara Boxer is supporting the addition, and it’s unlikely to be stripped out before passage.
While the move has several opponents angry and sniping at Feinstein, the Park Service has a standing policy of not pissing off the people who actually OK its budget, so it’s unlikely to create chop in the oyster farm’s waters. As for the moral of this tale? While the opposition was loud, well spoken and well organized, it wasn’t well connected. And with friends like Feinstein and Boxer, Lunny and his 30 employees will be growing and selling oysters until at least 2024.
