Now that just sucks.

Aw, that's bad news. I noticed they were selling Smith & Hawken items at Target in the garden decor section. I used to love walking through the S&H store before we moved out of state - everything in the store soooo gorgeous.

yeah, it does suck.

I have bought many unusual things there over the years. I will miss them.

Carp....I really wanted a shelf for plants I saw there. Maybe I should call a store.

Yes, Crain's Chicago Business pretty much wrote the obit yesterday. I'm not surprised - but in this economy, I almost expected it. It's going to leave another hole in our business district - one of the 4 S&H's in IL is here in Highland Park. Next up I bet it'll be our local PB, RH and William Sonoma because those stores are all the 'boutique' versions. They can't inventory enough to stay afloat with the ridiculous overhead costs here.

Oh no! One of my very favorite places! I've never lived near one but always stopped in when in an area that had a store and ordered from the catalog. So sad to lose these lovely shops.

dlm, I go to the one in Geneva Commons, around where I live, west of Chicago.

That's sad to hear. I'll stop out there this weekend and try to stock up on my favorite leather garden gloves. They're long, thin, and very comfortable.

I have to go to Anthropologie anyway. Hope that doesn't close down, too. Not very many people in the store the last time I was there.

That is such a shame, we don't have a S&H here but the Target does carry some of their products. I was just there yesterday and they had 75% off wreaths, artificial plants/flowers, and decor.

OMG I loved S&H they had such wonderful and unusual things.

I've noticed as trend in responses -- lots of us frequent the store but few of us make purchases. That's a recipe for disaster for a store. I can see how this economy did them in. They are essentially a high-line garden shop that thrived on discretionary spending dollars from you and me. There are just fewer dollars to go around of late. I will miss them.

I agree (sadly) that Williams Sonoma may be next on the list. Rstoration Hardware (IMHO) is now a shadow of its former self, anyway. They don't have near the variety they used to have. I think fully 1/3 of our local store is stocked with towels.

When I go into stores like Williams Sonoma and Smith & Hawken, first I drool a bit, then I think, who buys this stuff? There are always some unusual things that are worth the extra expense, but most of the items are very overpriced. I do enjoy browsing these places and am sorry for the people that will lose their jobs at S&H.

What is going to happen with all this empty retail real estate? We have a huge Circuit City shell, a Goody's shell, etc. Right now the landlords are keeping up the exteriors but I can't imagine they can keep doing it if they aren't getting lease income.

first I drool a bit, then I think, who buys this stuff?

Me too.

Yes -- another one here who adores the stores and their items -- and admires their wonderful "set-ups" BUT finds their things way way too expensive.

So I am sad to hear of another retail loss (and there are many empty shells of shops here in DFW!) BUT I can't say I am truly surprised .....

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

The original S&H store started small in California a couple of decades ago. The only things I've purchased from them over the years was a "Biostack" (for composting purposes) & a teak porch-type swing (expensive at the time---circa 1988) when Mr. Hawken was still running the place. He also wrote a top-selling book called something like "Growing a Business" & was considered a guru of start-ups of small successful businesses-with-integrity back in the day due to his own success.

Out of the blue & just a week or two ago I coincidentally just received a S&H catalog in the mail. Wonderful eye candy but all beyond my available discretionary spending. I had just purchased a "patio umbrella" through an EBay seller for something like $50 including shipping, & noticed the patio umrellas in the S&H catalog all ran around $400. I'm sure their quality was much better---Sunbrella fabrics, etc. but still...

:( I love S&H and have bought several things from them - they have the most gorgeous copper mailbox (and thick!). A copper watering can. Christmas hooks to hang decorations. :( I'm going today. :(

Exactly. Enjoy the store and catalogues but too expensive. Charleston Gardens is another one I drool over. I could never actually buy much of anything though.

I've bought a lot of stuff from them over the years, always on a sale. Come to think of it I don't think I've bought anything in a year, maybe because I've already accumulated everything I need. They sold quality tools that I still use today.

The store I'll be most upset about if they go out of business is Williams Sonoma. I've bought tons of stuff from them, that is my favorite store. I've gotten great deals from their sale table but I've also paid full price for things I couldn't find elsewhere. Is it Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn that are affiliated with William Sonoma? I forget. Or maybe both stores. A friend who used to work at W-S said she could use her discount at these other stores because they all had the same parent company.

Another store I rely on is Eddie Bauer. Every article of clothing DH wears comes from that store, it's our one stop shop for him since he hates shopping. I've heard that they're hanging by a thread and probably won't survive. I don't know what we're going to do if they close, my husband is already upset at the mere thought of it.

Restoration Hardware is where I buy all my towels but that's about it.

I am troubled that the specialty stores I like so much are succumbing to this recession. When the smoke clears in a year or so I don't want to look around and see only "5-and-dime" stores. Sure W-S is more expensive but I don't just look at price, I look at quality. Sometimes the more expensive item is the better value in the long run.

S&H always had such beautiful xmas decorations on sale after Christmas.

I have bought a lot there over the years and while more expensive than other places, what you get is good quality and DIFFERENT from most other places. Like newdawn, I loved their christmas decorations but I always paid full price because I generally had to order online (nearest store is hours away). My absolute favorite ornaments are all from there. I am glad that I took the leap and bought the outdoor hanging ball lights last year-- even if I didnt actually get them hung. I just wish I had bought a few more ornaments.

SH will be missed much more than I would miss PB or many of the others. Williams and Sonoma would be missed too but much of their stock can be found elsewhere.. not so with SH.

Oh no! It's so sad to see the demise of a good company.

Last fall, I bought 8 cast aluminum patio chairs from S&H to replace my ancient wood dining chairs that were falling apart. They were on sale at $125 each, much cheaper than new good quality wood dining chairs. I love them. They're so comfortable and light weight. And we can use them outside for when we have company.

There is a Smith & Hawken store near us, very poorly stocked and disorganized. I can never find what I need/want there, and the stuff they do have is really pricey for what it is. The only thing I ever bought was a wreath hanger for our front door, and that only because I happened to be driving by and thought they might have one.

Did anyone find any great deals today at S&H?

Deals? No. They are not clearing out. My next door neighbor works for the one in town and was there today when I stopped in. She said they are stocked in the warehouses through at least Halloween so they are not going to disappear in the night. They had the usual amount of clearance merchandise (a couple of small areas in the store) but nothing noteworthy. Some furniture was on sale, but not all. Everything else not marked on sale was 20% off. I bought a pair of garden gloves only because they would run out of smalls if I waited for a better price - hardly an exciting purchase!

I was five minutes from on my way, when a semi-emergency came up and I couldn't go. But, DD2 lives close to the store and was out. I had her swing by to check on another watering can for me. None available (only tiny ones) but employee said I could call other stores and they could ship. DD2 said she did not think our store was going to get in another shipment.

Having heard about the chaos of two Shabby Chic closings with DD1, I wasn't about to start calling S&H locations. I don't need another one that bad and the employees probably have enough on their hands. I'll be up that way on Saturday and will go by to see it once more. :(

fwiw, our store was always very organized and the employees couldn't have been nicer. I also shopped at the San Franciscos location and they were always nicely organized too.

Thanks Allison and dlm2000.

Well, I called my local store (43 miles away) and they were able to order me that shelf. I should be able to go there and pick it up in two weeks.

This is a ladder style shelf with removable galvanized trays on each level. The shelves are stepped back as they get higher. I struggled with my plants all winter....watering and keeping them from messing up every flat surface in my kitchen! I have been looking for something and this was the best/only thing I found. It is expensive (198.00) but I think it will be perfect and I am grateful this thread was started or I never would have known...

The woman at the store said they'd be open until December...strange.

Not so strange, actually. They have to sell out store fronts, storage rooms and the warehouse...not to mention anything that's already on order from suppliers. Notice the article below says "third-party firm," meaning they've already hired a liquidating company to handle the closing. When Shabby Chic decided to close, the stores were open for 3-6 months before doors closed. S&H will start closing some faster than others (depending on lease, sells and location). The store employees won't know about further discounts until the liquidator tells them - usually the day before another mark down. It will be done on a store-by-store basis, for the most part.

Here is an article emailed to us from the Birmingham Business Journal on Thursday:

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. announced plans to shut down its 56-store Smith & Hawken chain by the end of the year. The chain has a store at The Summit in Birmingham.

Jim Hagedorn, CEO of the Marysville, Ohio-based lawn and garden giant, said in a statement that "the combination of a weak economy and the lack of scale proved too great to overcome." For a year, Scotts had been exploring options for the high-end garden brand it bought in 2004 for $68.5 million but decided closing the business was the "best option available," Hagedorn said.

Smith & Hawken is based in Novato, Calif. Scotts on Wednesday said storewide sales across the chain will begin Thursday and will be managed by a third-party firm. Orders on Smith & HawkenÂs Web site, catalog and call center will be discontinued Thursday.

The company in its last annual report said the chain has consistently underperfomed since it was acquired nearly half a decade ago. Scotts "corporate and other" segment, which consists of Smith & Hawken and administrative expenses, posted a 23 percent decline in sales at $51.2 million for the six months ended March 29. That segmentÂs operating loss for the six-month period totaled $75.4 million, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Scotts expects to take a $25 million after-tax hit on the closure of the chain, mainly tied to terminated leases and severance costs. Most of those charges, the company said, will be taken on by the end of the year.

Scotts (NYSE: SMG) in the year ended Sept. 30, 2008, lost $10.9 million on $2.98 billion in revenue. The company has about 6,400 full-time workers worldwide.

Regarding third-party firms (liquidators):
Duane over in the furniture forum explained that often these firms start bringing in lesser quality stuff and then mark it with the original stores prices. So you think you're buying a quality sofa from 'Store with Good Reputation' but you're really getting an inferior product the liquidator shipped in and marked down as though it was quality goods from 'SWGR'.

I don't know if that will happen at S&H stores but thought I'd mention it. If you have your eye on a quality S&H item you might want to buy it sooner versus later just in case. The best stuff goes first and not at the deepest discounts.

When I visited our local S&H (if it's still there), I remember it being quite nice also. I'd been to another in New England, I think, and remember it as being larger than ours though. Haven't been there in years, but I remember ours as being a comparatively small shop and was surprised. Hard to imagine that some of their stores wouldn't be well-maintained.

Had no idea they are a Scotts company.

I just thought it was strange because a) December seems like along time from now and I thought they'd sell through more stuff sooner than that. And b) I didn't figure they could actually predict when everything would be gone such that they could put a date on it. Shows you what I know about retail.

I went by my S&H today. Packed. Line to the register was almost going out the front door. Didn't see anything I needed or couldn't live without. Didn't really want to stand in line anyway.

I don't know about the smaller liquidation companies, but the better/larger ones (such as Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers, for examples) do not bring in merchandise from other sources when conducting closings. Only bring in merchandise from warehouse or distribution center.

Wind down, dispositions, retail vs wholesale closings, remodeling and clearance events are all handled differently, for the most part.

I stopped by the one by my house today. Busy, but not too bad. Most stuff was 20% to 30% off. I bought three plants - 2 maidenhair ferns and a jade plant. The lady I talked to said that they plan on staying open until December. She said that they will keep filling the store with items from the warehouse (apparently one big one.)

I will miss the store. I shopped there but never bought the the really big ticket items even thought I knew the furniture was probably very good quality. (In MN, it just doesn't make sense to me to buy really expensive outdoor furniture when it can't be used year round.) The biggest buy was an arbor and a few trellis. I bought their market umbrellas, coil hose, garden shoes, etc. Like any other store, I always waited for a sale. I loved their clearance area.

Hopefully, after the economy picks up another S & H type store will open.

Is it Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn that are affiliated with William Sonoma?

Williams-Sonoma owns Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen, Williams-Sonoma Home and West Elm.

They also used to own Hold Everything and a gardening concept whose name I'm not sure of - it was over ten years ago. Could it be Gardener's Eden?

Nicole