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By Port City

Mar 1, 2008 2:01 AM | Link to this

Hey Lakeman,
just getting back into the country and catching up on all that is fit to print here in the ATL. Don't cha think it is hitting a bit below the belt to name names? I shop at the same Pikes you mention and the store manager there goes beyond the call of duty to be of service. She always has a smile on her face. Sometimes I just stop by to get my daily dose of sunshine from her.
Did ya ever stop and think maybe it was you, or maybe a morning's worth of an onslaught of folks like you, that caused her to answer you in this matter? When employees (not just Pikes, let's add Delta to this list) have to read the kinda of inaccuracies that this newspaper prints and then deal with the public on a daily basis, you are gonna get a short answers. I am betting you went in to the store thinking they were having a fire sale didn't you?

By horticulturelad

Feb 27, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this

It is sad to see such comments from people who know nothing about the nursury trade in Georgia, or for that matter the native plants of Georgia. obviously they never saw the selection of native plants that pikes carried, or maybe they ignor the fact that most lending companies require a landscape for a potential home owner to be eligible for for a home loan, often stipulating a lawn in the contract. We as residents of Georgia have a wide variety of plants to choose form for our yards and gardens, many being non native species that are well adapted to our climate and conditions, as well as natives. native plants have a broad definiton, from plants that have been in the region from the very beginning, to plants that were introduced and have adapted to our climate over time. Look at the state flower(Cherokee Rose) and you would say "it must be a native as it grows everywhere, and in such abundance" as a mattter of fact, the cherokee rose was introduced and then escaped our gardens and colonized the woods. It is not just native plants that thrive and survive in our region (drought or not). I do support conservation and native plant projects, but we as homeowners and gardeners should not abandon all the plants that can be defined non-native. lawns are not a bad thing, for they actually help to cool the surrounding area, reducing the amount of cooling a home requires (as compared to gravel or swept yards)What would Georgia be without its Pecan trees but once again, Pecan trees are not native to the region of Georgia. I do agree that many areas are loosing valuable tree cover, and that more greenspace conservation should be considered, but one way to counteract this loss of tree cover is to plant a tree. people like to complain about the things they cannot change, and refuse to participate in the things that can make a diffrence. When was the last time anyone here has platned a tree? I can honestly say I have probabbly planted more trees in my short life of 24 years than many people posting here.

By Moe baker

Feb 26, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this

Profit is not a dirty word.

Why does everyone making a posting blame ýRoarký and the normal weather pattern for the current financial situation of Pikeýs? The REAL people at fault areý the Pike Family. Yes, that is correct, the Pikes. The Pike Family, headed by Pete Pike, were very bad business people, nice people, but with poor financial management skills. The company was in bad financial foundation for years ý years. The Pikeýs answer to poor revenues and margins was to add new stores, but without fixing the problems with current stores.

Randy Pike pressured his father (Pete) to expand, despite the companyýs shaking financial status. It was not Roark that pressured Pete Pike it was his son Randy. Pikeýs went looking for a private equity placement funds for expansion. Why? Randy is long on speaking well and doing PR, but is short on sound business judgment. Plus, despite being ranked as the largest independent garden center in North America, as measured by revenues (invoices on sales), they could NOT secure bank or normal financing. Remember this was in a time of loose money from lenders. This alone should tell you everything about Pikeýs. Pikeýs turned to the private equity placement sector of lending. The only way Roark would close the deal was if the ownership of Pikeýs (the Pike Family) would sale the majority stock shares to Roark. Which Randy was all to eager to do. I guess they should thought about that one.

I am no fan of Roark, but place the ýblameý on the correct bum. How do I know this, because the Pike Family approached my company before it turned to Roark.

Moe Baker

By Bella

Feb 25, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this

Wake up and smell the roses
There were many factors that contributed to the demise of Pike, and the drought was just the final chop on the way to the auction block.

Since the takeover by Roark, a company more interested in profit than plants, expansion rather than improvement, trying to compete with big boxes instead of finding their niche, failure could have been predicted by any mediocre financial/market analyst.

The green industry has had to deal with weather patterns since day one. And, although no one can predict the weather, in order to survive, you have to be knowledgable about all plant material and products to keep customers coming and growing! Good planning and the ability to adapt is the only way green retailers can make it these days.

I agree with some of the postings, and all the positive comments is why I frequent my garden center of choice... Hastings.

Geez, all of a sudden people are talking about Xeriscaping. Hastings has promoted native plants, good planning and planting practices, organic amendments, and conservation for as long as I can remember. I attended their native and drought resistant plant seminars 7 years ago. And, within 1 day of the water ban announcenment, they had an information sheet on ways to capture grey water for my garden. Maybe that's why it was so easy for them to adapt, and why they're still standing, while so many others have failed.

They possess the knowledge and have had the plants and products in stock, like rainbarrels, (no waiting lines) and water retention molecules for years.

I actually went to Hastings last Saturday after reading about Pike and asked one of their employees what they thought about it and how they were doing. Was told that spring is coming and it's "business as usual". Was told that there will certainly be a demand for drought-resistant plants and their supply will meet the demand. That all employees, including the landscape side of the business are ready to meet the challenge of xeriscaping.

Now that's what I wanted to hear. I'm a master gardener and have no intention of losing any of my plants, nor want to refrain from adding more color to my now beautiful gardens.

In any event, I think it is tragic that Pike is in so much trouble. Although we can't predict the weather, their demise was. I only hope that whoever takes it over knows the nursery business, but I doubt it.

PS. to correct Gary's post of 2/24, I read in the paper that Roark recently raised 1 Billion, not million dollars.

By anonymous

Feb 25, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

This is just poor reporting... I can't go into details, since I have inside information, but whoever wrote this article needs to find a new career, since journalism is obviously not something they're good at.

By gary

Feb 24, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this

no one seem to notice the quote from roger in the article it is winter of course the stock looks bad and isn't big. petunias and marigolds? hmmm what pike is he shopping at that has had these items since before christmas. seems the ajc likes to pick comment from people who know nothing about the basic cycle of plants and business. as for Pikes = habersham closed its dorrs for 3 months - we will see if the can open them again thanks to mayor franklin. how about reporting on the other businesses Roark had bankrupt since aquiring. perhaps we could have a nice story on greasy greedy tie wearing bloodsuckers who just raise 1 million dollars, but not for a business that survive 50 years, but so they can run more minimum wage employees to the street to further the mortgage crisis.

come on ajc dig deeper and get real facts, not random festival goer comments.

grrrrrrr

By cb

Feb 24, 2008 2:21 PM | Link to this

They did not outgrow themselves much to what people are saying. The investment company that took over did not know what they were doing with a nursery and they ran it in the ground. I hate to tell you but the reason they have no apologies is that the company won't let them order anything. Because of the bankruptcy they can only order from very limited companies and they are not the premium and quality products that we are all used to seeing. Having been a Pike's employee for many years and knowing that stupid song by heart since it came out this is sad to me. I am going to miss Pike's and hope that whoever the highest bidder is realizes that the name is as important as the company itself!!!!!!