What are big box stores looking for from Hines?
What are independent garden centers looking for? “Independents, chains, big boxes and supermarkets all do business differently. There are a lot of great people in place managing those channels, and they want us to be business partners with them. They want us to not just sell plants, but have the right product at the right time with the right quality, quantity and price.” What is a major challenge Hines is facing right now? “One of the hardest things we do is commodity versus differentiated crops. The unfortunate thing is that if you don’t take care of your product, it passes away, overgrows or becomes scrap. That’s a big opportunity and the challenge is the forecasting perspective: balancing commodity, share and color. Based on history, what customers commit to is not even close to the final numbers. So always produce more than you need to meet expectations.” What are some of your long-term goals for Hines? “Hines’ goal and my goal is to continue to follow growth of the different chann
