Gardener's Supply Company

Last updated
Gardener's Supply Company
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Will Raap, Co-Founder/Chairman. Alan Newman, Co-Founder.
ProductsGardening items
Number of employees
220 (2014)
Website www.gardeners.com

Gardener's Supply Company is a privately owned company providing environmentally friendly gardening products and information through its website, catalogs, and retail stores.

Contents

The Gardener’s Supply Company headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, include administrative offices, a retail store and display gardens. Additional retail stores and display gardens are located in Williston, Vermont; Lebanon, New Hampshire; Greenland, New Hampshire; and Hadley, Massachusetts.

Gardener's Supply Company is no longer a B Corp-certified. [1]

On June 20, 2025, Gardener's Supply Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, listing assets between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million. [2]

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

In December 2009, founder Will Raap sold the majority ownership of Gardener’s Supply Company to its employees, officially making the company 100% employee-owned through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). [3] The ESOP was adopted in 1987 to allow all employees to earn stock and share in company profits. [4] Current CEO Jim Feinson said the employee-owned company has also developed "a community culture of support" that offers benefits and flexibility to its employees, including encouraging them to make their own schedules. [5]

Founder, Will Raap

In 1983, his interest in food systems led gardener and businessman Will Raap to co-found Gardener's Supply with co-founder Alan Newman. He moved his company to five acres at the entrance to the Intervale, 350 acres of neglected land located in Burlington, Vermont, [6] in 1985. Raap also helped found the non-profit Intervale Center in 1988. As of 2014 it is home to several sustainable businesses in addition to Gardener's Supply Company, including food and flower farms, a café and a market. [7] [8] [9] Raap passed away in 2022. [10]

Community involvement and support

Gardener's Supply Company no longer donates 8% of pre-tax profits to gardening-related community programs and organizations. [1] Organizations supported by Gardener’s Supply include the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA), the Green Education Foundation (GEF) and AmpleHarvest.org.

The company established the Garden Crusader Awards [11] to honor individuals who improve their communities through gardening.

Gardener's Supply Company is no longer a Champion Member of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), a non-profit trade organization that advances business ethics through education, public influence and workplace quality. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 "B Corp Community, Gardener's Supply Company" . Retrieved 13 April 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Vt.-based Gardener's Supply files for bankruptcy". WCAX. June 21, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  3. ↑ Patrick, Josh. "The Questions to Ask Before Adopting an ESOP". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Teague, Allison. "Cindy Turcot Grows a Company and Profits for Employees". Vermont Woman. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Monty, Lynn. "The push to help workers with flex-time, paid leave". www.burlingtonfreepress.com. Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Intervale Center: History". Community Food Enterprise. Retrieved 21 April 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "The Intervale Center: Introduction". Community Food Enterprise. Retrieved 21 April 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Seventh Generation, https://www.seventhgeneration.com/company
  9. ↑ Burlington Free Press, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2020/06/16/magic-hat-leaving-vermont-sells-south-burlington-brewery-zero-gravity/3201894001/
  10. ↑ Cotton, Emma. "A 'towering figure' in Vermont business and agriculture: Will Raap dies at 73". VT Digger. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  11. ↑ de Morsella, Tracey. "Gardener's Supply Invites Nominations for Garden Crusader Awards". The Green Economy Post. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "About VBSR". Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
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