September 8, 2011 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,553
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Landreth Seeds
Hi, does anyone have any info about the current owners of this company and an appeal for help.. I have had an email from a friend in the UK who asked me this same question and I don't know.
My info is sketchy but I think they are on the point of bankrupcy and are requesting folks buy their current cataloge in order to generate some quick cash, apparently needed very badly and very quickly I repeat my e mail was sketchy, but does anyone know anything about this and shoud we help. XX Jeannine |
September 8, 2011 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Chicago
Posts: 46
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I also just heard about this today. Landreth Seeds has a Facebook page which also mentions their current financial woes. It appears to be a sort of grassroots campaign in which people are being encouraged to order their catalogue or even to donate some money. I don't know the exact details, but if I recall correctly they need to raise a certain amount of money to pay off a debt or the company will close.
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September 8, 2011 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NW Indiana
Posts: 1,150
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Did someone say there's a languishing old seed company in trouble? Better get Gettle on the phone, quick.
In all seriousness, I have mixed feelings about the demise of this company. On one hand, I hate to see anyone fail. On the other (and at the risk of sounding callous) looking at their website and listings, it's obvious that they haven't distinguished themselves in any way - except the fact that they are the "oldest seed company in America." They don't offer anything that's particularly unique. Their prices are not inexpensive. Their website is...well, I don't know where to start with that one. Landreth's Facebook page says they need to book a million (that's right, six zeros) catalog pre-orders at $5 a pop to stave-off bankruptcy. How does a seed company doing $500,000 a year in sales find itself $5 million in debt? And who charges $5 for a catalog, anyway? I'll probably send them my $5 for the sake of good kharma, but I have no expectation that I'll ever see a catalog. Barring an intervention by Jere Gettle, it sounds like it's RIP Landreth. |
September 10, 2011 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,540
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Looks like an investor wants her money back with 30 days' notice. (Actually, she wanted it back last year and NOW it's 30 days or else.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-...html?ir=Media; From: Jesse Kornbluth, Huffington Post: Could A Beautiful $5 Catalogue Save America's Oldest Seed Company? |
September 10, 2011 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
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Location: Canada
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I am surprised that there is little interest in this post. I heard about it from the UK!! XX Jeannine
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September 10, 2011 | #6 | |
Moderator Emeritus
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Quote:
I remember contacting them when I grew out a tomato variety called Landreth to see if it was associated with them and at that time, quite a few years ago, they said that only one elderly man held the keys to the safe where all the back catalogs were kept, and that was that. But new owners and management have stepped in and I was aghast when I looked just at the tomato varieties and who they got them from, without naming names, and saw reason to never go back to that site again. So I can well understand and accept that the Landreth Seed Co is absolutely NOT the company I once knew and I guess others must feel the same way as to interest in this thread, as you asked about.
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Carolyn |
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September 10, 2011 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
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Thank you Carolyn, it did seem a bit odd XX Jeannine
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September 10, 2011 | #8 |
Tomatoville® Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2006
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That is just another chapter in the sad history of many great American seed companies - they get swallowed by the biggies, or vanish and resurface with the great name, but not the great traditions/quality/focus.
It is why I cherish reading old catalogs of Henderson, Isbell, Salzer, Maule and Livingston - and even the old Burpees - so much!
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Craig |
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