MARYSVILLE, Ohio - When ServiceMaster, owners of the $780 million lawn care giant TruGreen-ChemLawn, purchased Barefoot Grass late last year, several lawn care operators lamented the disappearance of what they considered a fair, if formidable, competitor in the industry.
For The Scotts Co., the Marysville, Ohio, manufacturer of consumer and commercial turf and landscape products, the deal rang of opportunity. And soon after, Scotts began working on a deal that may again shake up the lawn care industry.
On Oct. 7, Scotts purchased a majority interest in Emerald Green Lawn Care, Fort Wayne, Ind., for an estimated $2 million. Scotts already owned 28 percent of Emerald Green and its 42 operations in Midwest markets by way of a deal in 1995 that gave the company and franchises the exclusive right to use the “Emerald Green featuring Scotts products” logo in return for buying Scotts products.
While the purchase of Emerald Green is an important first step for Scotts’ new emphasis on the professional lawn care market, the real meat behind the acquisition is The Scotts Co. itself.
Its claim to fame lies more in the consumer product market. Loren Rakich, director of marketing at Scotts, said its research has shown aided consumer name recognition exceeding 90 percent.
Consider also that Scotts is a giant in and of itself, generating revenues of more than $751 million in fiscal 1996. It also has proprietary products and a substantial research facility in place to upgrade its product for the professional market.
NEW NAME COMING. Part of the deal will be a gradual name change for Emerald Green: Scotts Lawn Service. Rakich indicated, however, that the switch will not happen overnight.
Scotts plans to establish a number of new operations in major markets over the next two years, some by acquisition, but the majority through totally new operations.
Rakich described Scotts’ attitude toward growth as “deliberate,” and said no operation will be branded Scotts Lawn Service until the company is satisfied the branch is staffed properly and the service philosophy is in place.
The same holds true for existing Emerald Green franchises. “We’ll selectively provide the option to convert to the Scotts Lawn Service name, if they wish, once the marketing and operational formula is in place,” stressed Rakich.
GOING BAREFOOT. One of the reasons the deal appealed to Scotts was the disappearance of Barefoot Grass. The press release from Scotts disclosing the deal said the Barefoot acquisition created “a vacancy in the premium service segment of the lawn care industry.”
| The Deal | |
| WHO: The Scotts Co., Marysville, Ohio. Emerald Green Lawn Care, Fort Wayne, Ind. | |
| WHAT: Purchased majority interest in Emerald Green Lawn Care for approximately $2 million. | |
| RESULT: Scotts will convert Emerald Green branches to Scotts Lawn Service to establish itself in several major markets. | |
Rakich’s comments and Scotts’ intentions with the new business venture remind many people of Barefoot Grass, which grew slowly into markets for more than a decade and rose to become the number two company in the country.
This is not coincidental. Rakich said Scotts has taken the microscope to Barefoot’s philosophy, and Scotts plans to emulate the slow growth, careful acquisition and quality management attributes that Barefoot employed.Helping in this process is the vice president of Scotts Lawn Service, Mark Long, who spent 20 years working in the Barefoot system. Most recently he was president of New Frontier Lawn Care, an independent group of former Barefoot franchises.
Another Barefoot veteran, Dana Irwin, was named director of operations for Scotts Lawn Service.
Industry speculation keeps focusing on Barefoot founder Pat Norton, who has is in the midst of a noncompete agreement he signed with Tru-Green-ChemLawn as part of the aforementioned deal. The agreement expires in March 1998, at which time Norton is free to return to the green industry.
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