Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Linda Watson <linda.watson AT Egarden.com>]

Greetings, InterNetWorkers ... 

This group has been so terrific to me and to Egarden that I wanted to let
you know about an unfortunate action we've had to take.  To make the
necessary spending cuts, we've had to let some really terrific people
go.  We're emailing information on career opportunities to folks
who've asked us to do so. Please send any leads you have to
jobs AT egarden.com. 

We believe these reductions, as painful as they are, will put us in a
position to enhance our services slowly but steadily -- and to be in
position as customer adoption ramps up. We've still got a great core team
in place and strong plans for the future. The press release says:


> San Francisco, California, (April 18, 2001) .
> . . U.S. Home & Garden Inc. (Nasdaq: USHG) and Egarden Inc.,
> (Egarden) its business-to-business e-marketplace subsidiary for the
> global lawn and garden products industry, announced today that Egarden
> has reduced its monthly spending rate almost 50% by reducing its
> workforce and taking other cost-cutting measures. Egarden will continue
> its alliance with GardenTrend, Inc. to register manufacturers and provide
> in-store and online training for retailers who are members of hardware
> cooperatives as well as those who are independent retailers.
>
> This quarter, Egarden plans to launch another enhancement to the customer
> experience on the site. “This pending release marks the last step in a
> planned series of enhancements to our online marketplace,” said Robert
> Kassel, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Home & Garden Inc.  “Although
> adoption among Egarden's targeted buyers has been much slower than
> anticipated, we continue to strive toward achieving a level of
> correspondence with the lawn & garden retailer’s traditional shopping
> experience that will encourage  adoption of the Internet as a
> primary source for products." 
>
> Egarden is a neutral business to business site that delivers online
> supplier information and empowers all members of the lawn and garden
> industry, including manufacturers, independent retailers and specialty
> stores, contractors, and landscapers, to conduct business
> transactions.  Egarden currently offers buyers and sellers an
> Auction and Wholesale marketplace, the Findplants locator and directory,
> market trends newsletter, industry stock watch, customer care center and
> an in store training program. 
>
> Egarden has established long-term e-commerce agreements with many of the
> largest hardware buying groups in the United States.  These buying
> groups have approximately 25,000 combined members or retailers. Egarden
> is currently contracted with approximately 200 lawn and garden and
> outdoor accessory suppliers to list their products for sale in the
> Egarden Wholesale Store. 
>
> About U.S. Home & Garden Inc. and Egarden Inc.
>
> U.S. Home & Garden Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer
> [... usual boilerplate]

I believe in e-commerce, I believe in the lawn & garden vertical, and
I certainly believe we have a fantastic team who will continue to create
a site that helps make the world a more beautiful place.

... Linda
 



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<http://www.egarden.com>
the lawn & garden industry's online marketplace

Linda Watson -- President, Egarden.com
linda.watson AT egarden.com   
919-325-0175 
 or toll-free support hotline: 877-4Egarden
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