Simplot buys Oregon nursery store

J.R. Simplot Company has bought Nursery Connection LLC in Oregon.

The store, located in Hubbard, Oregon, southwest of Portland, will become one of the more than a dozen Simplot Partner retail stores, with three in Hawaii and the rest primarily in the western U.S., said Josh Jordan, communications manager for Simplot.

“That area of the country is a very popular area for nurseries,” Jordan said. “Between Portland and Salem (Oregon), there’s quite a few nurseries. We’ve been eyeing that area, and then we knew about this store, and ultimately we agreed to purchase the assets.” The company would not reveal the sales price.

Simplot Partners retail stores address a different market from Simplot Grower Solution retail facilities. Simplot Partners has 15 locations located in the Western United States and Australia.   The primary customers of Partners are golf course superintendents, landscape companies, municipalities, sports stadiums and nurseries, in the case of the new Hubbard location, Jordan said.

“They’re all related somewhat, selling fertilizer and input, but they’re not directly related and don’t compete – they’re not attempting to target the same customers,” Jordan said.

Simplot Grower Solutions has more than 90 locations in 14 states and Canada. Simplot Grower Solutions targets large-scale farming activity with crop inputs and crop advisors, while Simplot Partners is more for nurseries and smaller facilities with plants such as berries, trees, and shrubs, he said. Simplot’s one Idaho Simplot Partners store is in Caldwell, he said.

Simplot also operates a line of six Western Stockmen’s retail stores in Idaho and Washington, through the company’s Land & Livestock business group. “They may have some similar customers,” Jordan said. However, those facilities are targeting markets such as animal feed for ranches and cattle, he said.

All of the existing Nursery Connection employees are being retained at this point, and the operation will be managed by Mike Vandecoevering, Jordan said.