Founder Will Raap sells company to employees
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| Will Raap, founder of Gardener's Supply Company, offers employees a "slice of the pie." |
On December 21, 2009, Gardener's Supply Company announced that it has transitioned to 100% employee ownership. The Burlington-based company has had an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in place since 1987. Until now, the ESOP owned 45% of the company.
Selling Gardener’s Supply to the employees keeps the business in Vermont, and gives employees the opportunity to become owners of a business they helped build, something Will Raap felt was critical when he started the company in 1983.
“I’m delighted the work we started 27 years ago will continue. Our founding mission statement was to ‘spread the joys and rewards of gardening’, said Raap. “Gardening is even more relevant today than it was when we started.”
Although the company could have sold to outside buyers, Raap’s original vision was to create a business where people, planet and profits are equally important. At a time when many jobs are moving overseas or companies are being sold to large conglomerates, employee-ownership reaffirms Gardener's Supply's commitment to Vermont and its employees. Four of the eight original founding employees are still with the company.
Jim Feinson, president of Gardener’s Supply, states, “This is a very exciting time for all of us and what Will Raap has accomplished is incredible. He has entrusted us to carry on his vision of a successful business, a compassionate corporate culture and commitment to making the world a better place through gardening.”
“Will’s impact in Vermont goes beyond Gardener’s Supply. He has created a legacy right here in our own backyard where he founded the Intervale Center. What was once a landfill, is now 400 acres of organic farms and a national model for sustainable agriculture,” continued Feinson. Feinson is an avid gardener and has been with the company since 1988.
Since first starting the ESOP program in 1987, Gardener’s Supply has been at the forefront of the employee-ownership movement. Chief Operating Officer Cindy Turcot has been leading these efforts. Turcot has a 27-year history with the company and is primarily responsible for initiating the company’s open-book management style and profit-sharing program. She is a nationally-known expert on ESOP culture and was the first Board president of the VEOC.
Links:
Gardener's Supply Company
WCAX News story (video)