Dale Bachman to retire as Bachman’s CEO

Photo: Dale Bachman in the Lyndale store, one of six Bachman's floral, gift and garden centers, in January 2016. Photo taken by Becca Dilley for Garden Center magazine. 

Minneapolis, MN – Dale Bachman, current CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bachman’s, Inc., has announced that he will retire as Bachman’s CEO effective October 20, 2018. A fourth-generation member of the family that founded the Minneapolis-based company in 1885, Dale Bachman will step away from his day-to-day management responsibilities in October, retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. Susan Bachman West, President of Bachman’s since 2016, will assume the additional top-level management duties and will maintain her title as president of the family-owned company. Susan is also a member of the Garden Center magazine advisory board. 

“It has been my great pleasure, honor, and joy to have worked with so many wonderful and talented people at Bachman’s over the past 46 years and to help the company continue to grow in its service to our community.  Now, it is my privilege to pass the leadership baton to a fifth generation of our family,” says Dale Bachman. “I know that under Susan’s capable leadership, with the support of the other members of the fifth generation involved in the business, the leadership team, and everyone at Bachman’s, the company could not possibly be in better hands.” 

Also read our January 2016 cover story: Preserving the past, focusing on the future
Bachman’s treasures its more than 130-year, family-owned history, all while adapting to the evolving industry.

Dale Bachman is the great-grandson of Bachman’s founders, Henry and Hattie Bachman. As was tradition in the Bachman family, Dale started “working” for the company when he was a young boy, accompanying his father to work on weekends, taking on numerous tasks and learning about the business.  Dale began full-time employment at Bachman’s in 1972, following his graduation from the University of Minnesota. Through the years, he has served in a variety of roles, becoming President in 1992.  In 2008, Dale took on the position and responsibilities of CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bachman’s, Inc.   

Following Dale Bachman’s retirement, the company is choosing not to use the title of Chief Executive Officer, a choice it has made several times throughout its history. As it has throughout its long history, Bachman’s has followed a well-planned and deliberate process to make this transition of leadership as seamless as possible. The planning process of restructuring operational duties and reports is underway.  Additional information will be available after Labor Day 2018.  

Based in Minneapolis, Bachman’s operates retail locations in the Twin Cities, including six full-service floral, home, and garden centers, a floral and gift store in U.S. Bank Plaza (downtown Minneapolis), and 27 floral departments within Lunds and Byerlys grocery stores. The company also operates indoor and outdoor landscaping divisions, a weddings/special events department, and a large location in Lakeville, Minn., which is home to a nursery wholesale and hardscapes center, seven acres of greenhouses, and a 670-acre growing range, which produces many of the plants, flowers, and landscaping products sold by Bachman’s today.