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“Well, I’ve got to tell you I was sitting there thinking to myself, ‘What do they know that I don’t know?’” Kunce quipped. He didn’t have much time to ponder that notion. A few moments and $5.4 million later, Pike Nurseries became part of his family of garden centers, the largest in the country after the transaction. Given the retail (and weather) climate at the time the deal was struck, Kunce knew he was taking a risk. He also knew managing the new acquisition would be a challenge. “When you get into it, the drought was not really the reason why Pike went into bankruptcy,” Kunce said. “It’s just one of those things that exacerbated the situation or accelerated the demise.” Still, Kunce felt confident in his purchase. He had pinpointed what he believed was the true reason Pike Nurseries was in trouble: The private-equity fund that owned the business since Pete Pike’s exit decided to go toe-to-toe with Home Depot in the price arena. “They had gone through seven CEOs—six of them in eight years,” Kunce said. “The last one to hold the job was from Home Depot. Trying to compete against Home Depot on price and similar products was a no-win situation. So I thought this was a great opportunity to turn around and take Pike Nurseries to more of a true upscale, independent nursery company.” Transformation begins The first step in transforming Pike Nurseries was straightforward: Ditch the big-box, cut-rate, self-service mentality that had taken root. Employee training was at the top of the to-do list. “Naturally, Pike greeted the customers when they came in,” Kunce said. “But there was very little selling being done. So we hired a trainer and got more involved in bringing vendors and consultants in to do training for us—both product knowledge and sales/customer service.” Alan Holcombe, Pike’s executive vice president, added that they began separating operations—restocking, watering, etc.—from sales. “One thing we have now is a night and morning crew taking care of our operational issues,” Holcombe said. “During the daytime peak hours from 10 to 4, we’re honed in and focused on customer service. I think that’s the biggest improvement we’ve made in that arena.” A new look for the Pike chain was also in store. Kunce turned to his colleagues at ECGC—a networking and purchasing group comprising 11 of the nation’s largest independent garden-retail companies. “I called all the ECGC members and asked them to have a meeting here in Atlanta,” Kunce said. “They went through and critiqued our stores. I got a lot of good feedback and ideas from them.” Next, Kunce and Holcombe assembled a team of visual merchandisers and hired a visual-merchandise manager to give the store a new look. They also solicited advice from a consultant firm in Chicago that helped reinvigorate an Armstrong Garden Centers location in Thousand Oaks, Calf. The Pike team opted for a similar design strategy—emphasizing colors and styles that would appeal to a younger generation of consumers. The Pike Nurseries store in Toco Hills, Ga., just northeast of downtown Atlanta, was designated the prototype location for this redesign initiative. Floors, ceilings, walls and display fixtures were all upgraded. Signage was completely transformed using newly purchased, state-of-the-art printing equipment. Over the next six months, similar improvements were rolled out in the other Pike locations. Behind the scenes, Kunce and his team were hard at work improving internal systems. “All the accounting went to California,” Kunce said. “We also brought in the Activant point-of-sale system. We were the beta-testing site for their garden center system, and that has done very well for us.” Gradually, a new Pike Nurseries offered a completely different look and feel for both customers and employees. “[Industry consultant] Ian Baldwin spent some time with us a few months ago, and he said that the only thing that’s the same is the company name and the logo on the shirt,” Kunce said. “I’m going to quote him on that one.”
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The genesis of the nation’s largest chain of garden centers can be traced to, of all people, Alexander Graham Bell—or, at least, to his most significant technological contribution. 
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