DCA Outdoor files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Kansas City-based DCA Outdoor has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court documents from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Western Missouri.

According to court filings, DCA’s 2024 financial results were adversely affected by several factors: a major customer’s refusal to pay for spring shipments, a plant disease at a key supplier’s Oregon facility and softer economic conditions. A combination of these factors led to lower than anticipated revenue and higher losses.

In early February, DCA Outdoor’s primary lender, Frontier Farm Credit, issued a notice of acceleration and reservation of rights on DCA’s $95 million debt with them. That led to the Feb. 20 Chapter 11 filing, which will allow the company to continue doing business while debt reorganization and bankruptcy proceedings take place.

The company released a statement Feb. 27.

"DCA Outdoor, Inc. and its related companies continue our business as usual, including full service to all our customers and partners. We remain fully committed to our clients and our business, and we plan to continue our partnerships for many years to come. Our commitment to delivering premier products and being a leader in our industry remains unchanged, notwithstanding recent challenges in the market.  

"To preserve our businesses and provide the necessary breathing room to pursue restructuring and improvement plans, DCA and affiliate companies filed voluntary bankruptcy petitions with the Federal Bankruptcy Court. The companies are working on plans for the future, likely with new partners and investors.  The reorganization proceedings allow us to continue supporting our customers and further allow us to deliver our products in the ordinary course of business. We look forward to serving all our clients and customers for many more years to come."

DCA Outdoor was founded in 2016 by Tory Schwope as a parent company to house the green industry brands he was operating across the supply chain. Currently, the DCA Outdoor umbrella includes 12 brands operating in six states. The brands include nursery stock production, landscape distribution and retail garden center operations.

Schwope’s first business was the landscape distribution center KAT. In 2005, he purchased land in Missouri and re-established Schwope Brothers Tree Farms. He stayed aggressive with planting during the 2008 recession and experienced significant post-downturn growth as a result.

In 2016, Schwope expanded the scope of the business with three major acquisitions. At the beginning of 2016, he acquired Colonial Nursery in the Kansas City suburb of Blue Springs, rebranded it as Colonial Gardens and developed it into a destination garden center with a focus on agritourism and events. It was no. 79 on Garden Center magazine's 2024 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers list.

In summer 2016, he acquired the 400-acre Anna Nursery in Illinois and rebranded it as Anna Evergreen. And in December 2016, he acquired Brehob Nursery, a wholesale nursery and landscape distribution center in Indianapolis.

The company has continued to acquire more brands since then, including two other nursery operations.

Editor’s note: Read Nursery Management’s 2017 cover story on the formation of DCA Outdoor here. Read Garden Center magazine's 2018 cover story on the Colonial Gardens transformation here. 

This is a developing story. We have reached out to DCA Outdoor contacts for comment and will share updates after the initial bankruptcy hearings. 

Image: DCA Outdoor website