Evergreen Enterprises has its headquarters, a showroom and a warehouse at 5915 Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond. (BizSense file)
Citing rising costs and lagging sales, Evergreen Enterprises is further trimming the operations of its Plow & Hearth brand and letting go of dozens of employees as part of the restructuring.
The 30-year-old Richmond-based home goods seller plans to lay off 107 workers as well as end Plow & Hearth’s direct-to-consumer sales operations, which consists of a mail-order catalog and website.
The job cuts will be effective in early May, according to a notice the company filed with the state.
The majority of the affected employees are based at the company’s distribution center in Madison County, Virginia, though some are in Richmond and others are remote workers, Evergreen CEO John Toler said in an interview with BizSense on Wednesday.
Evergreen plans to shutter the Madison facility, where the bulk of Plow & Hearth direct-sales operations take place. Most of the employees to be laid off are call center and warehouse workers, in addition to other support roles.
Plow & Hearth catalogs are slated to continue to be sent out through July. Its web store is expected to be taken down in the fall, Toler said.
The impending layoffs follow a reduction in Plow & Hearth’s brick-and-mortar presence, which once stood at 26 stores but has been trimmed to three.
The two remaining stores in Madison County, north of Charlottesville, and one near Williamsburg will continue to operate, and the brand’s products will remain available through wholesalers and the websites of retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Wayfair.
John Toler
Evergreen, which sells home and garden furniture and decor including flags, is also in negotiations to sell its direct-sales brands Wind & Weather and VivaTerra. Evergreen anticipates it will have a total of 270 employees after the layoffs take effect and the two other catalog brands are sold.
There’s also a web store that operates under the Evergreen brand. Toler said conversations about the future of that website were underway.
The company blamed postage costs, freight expenses and competition from the likes of Amazon and Wayfair for the move to end Plow & Hearth’s catalog and web store. Inflation’s effects on the customers who use the mail-order service also was cited as a factor.
Though the pandemic boosted business as customers hunkered down at home, sales have slowed more recently. The company said retail sales were 20% to 30% lower in 2023 than they were the previous year. Evergreen said it tried new marketing and merchandising strategies last year, but they ultimately weren’t successful.
“While our business benefited significantly from changes in behavior during COVID-19, in the past couple of years these behaviors have shifted in a different direction. Our customer predominantly consists of individuals from an older demographic, many of whom have adjusted their spending habits in a difficult and inflationary economic environment,” the company said in a prepared statement.
Toler said Evergreen isn’t alone in its challenges, and added that other players in the retail industry also are making workforce cuts as they find their footing in the current business environment.
“Everyone right now is trying to find the right channel fit. What’s the right mix of digital, physical and what’s my store footprint,” Toler said. “It’s a difficult decision. I think the retail landscape is changing and it will continue to adapt.”
Toler said Evergreen intends to continue to operate its local distribution warehouses at 2300 Richmond Highway in Richmond and 2400 Elliham Ave. in Chesterfield, both of which are owned by LLCs tied to founder and Chairwoman Ting Xu.
Evergreen owns the Madison facility and will seek to lease it. An existing tenant there is interested in expanding, Toler said.
Evergreen, which was founded in 1993, anticipates that the restructuring will strengthen the business and consolidate its efforts on its core wholesale business. Toler said Evergreen also has completed improvements to its offices and warehouse facilities at its headquarters at 5915 Midlothian Turnpike.
Evergreen Enterprises has its headquarters, a showroom and a warehouse at 5915 Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond. (BizSense file)
Citing rising costs and lagging sales, Evergreen Enterprises is further trimming the operations of its Plow & Hearth brand and letting go of dozens of employees as part of the restructuring.
The 30-year-old Richmond-based home goods seller plans to lay off 107 workers as well as end Plow & Hearth’s direct-to-consumer sales operations, which consists of a mail-order catalog and website.
The job cuts will be effective in early May, according to a notice the company filed with the state.
The majority of the affected employees are based at the company’s distribution center in Madison County, Virginia, though some are in Richmond and others are remote workers, Evergreen CEO John Toler said in an interview with BizSense on Wednesday.
Evergreen plans to shutter the Madison facility, where the bulk of Plow & Hearth direct-sales operations take place. Most of the employees to be laid off are call center and warehouse workers, in addition to other support roles.
Plow & Hearth catalogs are slated to continue to be sent out through July. Its web store is expected to be taken down in the fall, Toler said.
The impending layoffs follow a reduction in Plow & Hearth’s brick-and-mortar presence, which once stood at 26 stores but has been trimmed to three.
The two remaining stores in Madison County, north of Charlottesville, and one near Williamsburg will continue to operate, and the brand’s products will remain available through wholesalers and the websites of retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Wayfair.
John Toler
Evergreen, which sells home and garden furniture and decor including flags, is also in negotiations to sell its direct-sales brands Wind & Weather and VivaTerra. Evergreen anticipates it will have a total of 270 employees after the layoffs take effect and the two other catalog brands are sold.
There’s also a web store that operates under the Evergreen brand. Toler said conversations about the future of that website were underway.
The company blamed postage costs, freight expenses and competition from the likes of Amazon and Wayfair for the move to end Plow & Hearth’s catalog and web store. Inflation’s effects on the customers who use the mail-order service also was cited as a factor.
Though the pandemic boosted business as customers hunkered down at home, sales have slowed more recently. The company said retail sales were 20% to 30% lower in 2023 than they were the previous year. Evergreen said it tried new marketing and merchandising strategies last year, but they ultimately weren’t successful.
“While our business benefited significantly from changes in behavior during COVID-19, in the past couple of years these behaviors have shifted in a different direction. Our customer predominantly consists of individuals from an older demographic, many of whom have adjusted their spending habits in a difficult and inflationary economic environment,” the company said in a prepared statement.
Toler said Evergreen isn’t alone in its challenges, and added that other players in the retail industry also are making workforce cuts as they find their footing in the current business environment.
“Everyone right now is trying to find the right channel fit. What’s the right mix of digital, physical and what’s my store footprint,” Toler said. “It’s a difficult decision. I think the retail landscape is changing and it will continue to adapt.”
Toler said Evergreen intends to continue to operate its local distribution warehouses at 2300 Richmond Highway in Richmond and 2400 Elliham Ave. in Chesterfield, both of which are owned by LLCs tied to founder and Chairwoman Ting Xu.
Evergreen owns the Madison facility and will seek to lease it. An existing tenant there is interested in expanding, Toler said.
Evergreen, which was founded in 1993, anticipates that the restructuring will strengthen the business and consolidate its efforts on its core wholesale business. Toler said Evergreen also has completed improvements to its offices and warehouse facilities at its headquarters at 5915 Midlothian Turnpike.