Hindsight is always 20/20. That's one of those sayings we all know is true, but it doesn't make going through tough times any easier. It's like one of my dad's idioms: "You'll feel better when you get over it." True, but I still wanted to know just how long the painful situation was going to last!Looking back at our industry's experience since 2008, we see huge challenges and changes. In the grower and landscape segments, a number of industry members are no longer in business, and those that are still here are most likely operating very differently today than in 2008 or prior. While retail has remained more stable, the cost of doing business has certainly increased. We, as an industry, have changed a lot during this time. If we look at the chart below with respect to the grower and landscape segments, we see just how much change we've been through. The data are from 1978 through 2012.
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