Slow sales forcing Mellinger's to close
Shoppers are buying everything they need in one stop.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
NORTH LIMA -- Nearly eight decades of selling seeds and plants is coming to an end for Mellinger's Home & amp; Garden Showplace.
Phil Steiner, company president, said he told employees this week that the business will close later this year because of declining sales at the garden center at 2310 W. South Range Road.
He figures he'll need until at least mid-November to sell everything but isn't sure how that will happen and if there will be an auction.
"I've never closed a business before," he said.
He is sure, however, that the future is bleak for the business founded 77 years ago by his grandfather, Port Mellinger.
Sales at the garden center and mail-order business fell between 7 percent and 12 percent in each of the past three years.
"We wanted to close before we got in too bad of a situation," Steiner said.
Several factors have caused the sales decline on both sides of the business, he said.
The mail-order industry for garden supplies has suffered in general in recent years, with a few major companies filing for bankruptcy protection, he said.
Shoppers find it too easy to pick up what they need at the garden centers operated by large retailers, he said.
Location
Mellinger's buys items from wholesalers and manufacturers and ships them to people in all 50 states. It sent 280,000 catalogs this year, with catalog sales making up about 75 percent of the company's revenues.
Walk-up sales at the company's rural location also have suffered as shoppers opt for the convenience of buying plants at the same place they buy shirts, he said.
"We're two miles from North Lima and five miles from Columbiana. We're not where everyone else is," he said.
The rainy weather the past couple of years also has hurt sales because people are less inclined to plant during bad weather, he said. The downturn in the local economy also could be a factor in the lower sales, he said.
Steiner said he's disappointed to shut down the business, which employs 20 people full time, plus about 50 more during the spring.
"It's tough mentally and emotionally. It's a hard thing. A lot of the employees here, you call them family because they've been here a long time," he said.
Steiner's parents, Paul and Jean, are still involved in the business.
Steiner, 47, said he isn't sure what he will do next, other than look for a job, but he isn't worried about his family's future.
"We're Christians. We trust in God," he said. "He's never let us down before."
shilling@vindy.com