A Month to Celebrate
Not only do we celebrate Independence Day this month, but did you know that July is now officially known as American Grown Flowers Month?
On June 27, California Congressman Salud Carbajal introduced a bipartisan resolution to recognize the contributions of growers to the economy and their communities.
House Resolution 413 now declares July as the month to celebrate the economic and cultural impact of America’s cut flower and greens farmers and demonstrate Congress’ commitment to support America’s flower growing families.
“I have seen firsthand the value the cut flower industry adds to our economy and communities during my visits with our Central Coast growers,” Rep. Carbajal said. “I am committed to recognizing their contribution by designating July as American Grown Flowers Month, in order to celebrate the beauty this industry brings to our homes and celebrations year-round.”
According to the Certified American Grown Council, a consumer research study recently found that 74 percent of people had no idea where the flowers they purchased were grown, yet 58 percent of them would prefer to buy homegrown blooms if given the choice.
“This resolution will go a long way in raising the profile of the American Grown Flower movement and educating the public on the importance of buying and supporting American Grown Flowers,” said Kasey Cronquist the administrator of the council.
The Certified American Grown program debuted in 2014 to help educate the buying public on the importance of the origin of their flowers. Certified American Grown now certifies hundreds of millions of stems of flowers each year, guaranteeing consumers that the flowers they are purchasing were grown in the United States.
You can learn more about the organization at www.americangrownflowers.com.
Whole Foods Acquired by Amazon
On June 16, Amazon and Whole Foods Market announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire Whole Foods Market in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.7 billion. Whole Foods Market will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand and source from trusted vendors and partners around the world. John Mackey will remain as CEO of Whole Foods Market and Whole Foods Market’s headquarters will stay in Austin, Texas.
Lowe’s Buys MRO Firm
Lowe’s recently completed its $512 million acquisition of Maintenance Supply Headquarters, a distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving the multifamily housing industry. Based in Houston, Texas, Maintenance Supply Headquarters operates 13 distribution centers serving customers in 29 geographic areas, primarily in the western, southeastern and south central United States. Last November, Lowe’s acquired Central Wholesalers, an MRO distributor in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Westlake Ace Hardware Reaches Store Milestone
Westlake Ace Hardware announced it has finalized the acquisition of two Q.P. Ace Hardware stores in the Omaha, Nebraska, area. With this acquisition, Westlake now operates 100 retail hardware locations in the United States. According to Westlake, this will be a seamless transition of ownership, personnel in the two stores will remain the same, and operations will not be affected. The stores are in the process of being re-branded as Westlake Ace locations. Grand re-opening celebrations are planned for later this summer.
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