Who trashed Harry & David? (Jack Bog's Blog)

Meter updates every 30 seconds. Click here for
an instant update.
Our complete Portland debt series linked here.

Clearance sale
The bojack bumper sticker -- only $1.50!

To order, click here.

Search this site

... or let Google look around our site -- including comments:

Custom Search

Excellent tunes -- free! And on your browser right now. Just click on Radio Bojack!

E-mail us here.

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on October 12, 2009 1:50 AM. The previous post in this blog was Frozen taters. The next post in this blog is By cracky, it was bad!. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Clippings

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

E-mail me

[What is this?]

« Frozen taters | Main | By cracky, it was bad! »

Monday, October 12, 2009

Who trashed Harry & David?

According to this story, it was these guys.

Posted at 1:50 AM | Permalink

Comments (8)

I have no idea why the Oregonian started the article by portraying Wasserstein as anything other than a aggressive buy-out firm which strips down companies and tries to sell the pieces for a profit. That strategy was obvious from the moment it purchased Bear Creek (which owned Harry & David...and Jackson & Perkins) from Japan’s Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical, which had bought it way back in 1989.

Posted by Gordie | October 12, 2009 3:00 AM

Vultures are really ugly birds.

Posted by David E Gilmore | October 12, 2009 6:34 AM

Is this the same guy?
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/wasserstein-lazards-chief-is-hospitalized/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Posted by LynneZ RawBeanZ | October 12, 2009 7:18 AM

Isn't Wasserstein of the same cloth as KKR? Leveraged buyout firms are all the same. Maximize the upside to the investors, and minimize the downside, with the employees, bond holders and taxpayers holding the bag if things go bad.

Didn't Fred Meyer get taken private via KKR (and the PERS money from Oregon) and then spun off public later, for many millions to KKR and Oregon's PERS?

Leverage and debt is very ugly when the underlying assets are going down, but pretty successful when the assets are going up.

Posted by Harry | October 12, 2009 9:09 AM

Sad. They used to be such a good company. Its a tough business when people that don't care about the company get involved.

Posted by J Duff | October 12, 2009 10:49 AM

Sorry to say it, but Harry & David was going down the tubes long before this all happened. Their prices were absurd for a box with a few oversized pears - which by the way are dirt cheap up in Hood River Valley. And many of their other offerings you could find locally at better prices - if that was the type of gift you were after.

Posted by Dave A.. | October 12, 2009 6:14 PM

Harry and David is known for it's quality goods and their customer guarantee, you can't usually get that anywhere else! They may be some what pricey but you have to remember their customers have been with them a long time. Also people that get involved do care about their company! And lets remember hear Harry and David are not just about pears, they have so many nice products. For a company that donates to charity's when the economy is down and others can't even tithe 10% of their income to their religion or charity I think Harry and David's reputation is above the rest, and one more thing Bear Creek Operations builds up the companies they buy out. Plus I personally know many who work for them and are treated with extreme respect even if you are at the bottom of the line.

Posted by kay | October 14, 2009 9:46 PM

LynneZ RawBeanZ, you are correct; but Mr Wasserstein, he dead:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/bruce-wasserstein-lazard-chief-dies/

Wendy Wasserstein's bro'.

Should have dined on the pears, not the company.

Posted by Gardiner Menefree | October 14, 2009 9:59 PM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 54
At this date last year: 50
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269