Horticultural Rep Group (HRG), an Ogden-based specialty marketing and sales organization for horticultural products, has been acquired by GrowGeneration Corp. (GrowGen) of Denver. GrowGeneration is a chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers.
HRG sells hundreds of products from GrowGen and other companies that are popular brands in the hydroponics market. In addition, HRG has participated in the sourcing of products across the horticultural and hydroponics industry. HRG will continue to supply the 800-plus retail customers it currently services. HRG generated estimated revenue of $10 million in 2021 from sales agent commissions and distribution activity.
“I am looking forward to working with GrowGen to build out a tri-continent supply chain to offer developing markets around the world a best-of-breed supply of products from Asia, Europe and the United States on one platform,” said Keith Harrington, founder and president of HRG. “Given the current pace of consolidation happening in the U.S. market, I chose to partner with GrowGen because I believe it currently has the best management team in the industry and the best understanding of the culture of the market, which is important to me. I am excited to help them grow that culture and their business at the same time.” Harrington has been appointed senior vice president of business development at GrowGen.
“With this acquisition, GrowGen is strengthening its global product supply chain and adding significant distribution of its growing list of private label products,” said Michael Salaman, president and co-founder of GrowGen. “Keith Harrington is one of the most respected executives and one of the early innovators of the U.S. modern horticultural market. We are excited that he will contribute his multi-decade expertise to the GrowGen team.”
Harrington, a veteran of the lighting and heavy manufacturing, started a horticultural lighting supply chain in the 1990s and was also the majority owner of a major hydroponic distributor, Diamond Garden Supplies. Harrington established manufacturing and product sourcing offices in Xiamen, China, in 1995, and he developed many of the original sources of product for the horticultural market coming out of China, many of which are still utilized today. Over the past 25 years, he has helped to develop, manufacture and distribute many of the environmental/lighting controllers and horticultural lighting fixtures that have been sold in the 52 countries making up the global hydroponic market.
GrowGeneration owns and operates specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores. The company has 63 stores in California, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts and New Mexico. It operates an online superstore for cultivators and a business-to-business e-commerce platform.