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Spring Hill to reopen as catalog outlet with reduced prices

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 11:40 PM Thursday, November 12, 2009

TIPP CITY — A month after closing its retail garden center, Spring Hill Nurseries said Thursday, Nov. 12, it will reopen seasonally as a catalog outlet center that features overstock from various catalog brands at reduced prices.

The Tipp City Catalog Outlet Center will reopen from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on “Black Friday,” Nov. 27.

For the rest of the holiday season, through Jan. 3, it will open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, according to a company press release.

Spring Hill’s retail garden center at 110 W. Elm St. closed Oct. 12 because of weak retail sales. At the time, the company said shoppers’ buying habits had shifted from trees, shrubs and perennials to lower-priced items.

The outlet center will cater to those changing buying habits, said Scott Atkinson, creative services manager for Spring Hill’s parent, Lawrenceburg, Ind.-based Gardens Alive.

“It makes more sense to do it this way than as a straight garden center,” Atkinson said.

He noted that a liquidation sale last fall in Tipp City showed a catalog outlet center could be a successful business model for the well-known retail space.

The catalog outlet center will also have a late spring/early summer plant clearance sale.

Mail-order catalog companies whose overstock will be sold at the outlet center include Bits and Pieces, the Paragon, TouchStone, Spilsbury, Images of America, Room Service Home, Spring Hill Nurseries, Gurneys Seed & Nursery, Gardens Alive, Henry Field’s Seed & Nursery, Breck’s Bulbs, Michigan Bulb Co., Thompson & Morgan Seeds, and Audubon Workshop.

Spring Hill has had a presence in the Dayton area since 1849.

Atkinson also confirmed that Spring Hill’s catalog call center relocated from Tipp City to Lewisburg in Preble County this summer. He said he was unsure how many jobs transferred.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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