Description
Dear Customer,
As we continue to mark our 35th year in business (our 24th with a separate Garden Tools catalog), it is interesting to note not only how much has changed, but how much has remained constant over that period.
Our first dedicated gardening tools catalog (spring 1990) featured the Bulldog line of spades and forks, a line that can still be found in this catalog, now under the Clarington Forge brand. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as the forge has been in operation since 1780. What is surprising is that the price of the digging pair (fork and spade) is $6 lower today than it was in 1990.
A quick check of a few other core items that we’ve carried over the same 24-year period shows that they too have held their prices: the Lifetime hose is $1.45 lower at $38.50, and the large Haws watering can is only $4 higher at $99. Even our Felco pruners are within 10% of their 1990 prices, and all of the tools mentioned above are still made in their original countries.
All this goes to show that firms making good products and offering good service can weather all sorts of economic changes, while remaining competitive and relevant.
We expect to test that hypothesis by sticking around for at least another 35 years.
Cheers,
Robin C. Lee
President