Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas Inc., Woodburn, Oregon, announced that it has become a member of the Bower & Branch grower network, with Tom Fessler, president of Woodburn Nursery, set to serve on the organization’s board of directors.

Bower & Branch is an e-commerce site populated with products from independent growers and garden retailers from the Midwest to the northeastern United States. Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas is the first West Coast grower to join in the network, which streamlines the group’s ability to ship products nationwide.

Optimistic about the future of the horticulture industry, Fessler invested in the online consumer-driven business model as part of the strategic mindset that follows a grower’s products to the end user. “[Future growers] need to understand plant-handling automation, the impact of changing weather, how to create an alternative to commoditization, pricing pressure, a go-to market strategy, labor-shortages and the expense of connecting with an ever-changing home consumer,” he said. “When we looked at it that way, it was clear that the right decision was the one where we partnered with Bower & Branch.”

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