TreeStuff and SherrillTree Join Forces

Family first Luke....good luck and was great doing business with treestuff for a few years....you hooked me up big time...still trying to settle back in Bsrbados...will be back in touch after hurricane season...lol
 
I'd like to weigh in, as I think I have a unique vantage point on this whole thing. I started at SHERRILLtree 17 years ago. I've been through the highs and lows, the good and the bad. My role involves creative and marketing, and one of things I've always done is watch our competition.

TreeStuff popped up on my radar in 2008. Much to our computer guy's dismay, I still have emails from back then, so I looked up some notes I had sent. In 2008 and 2009, I called attention to a new company that had a great website and great engagement with customers. No surprise, I was talking about TreeStuff. It was easy to see there was something special going on, even back then. And to be honest, it reminded me a lot of how SHERRILLtree was when I started in 1999; small, nimble, and dedicated to the customers at every turn.

While we sharpened our pencils and went through growing pains, TreeStuff grew holistically and kept cranking out new interactions. It was frustrating as a competitor, but I appreciated the effort and willingness to try things.

Now here's where my vantage point gets interesting. Much like I saw our early selves in the early TreeStuff, I see that they're now at a precarious point in their growth, much like we were years ago. And that's why I believe this deal is a good thing; I believe we will actually help them stay true to their roots, by helping them avoid the same growth pitfalls we fell into. Think of it like siblings. The older sibling goes throw their trials and tribulations in life, and will help the younger siblings along the way. We can help them, while getting out of their way to be themselves.

We are on the same page as TreeStuff customers, in not wanting to see TreeStuff change. It's clear they're doing something special over there by the vast amount of loyalty being expressed here and on social media. We have no interest in changing that. None at all. None. Tripp has repeatedly told us that we're leaving TreeStuff alone. What they are doing is working, and we have no reason to change it. They'll continue to choose their products, set their prices, set their own goals, and create their own promos.

I guess the long and short of it is, there's a great team at TreeStuff that earned your loyalty. I don't think it's fair to abandon them based on changes that aren't happening.

Please feel free to PM me directly with any questions. I will answer whatever I can. Have great July 4th weekend!

-Sean
 
seanlarkin said:
I'd like to weigh in, as I think I have a unique vantage point on this whole thing. I started at SHERRILLtree 17 years ago. I've been through the highs and lows, the good and the bad. My role involves creative and marketing, and one of things I've always done is watch our competition.

TreeStuff popped up on my radar in 2008. Much to our computer guy's dismay, I still have emails from back then, so I looked up some notes I had sent. In 2008 and 2009, I called attention to a new company that had a great website and great engagement with customers. No surprise, I was talking about TreeStuff. It was easy to see there was something special going on, even back then. And to be honest, it reminded me a lot of how SHERRILLtree was when I started in 1999; small, nimble, and dedicated to the customers at every turn.

While we sharpened our pencils and went through growing pains, TreeStuff grew holistically and kept cranking out new interactions. It was frustrating as a competitor, but I appreciated the effort and willingness to try things.

Now here's where my vantage point gets interesting. Much like I saw our early selves in the early TreeStuff, I see that they're now at a precarious point in their growth, much like we were years ago. And that's why I believe this deal is a good thing; I believe we will actually help them stay true to their roots, by helping them avoid the same growth pitfalls we fell into. Think of it like siblings. The older sibling goes throw their trials and tribulations in life, and will help the younger siblings along the way. We can help them, while getting out of their way to be themselves.

We are on the same page as TreeStuff customers, in not wanting to see TreeStuff change. It's clear they're doing something special over there by the vast amount of loyalty being expressed here and on social media. We have no interest in changing that. None at all. None. Tripp has repeatedly told us that we're leaving TreeStuff alone. What they are doing is working, and we have no reason to change it. They'll continue to choose their products, set their prices, set their own goals, and create their own promos.

I guess the long and short of it is, there's a great team at TreeStuff that earned your loyalty. I don't think it's fair to abandon them based on changes that aren't happening.

Please feel free to PM me directly with any questions. I will answer whatever I can. Have great July 4th weekend!

-Sean
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Thanks Sean, You are a good man!
 
Wow!

When I saw the first post the first thing I did was to check the date. Was this an April Fool's thread that I missed. NOpe...so I read on.

It won't be 'business as usual' now.

I wonder if the new name might be Sherrill Stuff?

Best of luck!
 
This will be fraught with all the usual challenges of organizations merging when they have dissimilar cultures. While they may continue to operate as two separate entities the battle will be in the back office where they'll be trying to find those savings from streamlining operations. IT will be confronted with having to make the systems integrate and function seamlessly. Accounting will need to do the same. Staff will be frustrated by these cultural quirks that define them. However, it is pretty common business model in the consumer products world.

Look at some of the big retailers who have multiple retail outlets that cater to different market segments under different names. The easiest ones being the car companies. GM and Ford, etc... all their "brands" were once independents not just a name plate.

While I wish Luke and Erin the best of luck and congratulate them on their success, I hope that SherrillTree has the savvy to navigate the very difficult waters of corporate culture integration and do exercise patience and commitment to the Treestuff brand. And that is what we have now, a brand that was created by Luke and Erin that needs to live on.
 
So, does this mean that TreeStuff's prices are going to increase up to the prices of Sherrill? That's the bottom line. :envidioso
 
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N.e.Tree said:
Seems like most everyone has the same feelings about this. Hopefully Sherrill turns into Treestuff and Treestuff doesn't turn into Sherrill. I think that'll be a tough road without Luke at the reigns. Steve Connally said it right, no matter how small of a customer I am, I always felt important.
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I was also disappointed upon hearing this news. I have enjoyed my "TreeStuff experience," and will continue to shop their website until such time I see any Sherrill-induced changes which displease me. Should that occur, I'll simply change where my money is spent. I'm just curious how Luke will obtain more family time if he is staying on to run the show.

Good luck to you, Luke! You've been great!
 
Sean, I'm not bashing or attacking. My background. I am a single man show for the most part. I have spent over 2ok in gear and goodies for myself alone since 2011. I am not a major player in the tree work game however I am a decent representation of the customer base I believe treestuff caters to. Having said that, how did the older brother navigate the pitfalls and learn from the experience while still going down hill in customer service and quality of customer experience? How can you help them? How is Sherrill a model business for treestuff to follow in you footsteps? Had you treated me like I was important and listened to my feedback years ago I would have spent my money with you. However you did not so I went to Wespurr. It made me feel like I was cheating on them when I made my first ts purchase. They didn't have what I was looking for and the shipping was 1/3 the time from the left coast. I drove rite by sherrill during business hours about 2 months ago and never even thought to stop. I had a bad enough experience at vermeer mid atlantic.

Please tell me how this will benefit treestuff based on sherrill's experiences because I personally have not seen any improvement and from what I read on the net, that may be the majority consensus. I will continue to shop at treestuff until I have to leave and find another small guy who cares who Steve Connally is.

I am happy for Luke and his family. Good for them. I was once approached by Bartlett about purchasing my small business. Once I learned that all they wanted was my customer list, I stepped back and wondered if this decision was the best for my customers who will always associate the work on their property with Steve Connally. They still follow me not the companies I have worked for. They don't care who i'm working for, just that I do their work. Me. It's all about the customer experience. My customer experience with Sherrill makes me skeptical of this merger.

The thing I hate about walmart the most is they drive the market so much the consumer is left with little choice but to shop there. The regular person can't afford to shop at Harris Teeter or other high end stores for basics every week, so we all go to walmart and are miserable going there, shopping there, and leaving there.

Tree work is my passion. I buy gear because I enjoy the experience of the purchase and the discovery of new things. Don't take that from me. I earned it.

My 2 cents and thanks for taking the time to read this.

Steve
 
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I won't let anything crazy happen guys. I appreciate that you all are worried. We've put a lot of effort into being different and playing a different game.

If Tripp's intention was for SherrillTree to obliterate TreeStuff's culture I wouldn't/won't be sticking around. I'm sure that isn't the case and you can count on us keeping the status quo as long as you see my name associated with TreeStuff.

We have big plans to do awesome things. Keep your eyes peeled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Steve Connally said:
Sean, I'm not bashing or attacking. My background. I am a single man show for the most part. I have spent over 2ok....
...My 2 cents and thanks for taking the time to read this.

Steve
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Hey Steve,

I appreciate the response and gravity of your viewpoint. I wish I could produce a wonderfully descriptive playbook to set everyone's minds at ease, but it doesn't exist.

I don't really want to make a list of potential pitfalls because I don't want to imply a lack of faith in the TreeStuff team. But I do want to address your question... My personal opinion, I think one of the key things is scaling up to meet growth without harming the company culture that got you where you are. I remember how we got off track, and how the vibe was void of any fun, which obviously you and other customers felt. Tripp has reversed that course; we're having fun again; we don't worry about making a mistake, we just worry about the customer. Culture is very important to Tripp and I know he wants TreeStuff to stay true to who they are.

I know you were looking for more details than I've been able to give. In this case I think inaction will speak louder than words. Once you see that nothing is changing, you will hopefully be reassured.

And for the record, I think Harris Teeter is the best. Ironically, they were bought out by Kroger last year (or the year prior), and I had similar concerns as those being expressed in this thread. But, knock-on-wood, Harris Teeter hasn't changed at all.

Thanks again for the response.

-Sean
 
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