Sep. 10--Smith & Hawken, the upscale retailer of garden furniture and supplies, will close two of its three Twin Cities-area stores at the end of this year.

The stores in Maple Grove and St. Paul will close, while the store in the Galleria mall in Edina will remain open, according to Noelle Smith, spokesman for the California-based chain.

Smith declined to say whether the closings are part of larger cutback program at Smith & Hawken, which has 58 stores nationwide. She said the chain's newer stores are at least 10,000 square feet -- including ones set to open next month near Sacramento, Calif., and in San Antonio -- more than twice the size of older outlets like those in St. Paul and Maple Grove. The larger size allows more room for full displays of outdoor furniture and garden-inspired home decor, she said.

The Edina store also is smaller, at about 4,400 square feet, but "will easily accommodate customers in the area," she said. Smith said the Edina outlet "is a strong store with a good lease." She declined to comment on sales at the Maple Grove and St. Paul locations.

News of the closings comes just a few weeks after Smith & Hawken's parent company, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. of Marysville, Ohio, reported declining sales and continuing losses for the chain. In a recent conference call with analysts, executives described Smith & Hawken as "a drag on earnings." They said they were reviewing underperforming stores, the catalog strategy and considering selling the chain, which was acquired in 2004.

In a research report last month, Morningstar analyst Ben Johnson applauded the move.

"We have always held that [Scotts'] venture into the outdoor living category marked an unwelcome departure from its core competencies" of lawn and garden care products, Johnson said.

Stan Pohmer, a Twin Cities area retail consultant, said Smith & Hawken may have had a hard time earning a decent return in the Twin Cities because the gardening and outdoor living season here is so short. A decision to try to broaden its reach nationwide by selling some products with the Smith & Hawken name in independent garden centers and Target stores may also have hurt the upscale brand's image, Pohmer said.

Representatives of Exeter Realty, which manages the St. Paul store's building on Grand Avenue, could not be reached for information Tuesday on plans for the space to be vacated. Some discussions have occurred with other possible tenants for the store at the Shoppes of Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove, according to Michael Grenander, general manager for the building's owner, Atlanta-based Cousins Properties.

Susan Feyder --612-673-1723

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