Case Study 4 Homegrown Gardens, LLP, is a $10 million nursery and garden retailer in Florida. Homegrown employs about 20 full-time and seasonal employees. The majority of the plants and nursery stock that Homegrown sells comes from Monromio Nurseries, a wholesaler based in Alabama. Monromio is recognized throughout the South for the quality of the plants it grows and sells. Homegrown is generally happy to pay the premium prices that Monromios plants command, because it passes the extra costs on to its customers, who value the high-quality plants it sells. However, Barry Greenstem, one of Homegrowns managing partners, is visibly upset after speaking with the owners of other nurseries at a recent trade show in Atlanta. Although Monromio has increased its prices across the board, Monromios price hike to Homegrown is larger than the average. Barry suspects that Betty Stevenson, Homegrowns assistant manager in charge of purchasing nursery stock, may be accepting kickbacks from Monromio in return for allowing higher purchase prices. Betty and her husband, Mike, purchased a new SUV, a houseboat, and several ATVs last year and moved into a new, larger house this year. Barry knows that Bettys salary isnt high enough to support the new lifestyle, and he doubts that Mikes job
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