Inventories

6 Months Ended

Jun. 02, 2012

Inventories

Inventories

5.     Inventories

Inventories consist of:

	June 2, 2012		December 3, 2011
Nursery stock	$	12,139	$	12,739
Materials and supplies	1,332		956
	$	13,471	$	13,695

There were no charges to increase inventory reserves in the 2012 six month period.  In the 2011 six month period, a net charge of $400 was included in costs of landscape nursery sales to establish a reserve for the estimated book value of plants that had become unsaleable because some of Imperial’s hoop houses, in which the plants were stored, collapsed as a result of snow load from winter storms in 2011.  In the 2011 first quarter, a charge of $550 was included in costs of landscape nursery sales based on the number of plants estimated at that time that had become unsaleable due to the collapsed hoop houses.  Upon removal of the damaged hoop houses during the 2011 second quarter, which could not have been done earlier due to the winter conditions that existed at the end of the 2011 first quarter, management determined that the number of plants affected by the hoop house collapses was lower than previously estimated.  Accordingly, a $250 reduction of the charge for plants that became unsaleable due to the collapsed hoop houses was reflected in costs of landscape nursery sales in the 2011 second quarter.  Costs of landscape nursery sales in the 2011 second quarter also included a charge of $100 for certain starter plants that were lost due to a plant disease issue.  There were no charges recorded for the damaged hoop houses because they were fully depreciated prior to fiscal 2011.  Initial insurance proceeds of $200, related to the hoop house damage, were reflected as a gain on insurance recovery in the 2011 six month period consolidated statement of operations (see Notes 8 and 11).  The claim was settled in the 2011 fourth quarter and an additional $279 of insurance proceeds was received at that time.