Welcome, everyone, to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of GrowGeneration Corporation. Darren Lampert, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of GrowGeneration, will now begin the meeting.
Thank you. I call this 2025 Annual Meeting of the Shareholders of GrowGeneration Corp to order. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our shareholders, members of the board, and staff who are joining us today, both in person and virtually. After introducing our Executive Team, External Advisors, and Director nominees, I will turn the meeting over to our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, Greg Sanders. Allow me to introduce the members of our executive team participating in today's meeting: myself, Darren Lampert, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder; Michael Salaman, our President and my Co-Founder; and Greg Sanders, our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Our external legal counsel, Ms. Lampert and Anna Wang, from the law firm Robinson+ Cole, are also on the call. Ms. Wang will act as an inspector of election for today's meeting.
Drew Bauer from our independent audit firm, Grant Thornton, is also with us today. Finally, I will introduce the nominees for election to our Board of Directors. GrowGeneration is fortunate to have a distinguished group of directors whose biographies are in our proxy statement. Our directors contribute significantly and generously to the development of the company's policies and the oversight of governance and operations. Our Director nominees are Eula Adams, Steven Aiello, Stark Carter, Darren Lampert, and Michael Salaman. After the business portion of the meeting has concluded, we will provide time for questions. Only validated shareholders will be able to ask questions in the designated field on the web portal. Out of consideration for others, please limit yourself to one question. Please refer to the rules of conduct and procedures of this meeting posted on the web portal. Please note that this meeting is being recorded. At this time, I'll ask our Corporate Secretary, Greg Sanders, to present the call of the meeting.
Thank you, Darren. I represent that I have the following: one, a copy of the formal notice of meeting stating the meeting's date, time, place, and purposes. Two, an affidavit that the notice of meeting was mailed to each shareholder of record on or about April 29th, 2025. And three, a list of the shareholders as of April 24th, 2025, the record date, which has been available for inspection at the company's headquarters during the 10-day period prior to the meeting. The Board of Directors has appointed Anna Wang from Robinson+ Cole to act as the inspector of the election. Ms. Wang has submitted her signed oath as inspector, which will be included in the minutes of the meeting. I call upon Ms. Wang as inspector to report whether at least 1/3 of the company's outstanding shares are present at the meeting in person or by proxy.
Thank you, Greg. I'm pleased to report that holders of record of 62.62% of the issued and outstanding shares of the company are present, in person or by proxy.
Thank you, Anna. I declare that the meeting is lawfully and properly convened and that a quorum is present for all purposes of the meeting. As you are aware from the notice of meeting and the proxy statement, the matters to be voted on at today's meeting are as follows: one, to elect five directors to the Board of Directors of the company to serve until the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and until their respective successors are elected and qualified; two, to conduct an advisory vote on the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers; three, to approve and ratify the appointment of Grant Thornton, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accounting firm to audit the company's financial statements as of December 31st, 2025, and for the fiscal year then ending.
At this time, the polls are officially open. If you have not yet voted or wish to change your vote, please do so now by clicking the voting button in the web portal and following the instructions provided. Shareholders who have sent in proxies or voted via telephone or the internet and do not want to change their vote do not need to take any further action. We will now take a brief pause to allow for voting. Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote, I hereby declare the polls closed. I now invite Ms. Wang, inspector of the election, to present the preliminary voting results.
Thank you, Greg. The preliminary voting results show as follows: one, each of the five director nominees received a plurality of the votes, which is the vote required to elect the directors. Number two, 20,274,799 of the shares present at the meeting, constituting the majority of the shares counted in voting on this proposal, voted for the approval of the compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement. Number three, 35,500,285 of the shares present at the meeting, constituting the majority of shares counted in voting on this proposal, voted for the approval and ratification of the appointment of Grant Thornton, LLP, as the company's independent registered public accountants for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2025.
Thank you, Anna. On the basis of the inspector's report, I declare as follows: one, the election of the five directors is hereby approved. Two, the compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement, is hereby approved. Three, the appointment of Grant Thornton as the company's independent registered public accountants for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2025, is hereby approved. This concludes the formal business of the meeting. Thank you for your attention and continued support of GrowGeneration. Darren will now conclude with the state of the business, and we will take appropriate questions you may have following that presentation.
Thank you, Greg. And a sincere thank you to our shareholders who continue to believe in the long-term vision and future of GrowGeneration. Over the past few years, we have remained focused on executing our strategic priorities to transform GrowGeneration into a winner, more profitable, product-driven company with a busines-to-business customer focus. In 2025, we have built upon that momentum and have made solid progress on several fronts. We remain one of the largest hydroponics suppliers in the U.S., and our mission continues to be clear: deliver the best selection, service, and solutions to the industry cultivators and garden centers. At the same time, we've taken other steps to increase our growth prospects, including expanding into the home gardening market and enhancing our e-commerce platforms, all to position the company for long-term profitable growth.
These strategic measures are already positively impacting our business, as shown in our first quarter of 2025 results. Proprietary brand sales continued to grow, representing around 32% of our reported cultivation and gardening net sales, the highest in our company's history. We also achieved sequential gross margin improvement and the lowest total expense base that we delivered in four years through our disciplined focus on cost controls. In addition, earlier this year, we announced the launch of our state-of-the-art B2B customer portal for both the commercial cultivator and the wholesale business owner. We are continuing to see strong adoption of our digital infrastructure as we work to deliver a more modern and efficient customer experience to the industry. Importantly, we are continuing to look for further growth opportunities that diversify our value proposition to a broader base of customers.
In early June, we announced the acquisition of Vigoro, an undercapitalized lawn and garden business that sells hydroponic and gardening products into the consumer market and through big box retail. This acquisition represents an important step in our long-term strategy to drive profitable growth and develop a broader reach into the lawn and garden market. Beyond these results, we are well-positioned to capitalize on emerging market opportunities. Our strong balance sheet and disciplined execution provide a solid foundation for future growth. As of March 31st, we had $52.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and no debt. We are in a good place where we can capitalize on timely opportunities to further enhance our business and increase our growth trajectory.
In closing, we are proud of the results we've been able to achieve, and perhaps more importantly, the direction that we have moved GrowGeneration to over the past few years. Having said that, we realize there is still more to be done, and we embrace the opportunity. Our strategic focus for the remainder of 2025 remains on three key areas. These include: one, expanding our proprietary portfolio of brands and growing proprietary brand sales as a portion of total revenue; two, widening our customer base through customer growth initiatives, including a new B2B portal for hydroponic retailers and commercial cultivators, along with opportunities in the lawn and garden sector; and three, driving profitability through improved margins and continued cost discipline. We are confident that by continuing to execute on these priorities, we will drive further growth and profitability throughout our business.
Complementing this, our strong balance sheet will enable us to deploy capital strategically to pursue the right opportunities that align with our business model and growth plans. As GrowGeneration celebrates its 11th anniversary this year, we are proud of the business we have built. More importantly, we're energized by the opportunities in our future. We have the people, the infrastructure, and the plan to capture growth and deliver lasting value to our shareholders. Thank you again for your continued trust and partnership, and a heartfelt thank you to our employees, board members, and leadership team. Your commitment is the engine behind everything we've achieved and all that is yet to come.
Thank you, Darren. Now we will take questions from shareholders. Please note we will attempt to answer as many questions as time allows, but only questions that are relevant to the business of the meeting will be addressed. There are no further questions submitted at this time. Thank you again for your support. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress throughout the year. Stay well and safe. Our 2025 shareholder meeting is now adjourned. The 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of GrowGeneration Corporation is now over. You may now disconnect.
The host has ended this call. Good-bye.