The Story Behind
Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales
Passion. Creativity. Dedication. Quality.
Passion…
It all started back in 1989, just one year after Lisa and David Arnold married. A fax machine, a pick-up truck, 15 years of experience, and a dream – sure, it seemed far-fetched, but when creativity and hard work come together, amazing things happen. Fueled by passion, Lisa’s experience in sales, merchandising, and promotion meshed hand-in-hand with David’s nursery and landscape business experience. Just like that, Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales was born.
Creativity…
From the first call, Lisa and David knew that they had struck a chord with their groundbreaking style. Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales (or as their many customers know them as, LA) tried something completely different – offering complete plant material needs at grower wholesale competitive prices. Of course, this innovative style meant a little more hard work, but it also meant more satisfied customers – customers who grew fiercely loyal to the LA brand.
Lisa and David gave every ounce of themselves to the details. Customers always got:
Their devotion to those principles made LA the immediate talk of the industry. Never before had a company tried to move such high volumes at grower-direct prices – all while serving the customer’s one-stop-shop everyday needs. Lisa and David were growing a reputation throughout the industry; their drive and creativity made people stand up and recognize them as “The brokers who broke the brokers’ mold.”
After year two, LA had already shipped over a $1 million in product. Lisa and David chose Sunol to be the site of their first distribution yard – a 2.5 acre yard filled to the brim with inventory from grower vendors up and down the Pacific coast. Situated on Interstate 680 and Calaveras Road, the yard was just the first of what would become three certified yards acting as staging, shipping, and receiving sites. Even though business was booming, Lisa and David never lost sight of the principles that got them to this point.
As the years passed, the numbers kept growing – revenue doubled, then tripled, and the sky was the limit. However, Lisa and David knew that in order to maintain high levels of quality control, there had to be a breaking point. They made a decision that shocked the industry: Lisa and David closed LA’s gates to the public. From there, the LA customer base was evaluated and revised, taken down to only the core professionals that supported LA through profitable and close relationships.
Some industry observers thought it was crazy; after such intense business growth, who would actually stop the public from coming in? Lisa and David had mutually agreed that quality was more important than quantity; by downsizing their customer base, LA could guarantee detailed attention to every aspect of each individual client. Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales was now the first – and only – by-appointment private wholesale nursery.
Re-energized and re-focused, Lisa and David set out to raise the standard for the nursery industry. New divisions were formed to address specific customer needs. A unique VIP service catered to clients who wanted the very best, including:
In addition, a new retail location allowed casual customers to peruse the deep LA selection of materials. Combined with the continued success of the wholesale division, the total entity of Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales blazed new trails that satisfied countless customers and provided unmatched service.
For nearly two decades, Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales has been an innovator and a leader in the nursery industry. More importantly, for nearly two decades LA has excelled in building both strong, quality partnerships with vendors and unparalleled levels of customer service. Even after all the success, though, Lisa and David Arnold never lost sight of the very things that drove them to starting a business with just a fax machine, pick-up truck, and a dream. Passion, creativity, dedication, and quality; with those four traits as the foundation of Lisa Arnold Nursery Sales, nearly two decades of success has flown by in no time – and the best is yet to come.
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