THE STORY
Open since 2007, Green Door has consistently grown, becoming the top hydro shop in downtown Los Angeles, built on its customer service and
knowledgeable staff.
THE STORY
Open since 2007, Green Door has consistently grown, becoming the top hydro shop in downtown Los Angeles, built on its customer service and
knowledgeable staff.
"The last thing Los Angeles needed was just another hydro shop."
It was 2007 and had been a rough year for Robert and Brian. A once lucrative construction business had been reduced to a scattered collection of pickup work just to keep their guys afloat. Tired of waiting for the phone to ring, Brian took a trip to a local hydroponic store. What he saw inside in no way resembled the economic downturn in construction. With a store full of customers and employees, and pallets going in and out, business was visibly “blooming.” As he approached the counter he asked an obvious question, “How’s business?” The answer was astounding, “Well $12 million a year, can’t be bad!” The wheels began to spin… “The market’s saturated, there’s no room for another hydro shop,” Robert said after hearing Brian’s idea. “We missed that boat.”
Nonetheless, Robert decided to pay a visit to a handful of the 15 hydroponic shops in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. What he saw only further supported Brian’s idea. Although there were a lot of shops, most focused on a number of things except the one that any successful retail operation would: the customer! Disinterested and uninformed staff did not do much to enhance the customer experience. In such a specialized field as hydroponic gardening, why was this happening? “You know what Brian, there may be a lot of them, but there are not many doing it right.” And so the journey began…
"Customers respect our staff and are willing to pay more because they can rely on our expertise."
Taking over retail frontage from Los Angeles late night TV sales icon, “Crazy Gideon” Kotzer, Brian, Robert and Eric, a film producer and financier, opened Green Door Hydro and Solar Electric in November, 2009. Located in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles, they entered the market in the midst of a California “Gold Rush” of hydroponic gardening. People from all across the country were making their way to Southern California to try their hand at this rapidly “growing” trade.
From the hobbyist to the commercial grower, the owners and staff of Green Door were focused on putting the customer experience at the forefront of their operation. This strategy paid off. Business increased 40% year over year from 2010 through 2014, with 2014 sales approaching $4 million. With all of this said, one may wonder, “From a couple hundred thousand to several million, can this business still be that focused on the customer?” The answer to that question would only require a quick stop at 1335 Willow St. in downtown Los Angeles.
There are a lot more pallets out front, a lot more inventory on the shelves these days, but inside is the same environment the original owners set out to preserve. A sign that has been on the wall for six years still proclaims, “We don’t match prices because THEY can’t match our service.”
You may even run into Green Door’s very first customer, Mike, who still shops at the store today. Mike will tell you that what keeps him coming back is not the bargain blowout prices or the fancy displays; he comes back because when he shops at Green Door, he feels “at home.”
In 2015 Rick Byrd, a longtime associate, purchased Green Door as a wholly owned subsidiary of PureAgro and infused the shop with a much needed shot of capital, opened another standalone operation for Internet sales and commercial customers. This start up online division is on track to add significant revenue and Green Door is expanding by acquiring and re-branding its third location, a new 6,000 sq. ft. flagship shop in Orange County, California.
