SUCCESSSTORIES
INSPIRING TALES OF STARTUPS, GROWTH AND OVERCOMING HARDSHIPS
From Vending Machine to World-Class
Personal-Care Solutions Company
BY MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON
GARY ROBIE Founder and CEO,
Ready Care Industries, Aurora, Colorado
very success story has its
own humble beginning. In
the case of Ready Care
Industries, the company was
founded in the late 1980s inside the
garage of its founder and CEO, Gary
Robie. Before it became a leading
provider of personal-care solutions to
hotels, spas and health clubs, it
started as a vending machine
company selling disposable razors. “I
was active in the health club scene in
Denver and, fortunately, chose the health club industry as my
starting point. I went to our first trade show in Dallas, Texas
where I met our first customers, Greenwood Athletic Club and
Colorado Athletic Club in Denver, who both remain our clients
today,” Robie recalls the early days of establishing the company.
In the first two years, he worked a second a job while selling
his vending machine to the health club market. As the business
grew and he was able to move to a small office, he hired his first
employee, Ann Marie Nordholm, who is still with the company
today and now serves as senior vice president of sales - hospitality division. Today, the company’s team has grown to more
than 90 employees and is headquartered in an 82,000-square-foot
facility that houses more than US$2 million-worth of manufacturing equipment.
Pure Fiji collection is one of
Ready Care Industries'
best-selling product lines.
E
Identifying a Need
After Robie identified the need for better locker room products, he
began to build the company around locker room amenities. “Our
ability to make a health club locker room beautiful and functional
caught the eye of the spa world, which gave birth to Ready Care
Industries as a company that focuses on locker room supplies,
spa supplies, private label and hotel amenities as well as many
other brands, including Pure Fiji,” he says.
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In 2009, the company acquired the distribution rights to Pure
Fiji. A year later, the company purchased Zendals and became the
distributor for other well-known brands, most recently, Lemi beds.
As a small company, its biggest challenge in the beginning
was its lack of financial investment. “All of our growth from day
one has been self-funded,” Robie says. “It took us eight years to
hit our first million-dollar year. Since then, we have grown to
double-digit, including during the most recent recession that
affected the hospitality industry.”
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 56)
Years as an ISPA Member: Since 1998 during the ISPA
Conference & Expo in The Broadmoor in Colorado.
“We started with a 10 X 10 booth and we have
attended every Expo since then. While many vendors
did not exhibit during 2008 to 2010 because of the
recession, we wanted to show our support to ISPA and
the industry by attending it,” Robie says.
Motivation to Join ISPA: “While travelling to spas to
ask them what type of products they would like to see
from us, spa directors told me I should go and show
my products at ISPA Conference. Today, we utilize ISPA
Conference as a meeting place for our sales people
and, more importantly, an opportunity to meet and
thank all of our spa customers.”