Nurserymen’s Exchange Names COO, Plans For Future

Nurserymen's Exchange Names COO, Plans For Future

Rising through the sales and marketing ranks, Justin Dautoff has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Nurseryman’s Exchange, one of the nation’s leading blooming potted plant producers and wholesalers based in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Dautoff is the grandson of Carl and Virginia Pearlstein, who founded the company in 1941.

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Dautoff most recently served as vice president of marketing. In 2002, when he was promoted to director of sales, he provided the leadership to drive 45 percent of revenue growth and cultivated and solidified relationships in retail channels, including grocery, mass merchandisers, home and garden centers, as well as independent specialty retailers. You can find Nurserymen’s Exchange plants nationwide under its BloomRite brand.
“We are continuing to move forward to bring better-performing selections of our core crops to market, upgrade our greenhouse facilities to improve quality while driving efficiency and maintaining the reputation and market prominence of the BloomRite brand through sustainable horticultural excellence and inspired design,” Dautoff says.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Dautoff joined Nurserymen’s sales team and has contributed to the company’s success fro 20 years. He has worked closely with the second generation, Jack Pearlstein and Gail Hollingsworth, who are the co-Chief Executives of the company today.

“Justin provides the kind of energy we need to help Gail and I and the other members of our management team attack the marketplace, expand our relationships with existing customers and make inroads with new customers who need the products and services Nurserymen’s can provide,” Pearlstein says.

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Nurserymen’s also is looking to reduce leverage (debt) in its financing structure, he adds. “While the current financing structure provides for our current needs, we want to have the ability to respond quickly to the needs of our customers and capitalize on opportunities.” This will mean selling real estate holdings that are not essential to the business, he explains.

Over the summer, Nurserymen’s was picketed by United Farm Workers after laying off 130 employees, who were not part of the union. “Whatever we do, it will be consistent with objectives of our community and will continue to reflect upon Nurserymen’s as a good corporate citizen and leading employer in Half Moon Bay in both number of employees and the fair treatment of our employees,” Pearlstein says. “We have engaged some top-notch advisors to help us pursue this strategy and explore our alternatives while maintaining the values that have long been associated with our family and Nurserymen’s name.”

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