Aaron Leon
Aaron Leon, CEO of LD Products, Inc., recalls the advice of his high school chemistry and physics teacher that really made an impact on him.
“I remember him saying to keep your options open when you are young so you can take bold risks,” he says.
And take a bold risk he did. Early in his junior year at the University of Southern California, Leon noticed a campus flyer advertising aftermarket ink. He soon discovered that the student who posted it lived in his dorm and that he worked as an affiliate for an e-commerce retailer. The student introduced Leon to the affiliate world and they formed a partnership promoting online traffic to his ink and toner website.
After some initial success with his partner’s company, Leon decided to break off and start his own affiliate site. That site grew quickly in popularity and soon many vendors approached him about buying their cartridges. At the time, selling aftermarket cartridges online was in its infancy stage and the economic and environmental benefits were relatively unknown. However, recognizing a great opportunity, Leon began to buy inventory, storing it in his childhood bedroom at his parent’s house. He says that orders were processed in between classes at the house of a friend, Patrick Devane, which was within walking distance of the post office.
“As customers became more familiar with the product, the company grew and we eventually were able to afford our first office space,” he recalls. “Seventeen years and a couple of warehouses later, we continue to grow year after year. Between our two locations in California and Pennsylvania, we ship over 1.4 million orders a year and employ over 170 people.”
Today Leon works with a robust and experienced management team. He continues to communicate on a daily basis with his department managers, and works together with his team on operations, procurement, technology, strategy and finance. He says he was excited and shocked to learn that his peers had recognized him as a Difference Maker.
“We generally try to keep a low profile at LD and you really don’t get a lot of notoriety in this industry, so it was a pleasant surprise,” he says. “We are just a retailer that’s focused on selling printer cartridges, and it was nice to be recognized.”
LD Products will soon open a second warehouse in Pennsylvania and Leon says he looks forward to providing greater service and expanding their product line.
“Over 60 percent of the population will get their orders within two business days before the end of the year, and the majority of our customers in the northeast will get their ink by the next business day,” he predicts. “We also plan to focus on pushing office supplies to our current ink and toner customers.”
Asked what he thinks of the current state of the industry, Leon identifies a mature market with increasing consolidation. He notes that the trend towards digitization of documents is a bit of a concern and he recognizes that competing with that aspect of the industry requires a strategy to remain successful.
“Millennials and their relationship with print is also something worth paying attention to, and we are still figuring that out,” he adds.
All challenges aside, Leon says that he loves his job and his employees. He says that they have a great family-like atmosphere and being located in a vibrant part of Southern California doesn’t hurt either.
“Long Beach is a very multicultural area with a diverse population,” he says. “I am truly lucky to be able to work alongside so many different subject matter experts and it’s great to be able to pick their brains and interact with them on a daily basis. We’ve got experts here in every field, from marketing and web design, to UX and procurement. We all learn a lot from each other and it’s an exciting place to come in to everyday.”
