David Isham bought his first PIERCE bale spike 20 years ago to put on his ranch pick-up truck. Twenty years later, he is still buying the PIERCE bale spike, only now, it’s for his 19,000 square-foot NRS Ranch store in Decatur, Texas.
The store opened about a year ago and has allowed the NRS brand to continue its quest in being the one-stop shop for all things cowboy and ranching.
“The best way to describe [the store] is it’s a Bass Pro Shop for cowboys,” says Isham, who founded NRS in 1989. Then, NRS was simply David’s Western Store, offering everything the roping cowboy could need. He soon renamed his store National Ropers Supply in order to appeal to a larger audience. After starting a popular mail-order catalog and focusing on strategic marketing partnerships in the industry, Isham has grown his standalone store into a national brand commonly known as NRS. Today, NRS consists of three store locations, a million-circulation catalog, and a booming ecommerce site.
Over the years NRS has greatly expanded its product base from everything for the competitive cowboy to everything for the modern rodeo family to everything for the modern livestock show and ranch family. Now with the Decatur store, they truly are a one-stop destination for all of their customers.
“This new store gave us the opportunity to move into the feed side of the business and the farm and ranch equipment side of the business, and that’s where PIERCE starts coming into the mix,” says Isham. “[PIERCE] has an incredible reputation, especially in our North Texas area because they’ve been such an important manufacturer…they build a quality product, they’re huge supporters of FFA and that lifestyle…so we reached out to them.”
Isham initially contacted PIERCE for their bale spikes. After meeting with sales manager Wade Pierce, and seeing how PIERCE was catering so well to their rancher customer—like with the upcoming PIERCE-branded roto molded cooler—he said he saw greater potential for the partnership: “When it was all said and done, I got there and saw that Wade had taken this thing to the next level…Wade is awesome because his brain is working all the time trying to think of, What is the next new product? Even though he’s sitting in Henrietta, Texas, he is a global businessman."
The NRS Ranch store—and online store—now sells PIERCE bale spikes, as well as PIERCE hay bale unrollers, ATV cattle guards, cattle sirens, and spotlights.
“My company, they all laugh about me because I hardly ever say no to adding new products to the mix,” Isham says. “I’m always very disappointed when I don’t have the random little item that you were looking for… I’m trying to be relevant and current for each person in [the] family—a family that has an involvement and appreciation for the western lifestyle."
It’s this dedication to the customer, the family and the lifestyle that aligns NRS and PIERCE. “When I look at PIERCE,” Isham says. “I see a family brand that is a do-the-right-thing brand, a do-the-right-thing family.”
For more information about NRS and their ever-expanding products for the modern cowboy and ranching lifestyle, visit their website at NRSWorld.com.
