Canadian importer Mazin acquires Dales
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, January 14, 2002
CONCORD, Ontario — Mazin Furniture Inds., an importer of case goods primarily from the Far East, has acquired Dales, a dinette manufacturer and importer based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
President Michael Mazin said the move will give MFI a national presence and enable it to better serve national accounts. MFI will begin building inventory in February and start shipping from Dales' Vancouver warehouse in March.
MFI has had accounts from Manitoba to Atlantic Canada, supported by a 120,000-square-foot distribution center in Concord. It is building a high-cube distribution center slated to open in the second half of the year.
Mazin's key dealers include Leon's Furniture, Bad Boy Furniture and Brault & Martineau.
Dales, with accounts in western Canada and the northwestern United States, has been phasing out its casual dining manufacturing operation to concentrate on distribution of occasional, dining and bedroom furniture and leather upholstery.
At the winter Toronto market, MFI introduced 20 groups that will be available from both the Toronto and Vancouver distribution centers. It also introduced the Dales leather upholstery line to Eastern retailers.
Harvey Dales, president and chief executive officer of Dales and son of founder Leon Dales, will serve as a consultant to MFI.
"Economic conditions are certainly in our favor right now," Mazin said, noting imports are continuing to gain ground on Canadian retail floors. "Each of the categories we are in certainly will continue to grow over the next few years."
—As first reported in eDaily
