Reinisch expands warehouse
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, July 9, 2007
Zhongshan, China — Curio specialist Philip Reinisch Co. has opened a warehouse here devoted to its ColorTime collection of display cabinets.
Retailers can now order mixed containers of five new display cabinets in the collection, which are available in five colors, for a total of 25 SKUs.
The 250,000-plus-square-foot warehouse, part of a source factory in Zhongshan, began shipping product June 6. Goods are expected to arrive within 50 days of the time of order.
"This is an important step in the evolution of our company," President Steve Reinisch said in a statement. "For 75 years now, we've stood for great product and just as important, great service. Warehousing in China and being able to mix product on a container gives our customers another option for planning, ordering, receiving and selling through product quickly."
With each container holding 80 to 120 curio or display cabinets, the program is geared to customers that can order in large quantities.
For that reason, the company will keep its U.S. warehouse in St. Anthony, Ind., which houses the entire Philip Reinisch line. That quick-ship facility can deliver goods in a day from the time of order.
"We want to let our customers know that nothing has changed and that our service from the U.S. is better than ever," said David Urbanick, vice president of merchandising and marketing. "We have not diminished or diluted our stock here at all. If anything, we have more."
The company chose to offer the ColorTime collection on a mixed-container basis from China because of the product's popularity and sales prospects, Urbanick said.
"It's a nice chunk of the line and it's brand new, so it was a logical first step," he said.
Depending on the success of the China warehouse, the facility could eventually hold a larger portion of the line. He added that while the warehouse is set up to serve large retailers, it also may end up serving buying groups that want to share a container or two.
