Zorio teams up with Nick Oak for new line
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 6, 2008
Tijuana, Mexico — Sergio Zorio, former vice president of sales at case goods manufacturer Sunny Designs, has formed a sourcing partnership to produce and export goods from Mexico.
Zorio worked for Sunny Designs for the past eight years and decided to leave the company late last year to go out on his own.
He is working with Nick Gonzales, the owner of a factory called Nick Oak Inc. in Tijuana. The 100,000-square-foot, 135-employee factory is producing bookcases and TV consoles for the U.S. market. Goods were expected to start shipping at the end of February.
The bookcases are available in several styles, including traditional, mission, contemporary and transitional, and retail from $99 to $399. The consoles are in 62- and 72-inch widths and retail from $399 to $579.
Both products are made with oak, poplar and birch solids and veneers and come in at least seven different finishes, including burnished oak, rustic oak, mission, black, white, espresso and cappuccino.
Zorio began marketing and selling bookcases starting in the late 1970s with a company called Zorio Furniture. He decided to undertake the new venture based on the opportunity he saw in Mexico to produce these two items.
"Certain items you can't make in China because the freight will eat you up," said Zorio, who will handle the sales and marketing side of the business, while Gonzales manages the manufacturing side. "Two of those things are bookcases and TV consoles. If you have the right equipment, you can compete with China on those two items. The key is getting the customer what they want when they need it."
The Nick Oak plant, which Zorio said has a state-of-the-art finishing line, has a capacity of 50 to 60 containers per month. Eventually, Zorio plans to add desks to go with the bookcases, but for now, he will focus on his two core items.
Goods will ship in two weeks from the time of order. They will be trucked across the border then shipped via rail to retailers.
The plant also has a 10,000-square-foot warehouse on site, which will stock items that can be shipped within days of order.
The two plan to show the yet-to-be-named line in Las Vegas in July and may later open a showroom in High Point.
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