THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130365
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Lillian Vernon Inc., the mail order retailer, is adding a distribution warehouse in Virginia Beach to support its booming catalog outlet store sales.
``The new facility will be an annex to handle our present growth,'' said David Hochberg, vice president of public affairs for the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based retailer.
The 154,000-square-foot warehouse will be used to store bulk items and to distribute inventory. About 25 employees will operate the facility.
The purchase of the building will be finalized on Sept. 7. Lillian Vernon should move into the warehouse a month from the sales closing date, Hochberg said.
The catalog retailer's National Distribution Center at 100 Lillian Vernon Drive will be a half-mile from the new warehouse. The Lillian Vernon Annex will be at 2820 Crusader Circle in the Oceana West Industrial Park.
Regal Ware Inc., a company that manufactures and sells housewares, owns the building, Hochberg said. The Virginia Port Authority's operating affiliate, Virginia International Terminals Inc., currently uses the warehouse to store cocoa beans. Its lease on the space ends in August, said Linda Ford, a spokeswoman at the Port Authority.
Sales for Lillian Vernon jumped 25 percent in the first quarter to $26 million compared with $20.8 million for the same period in 1993. The retailer attributed its growth to increased sales outside the Christmas holiday season. Its plans for expansion into global markets begins this month with a direct mail catalog to Canadian consumers, a market of 28 million residents.
Retail industry analysts have viewed Lillian Vernon's growth positively. The corporation has lowered its debt and has demonstrated strong cash flow. In June, Lillian Vernon opened an outlet store at Waterside, raising the number of its outlet stores to eight. It plans to publish a new catalog of personalized items later this year.
As many as 3,000 work in the retailer's current Virginia Beach order-taking and warehouse center in the period before Christmas. The company's yearly sales exceeded $196 million last year. ILLUSTRATION: Map
STAFF
NEW CATALOG WAREHOUSE
by CNB