by CEO Jim Ziozis tells Home News Now that this also will provide dealers with a mix of high-value, tariff-free items that are in stock and ready to ship
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With its purchase of Coast to Coast Imports, Linon Home Décor will add a new layer of product to an already extensive mix offered at both Linon and sister company Powell Home Fashions.
Jim Ziozis, president and chief executive officer of Linon Home Décor, told Home News Now that the acquisition will boost the companies’ accent furniture assortment, with a mix of items that also are higher in price point than either Linon or Powell.
“There are some good products in there, no question about it,” he said. “Overall, it just made sense.”
With the acquisition, the company also purchased the intellectual property and trademarks for Coast2Coast Home, Accents by Andy Stein, Jadu Accents, Treasure Trove Accent Furniture and Pieces in Paradise.
While not citing the purchase price, Ziozis said the company purchased the assets — which include some 500 items that are in stock and ready to ship — at a good price.
“We bought it right and we bought it cheap,” he said. “It is a value opportunity. We negotiated to get all the brands.”
He added that the company also talked to several customers beforehand to gauge their support of and interest in the Coast to Coast line.
The consensus was that they wanted to see it come back to fruition, after the brand became part of a court proceeding last summer that placed it in receivership. At the time, lender Fifth Third Bank said it had defaulted on some of its financial obligations and that it would be difficult to manage the business moving forward because of cash flow issues.
Ziozis said that Linon ultimately decided not to purchase the Memphis area warehouse where Coast to Coast stocked its inventory because of significant costs related to repairing a roof on the building. Instead it is moving about 125 trailer loads of product out of the building starting this week to a warehouse and distribution facility in Eden, North Carolina.
Ziozis said that about 55 items from the line will be on display in the Linon Powell showroom in Suite 100 of 200 N. Main St. at the upcoming April High Point Market. Most products will be on the second floor of the space, but some items also will be on display just off the entrance of the space on the first floor.
Dealers familiar with the line, along with those who are new to the line, will see a mix of artfully designed accent, storage and entertainment display pieces featuring hand-rubbed finishes, mixed-media materials and solid woods such as mango, sheesham and acacia that have come to define the line over the years.
And there will be more to show in the future, given that these pieces only represent about 10% of the inline goods and designs purchased as part of the deal.
Another benefit? The imported product is tariff-free, meaning that dealers can purchase it and sell it to their customers at competitive prices.
“It is all finished goods inventory, at a sharp value,” Ziozis said. “We are excited and, quite frankly, we are chasing opportunities.”
