by Company founder, chairman and CEO Larry Wu explains what the purchase will mean for the company and its customers
EL MONTE, Calif. — E-commerce and logistics solutions provider GigaCloud Technology’s purchase of New Classic Furniture further boosts the company’s position in the furniture industry with a direct connection to the full-line furniture resource’s brick-and-mortar accounts.
Larry Wu, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the technology specialist, recently spoke with Home News Now about the recently completed $18 million acquisition and what it means for the company and the customers of New Classic.
For GigaCloud, it taps into the Fontana, California-based full-line resource’s extensive product mix of more than 2,000 SKUs across bedroom, dining, stationary and motion upholstery, occasional and outdoor furniture. According to a Jan. 2 release issued by the company announcing the completion of the closing, New Classic sells to more than 1,000 retailers around the U.S.
“It is very exciting,” Wu told Home News Now of the acquisition. “We used to have an e-commerce product line kind of focus, but now we are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to bring the technology solutions that are helping our consumer in the e-commerce universe and to make ourselves more relevant in the world of brick and mortar.”
He also noted that New Classic’s extensive product line was another thing that made it attractive to GigaCloud.
“They have a little bit of everything,” he said, noting that this diversity of product is a good selling point not only for the brand’s existing customer base, but also for new accounts as it continues to expand its market presence.
With an estimated $70 million in sales, New Classic represents just a fraction of GigaCloud’s nearly $1.2 billion in revenues reported for its latest full fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2024. However, that figure will likely grow through its new relationship with GigaCloud and the technology assets it offers, including its extensive network of some 15 warehouses around the U.S. With many of its customers on the West Coast, New Classic has two primary distribution centers, one on the West Coast and one in Virginia.
Thus, New Classic’s customers stand to benefit from this extensive distribution and logistics network, bringing product closer to the end user now in the future, which likely will be a selling point as it aims to grow its customer base.
“We have a bigger geographic reach, both in the market we are operating in and the countries that we are sourcing from,” Wu noted. “We can help them if they want to try to take advantage of our broader fulfillment network. We will help to provide better geographic coverage for our customers.”
“The key thing is our service mindset,” he added not only of the opportunity to put product closer to its customers, but also in developing product that meets the needs of the customer base.
This logistics and service element, he noted, also can deliver a more extensive and more attractively priced product mix to New Classic’s customers. Both, he added, are key in remaining competitive in today’s marketplace, particularly against overseas factories selling directly to retailers.
“Bringing new products (to the marketplace) involves a lot of risk,” he said, noting that the company needs a robust assortment to remain relevant and competitive against factories that are copying and producing product at lower first costs to retailers and consumers alike. “You have to be quicker and take advantage of the familiarity you have with the market to always be ahead of anyone that is trying to copy you.”
Thus, he said, the company aims to position itself differently in the marketplace and to focus on the service it can provide in getting product to customers more quickly, efficiently and affordably, including in the e-commerce realm.
“We are trying to bring everything that is missing and that could be perceived as more valuable to our customer base including technology and new products to make ourselves more relevant,” he said, noting that for today’s retail customers and consumers, convenience is another key asset that GigaCloud will bring to the mix.
“Closing this acquisition represents another important step in executing our strategy to streamline large-parcel commerce,” Wu said in a Jan. 2 release announcing the completion of the purchase. “By integrating New Classic’s retailer customer network into our technology-enabled marketplace and fulfillment capabilities, we are creating new opportunities for retailers to compete efficiently in an increasingly dynamic trading environment.”
He also clarified the difference between this acquisition and the acquisition of various key assets of furniture resource Noble House in the fall of 2023. He said technically GigaCloud did not purchase Noble House as a corporate entity, but rather certain Noble House assets out of bankruptcy, including brands, intellectual property and select operating assets.
Those assets, he said, primarily support a B2C-oriented e-commerce model, “focused on branded product sold directly to consumers through online channels. It is brand- and marketing-driven.”
“New Classic is very different. It is a traditional wholesale furniture manufacturer, serving retailers and dealers, with a model built around scale manufacturing, product development and long-standing retail relationships.”
Thus, he noted, the two entities do not compete with each other, but rather “serve different customers, operate under different models and play distinct roles within GigaCloud’s broader ecosystem.”
Wu added that there are no changes planned with New Classic’s management team: “They have a very good team and we are impressed,” he said, adding that stability in personnel that know the business is key as the company integrates the company into its portfolio.
On that note and as previously reported, GigaCloud also has hired two industry veterans — Michael Pitman and Scott Hill — as vice presidents of sales. For more information on these recent hires, click here.
At this week’s Las Vegas Market, GigaCloud is showing in Building A610.
