Safavieh opens new warehouse facility on the West Coast

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/3/2011 11:27:16 AM

Port Washington, NY - Looking to speed up the rate of its drop shipments to its West Coast customers, upscale rug house Safavieh recently purchased a new warehouse in Fontana, Calif.

The company is calling the new 150,000-square-foot site, which has 35-foot high ceilings, a "strategic move" that brings Safavieh's total warehousing space in North America to 1,000,000 square feet, including its other facilities in Easton, Pa., a new distribution center in LaSalle, Ontario to service company's growing Canadian customer base, and its site here at headquarters.

"Speed and efficiency will be greatly improved by splitting inventory in locations on the east and west coasts, which is particularly important for western state retailers in all channels, said Arash Yaraghi, principal. "The move is particularly significant for smaller dealers west of the Mississippi, because these customers are as concerned about shipping costs as they are about speed of delivery. Our customers in western states will see their freight rates significantly reduced."

Since 2008 when Safavieh implemented its state-of-the-art logistics program, it said one of its main competitive advantages has been the ability to ship product within three days.

"The new distribution centers in California and Canada will expand our warehouse stock levels to provide immediate delivery on over 1,000 programmed designs, each in more than eight sizes and several color schemes," Yaraghi noted.

In addition, he continued, the company's sales momentum in Canada and the U.S. West Coast "has been building for years, and we are projecting increased growth in these markets. The new warehouse and distribution centers meet our needs while providing ample space for future growth."