Luxury in demand: ZLINE expands Reno operation with success of appliances

With about one-third of its revenue coming from western regional sales, luxury kitchen and bath appliance manufacturer ZLINE Kitchen and Bath recently opened an additional 52,000 square-foot warehouse on Parr Circle in Reno to continue growing its western footprint.

The company founded in 2007 in Marysville, Ohio, already had about 40,000 square feet of warehouse space at 350 Parr Circle. It began its expansion just as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and although the pandemic hampered construction efforts it sent sales soaring, said Derek Wilcox, ZLINE’s director of distribution.

“With all online sales during COVID, especially with us being a drop-ship appliance company, we really took advantage as customers looked toward purchasing online as an opportunity for us to grow,” Wilcox said. “We are in a great position for expansion from a sales perspective, as well as for bringing on new product categories. With the new products we brought on in the last two years, we needed more space as well.”

Derek Wilcox

 

Wilcox said about 90 percent of ZLINE’s revenue comes from direct-to-consumer sales. Products are shipped from facilities in Northern Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee. ZLINE primarily sells large luxury kitchen appliances under the ZLINE brand, including ranges, hoods, under cabinets, island range hoods, microwaves, wall ovens and refrigerators. The Reno facility also houses a full line of ZLINE bathroom appliances, including a wide range of sinks and faucets.

“To complete the suite, you really need every single piece of the kitchen to be ZLINE branded,” Wilcox said. “It really helps to have the bath features as well because if someone wants to do their entire home then they have options there as well.”

All of ZLINE’s products are designed and engineered in the U.S. The Reno operations started in a small building in Sparks that primarily was used for office space but has since become the company’s U.S. headquarters and houses marketing, channel and vendor sales, operations, accounting and analytics functions.

ZLINE operates on a port-to-port basis from its overseas suppliers, and Reno is ideally located for receiving inbound freight from the Port of Oakland, Wilcox told NNBW. The company moves about 10 shipping containers each week from the Port of Oakland to its Reno warehouse.

“Having access on Interstate 80 from Oakland to the East Coast, as well as Highway 395 from Mexico to Canada really gives us a great position for shipping, as well as for bringing in inbound freight,” Wilcox said. “(Reno) is a perfect logistical hub for housing products, and there are so many different logistical, trucking, brokerage and warehousing companies that it really makes Reno a key place to warehouse and ship products.”

DA Builders was the general contractor on ZLINE’s expansion. The company occupied the new facility in late June. Wilcox said the additional warehouse space also allows the company to put additional focus and customization on its signature Autograph series of appliances. Clients can customize Autograph appliances depending on their interior decorating tastes and personal styles. A team of ZLINE workers removes standard stainless steel finishes and reinstalls accessories to fulfill customer orders.

“It really gives us the opportunity to hire and grow out different departments in the warehouse,” he said. “Our Autograph edition is really special – we have different finishes that can really make the look and feel of your kitchen pop. This gives us the opportunity to swap out different colored doors, handles and accessories. They are interchangeable and take your kitchen to a different level.”

ZLINE currently has 35 warehouse employees and a total headcount of about 70 in Northern Nevada. Wilcox said the company plans to add an additional 10 employees starting in the fall.

“Fall is our time to really prepare for peak season – Black Friday is easily our largest sale event of the entire year,” he said. “About two months prior we will really focus on training to ensure our team is prepared for that sale, and we will open up applications and bring in some great technical employees who will focus on that Autograph edition going into this next season.”

ZLINE did not disclose the cost of its capital investment in the new facility. Wilcox said navigating the pandemic and subsequent run-up in the cost of building materials were the most difficult aspects of bringing the expansion to fruition.

“During COVID, the price of wood and steel increased, and there were so many different obstacles we were faced with,” he said. “But if you continue to keep the viewpoint of your goals in focus and understand what building on to your company will do for its success and continue to push in that direction, all things become possible. Now we are able to use this facility that was nearly two years in the making, and it just goes to show that when you persevere you will succeed.”