Helen of Troy Announces $37M Distribution Facility
El Paso, TX-based Helen of Troy Limited has announced it will be expanding its presence in the greater Memphis area by constructing a new 1.3 million square feet distribution facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, increasing its presence in the area by approximately 30 percent.
By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor
El Paso, Texas-based Helen of Troy Limited has announced it will be expanding its presence in the greater Memphis area by constructing a new 1.3 million-square-foot distribution facility in Olive Branch, Miss., increasing its presence in the area by approximately 30 percent.
The company has entered a purchase agreement for 84 acres of land in Olive Branch through a wholly owned subsidiary. Developing the top-of-the-line facility is estimated to cost $37 million. This includes the land, construction costs, warehouse equipment and fixtures. Funding for the project will be provided by various sources, such as cash from operations, the company’s existing line of credit and long-term financing.
The distribution center is expected to be up and running before the end of the third fiscal quarter of 2014. Upon completion of the facility, Helen of Troy plans on giving up its lease on a 700,000-square-foot location in Memphis currently in use.
The future Olive Branch location, paired with an existing center located in Southaven, Miss., will bring Helen of Troy’s total distribution facility capacity in Memphis’s metropolitan area to 2.5 million square feet. Furthermore, the company has announced its intention to create 300 full-time new jobs in the area.
Tax incentives and a skilled local workforce played an important part in the company’s decision in choosing Olive Branch, as Chairman, CEO and President Gerald J. Rubin noted in an official statement.
“With interest rates at record lows, it is a great time to make this type of investment in the future of Helen of Troy,” Rubin said. “In addition, local agencies and governments—including the Mississippi Development Authority, the State of Mississippi, DeSoto County and the City of Olive Branch—provided us with incentives to enhance the attractiveness of this project.”
Helen of Troy is a designer, developer and global marketer of brand-name household, personal care, healthcare and home environment consumer products such as Revlon, Bed Head, Febreze, Vidal Sassoon and many more.
Photo courtesy of Horze Design via Wikimedia Commons
Chart courtesy of CBRE Memphis
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