Hooker acquires Opus Designs
By Heath E. Combs and Thomas Russell -- Kids Today, 1/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Hooker Furniture has acquired youth bedroom specialist Opus Designs for $5.1 million in cash.
Hooker's sales organization will represent the Opus line, and Hooker will provide service and operational support, the company said. The product will be sold under the Opus Designs brand.
Hooker hopes to build a stronger youth bedroom program at more moderate price points with Opus, which has a more comprehensive product line and superior sourcing arrangements in Asia than Hooker's current SmartKids youth furniture line, the company said.
“With the boost in professional sales representation and corporate financial and systems support that Hooker can offer, we should be able to grow our youth furniture business nicely over the next five years,” said Paul Toms, Hooker chairman and CEO.
In two and a half years, Opus has grown from a start-up to a company with more than $5 million in sales. Opus has 12 groups covering key styles in youth bedroom, including cottage, pine, Victorian and transitional.
James Millner, the Opus co-founder who has overseen design and product development, will join Hooker as vice president, merchandising and design, concentrating on youth bedroom.
Marc Katzman, another Opus co-founder and president of sales, will also assist Hooker during a six-month transition period.
The transaction is subject to a net working capital adjustment.
Hooker also closed in late December on the sale of its last domestic wood production facility. The 760,000-square-foot Martinsville, Va., factory and distribution facility, along with previously auctioned equipment and personal property, sold for $2.1 million, according to the company's latest quarterly report.
The name of the buyer was not immediately available. Larry Ryder, Hooker Furniture executive vice president, finance and administration, said the buyer was a Virginia partnership that has bought other closed factories and then sold or leased them for other uses.
The plant, which closed in April, produced bedroom and home entertainment centers. It employed about 280 workers when the closing was first announced in January 2007.
“It will be the end of a long era,” Ryder said.
The company still has U.S. plants producing upholstery and occasional and accent seating for its Bradington-Young and Sam Moore subsidiaries.
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