Juvenile furniture specialist Stork Craft Mfg. has acquired solid wood ready-to-assemble specialist Canwood Furniture, which had said in March that it would close this year.

At that time, Canwood President Mel Kemp said given the strong Canadian dollar, increased raw material costs, global competitive pressures and severe labor shortages in the British Columbia, the principals believed they had no choice but to close their Penticton-based factory in mid-July.

In May, Stork Craft CEO Jim Moore expressed interest in acquiring the company.

“We quickly realized that an extraordinary opportunity existed to provide continuity to our customers,” Kemp said. “Given the global size, scope and significant financial strength of Stork Craft, there was indeed a viable business approach to continue to exploit the equity of the Canwood brand as well as grow it internationally.”

Kemp, who will remain with Canwood in a sales and marketing role, said the two companies share many of the same values and strategic outlooks, making the acquisition a good fit. Canwood will operate as a division of Stork Craft.

“Naturally, we are disappointed that Canwood will not continue in its current form but we are very excited and energized by this new beginning for the Canwood brand and are confident that numerous retailers and consumers will be gratified by the opportunity to have continued access to Canwood products,” Kemp said.

The juvenile category will be the first addressed by the new venture, with several of Canwood's existing best sellers — including Base Camp, Whistler, Erika and Sunridge (an enhanced replacement of the Alpine bunk bed series) — to be relaunched soon. Given Stork Craft's dominance of the baby furniture category, Canwood cribs will also be introduced.

Kemp added that adult beds will round the category, allowing retailers to present a comprehensive gallery of products.

Canwood will be exhibiting at the upcoming ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas in September in the Stork Craft booth. The Canwood product line will be manufactured in Asia.

Stork Craft will not be purchasing Canwood's Penticton factory, which will continue operation until mid-July.

“Perhaps a factor which will be most interesting to many retailers,” Moore said, “is the expectation that wholesale prices will be noticeably lower than those currently in effect with the full complement of products supported by a quick-ship inventory commitment.”

Stork Craft is one of the largest juvenile furniture suppliers in the world, with about 4 million square feet of manufacturing space in Asia, 500,000 square feet of which it owns directly. It operates distribution centers in Seattle, New Jersey and Vancouver, British Columbia. It also has distribution in Europe and Asia.