Helen of Troy Limited Plans New Distribution Center

Helen of Troy Limited, designer, developer and worldwide marketer of brand-name household, personal care and healthcare/home environment consumer products, including the OXO line, announced plans to construct a 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss.

Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Helen of Troy, which is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, has entered into an agreement to purchase 84 acres of land in Olive Branch as well as an agreement for the construction of a new distribution center on the purchased property. Total estimated costs of the project, including land, construction costs, warehouse equipment and fixtures to be used in the distribution center, are approximately $37 million. 

Helen of Troy expects to fund the project using a combination of cash from operations, long-term financing and the company’s existing revolving line of credit. Helen of Troy expects the new distribution center will be ready for operation in the third fiscal quarter of fiscal 2014.

Helen of Troy currently owns and operates a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center in Southaven, Miss., and leases approximately 700,000 square feet in Memphis, Tenn. Upon completion of the new facility, Helen of Troy will no longer lease the Memphis facility and will operate solely out of owned facilities.

Gerald J. Rubin, chairman, chief executive officer and president, commenting on the new distribution center project, stated, “We are very excited to start this project and are looking forward to the day when we can move into this new distribution center. With the addition of this new 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center, Helen of Troy will have a total of 2.5 million square feet of owned and operated distribution capacity in DeSoto County, Miss. This is a significant commitment for Helen of Troy, and we will continue to benefit from the skilled workforce, logistics infrastructure and geographic attractiveness of DeSoto County.

“Helen of Troy’s business operations have grown in recent years, and we expect our businesses to continue to grow, both organically and through acquisitions, in the future. Over the next five years, we hope to add more than 300 full-time employees to our operations in DeSoto County.

“With interest rates at record lows, it is a great time to make this type of investment in the future of Helen of Troy. 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,” Rubin concluded.

Helen of Troy Limited is a leading global consumer products company with a portfolio of well-recognized and trusted brands, including housewares brands OXO, OXO Good Grips, OXO Soft Works, OXO tot and OXO Steel; as well as personal care and home environment products.