Decorize nears $15 million mark

In only two years in business, Springfield-based Decorize Inc. is nearing $15 million in revenue.

In March 2000, Jon Baker and Jim Parsons founded Dec-orize Inc., a company focused on streamlining the passage and costs of moving home furnishings between manufacturers and retail outlets worldwide.

Baker, who serves as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board, said, "we basically through technology and supply-chain management, as well as some innovative approaches de-layer the cost structure."

Through its direct-ship model, retailers can "source the Far East" through the company's Web site at www.decorize. com, its salespeople or at market, Baker said. The result, he added, is that "product comes directly to them. It doesn't touch a U.S. warehouse, so there's no labor, overhead, un-packing, repacking you know, all the stuff that adds cost."

"It's done through a logistics model that is fairly unique," said Parsons, executive vice president and director of Dec-orize. "We still do it by container, but we have a way of doing it that allows us to consolidate overseas, break it out here, and eliminate all the distribution points."

Company literature indicates the conduit between manufacturer and retailer in older, more traditional scenarios involves at least three product points. Decorize's strategy is to stop parking goods in foreign, U.S.-importer and U.S.-retailer warehouses and move them directly to the ultimate retailer.

"It's a new model for selling and delivering product to retailers, and it's significant change in an industry that hasn't changed for a hundred years," Parsons said.

In the $100 billion home furnishings category, Decorize is in competition with about 2,500 other companies, Baker said. Even against these numbers, however, its ap-proach to cutting expenses has found favor with major retailers.

Dillard's, Bloomingdale's, Nieman-Horchow and Sears Great Indoors are among its clientele.

Decorize's recent acceptance into the American Stock Exchange will allow for additional revenue to flow into the company.

"It gives potential investors greater access to our stock. It gives us greater visibility, and we're very excited about it," Parsons said. The company trades under the symbol DCZ.

"We're going up April 3 and ring the bell and celebrate and that whole thing," Baker said. "For us it's a great endorsement of our company, our model, and what the American Stock Exchange believes our future looks like," he added.

The company has seen significant growth in the two years of its operation. "We're on schedule this fiscal year, which ends in June, to be just under $15 million," Baker said.

"Our first year revenues were a million dollars, so we've grown pretty quick," he added.

Decorize Inc. is not Baker and Par-son's first business association. From July 1997 to May 2000, Baker served as managing partner of GuildMaster Inc., a home furnishings manufacturer founded by Parsons in 1983.

GuildMaster, along with Faith Walk Designs in Houston, Texas, is owned by Decorize. Baker said they are "the three brands we take to market."

Decorize is scheduled to move its offices and warehouse from its current address at 211 Union to 1938 E. Phelps this May.