Zumiez signs huge lease

  • By Eric Fetters / Herald Writer
  • Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:00pm
  • Business

EVERETT – Zumiez Inc., a youth-oriented clothing retailer that operates stores across the nation, is moving its headquarters and distribution center into a building in south Everett that Solectron Corp. vacated more than two years ago.

The clothing company is leasing more than 87,000 square feet, almost half of the Merrill Creek Center building at 6300 Merrill Creek Parkway.

The transaction is believed to be Snohomish County’s largest lease of industrial space so far this year, said Gregg Riva of Colliers International. Details of the deal were not divulged.

The new headquarters will be only a short distance north from Zumiez’s existing base of operations on 80th Street SW. That building’s 50,000 square feet have left the company’s distribution center feeling cramped.

“This is a big jump, so we’re really excited about it,” said Brenda Morris, chief financial officer at Zumiez. “It’s a great location, with easy access for us, and great for distribution.”

Zumiez, pronounced “zoomies,” has thrived by carrying an ever-changing mix of clothes, skateboards, snowboards and related accessories that appeal primarily to customers between the ages of 12 and 24.

Tom Campion and Gary Haakenson, now the mayor of Edmonds, co-founded the company in 1978, starting with one store in Seattle’s Northgate Mall. The business now has 142 stores in 16 states – up from 115 stores less than a year ago.

Until 2002, the privately held company recorded sales gains for 24 years in a row. Last year, sales grew again for a “solid year,” Morris said.

Companywide, Zumiez employs about 3,000 people, including 140 to 150 at the Everett headquarters and distribution center.

When Zumiez begins moving into the Merrill Creek Center in February, it will be the first tenant there since Solectron closed its local plant in spring 2002. The circuit board and electronics company sold the building in January at a deeply discounted price of $6.4 million to Washington Real Estate Holdings LLC.

Brent Lower, senior vice president of acquisitions for the building’s owner, said a loading area will be expanded and new shipping doors will be installed before Zumiez moves in.

Riva and fellow Colliers broker Derek Heed represented Washington Real Estate Holdings in the lease deal. Matt Henn and Todd Battison, brokers with GVA Kidder Mathews, represented Zumiez.

With about 90,000 square feet in the building still available, Riva said another company has signed a letter of intent to occupy 18,000 square feet. He’s also negotiating with other potential tenants.

“I’m real optimistic,” Riva said. “The interesting thing is the deals we’re working on are not Boeing- or 7E7-related,” a sign that businesses in a variety of sectors are growing.

Merrill Creek Center is just up the street from Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories USA, which announced this week that it plans to double its biomedical laboratory space and its local work force in the coming year.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.

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