It is always a good day when we help close a deal that leads to the realization of a business owner’s dream. In a year that was full of challenges, it was doubly special in late 2021 to help Housewares Distributors, Inc. (HDI) secure the financing necessary to fuel their expansion plans.
Getting the Deal Done
The best financing deals are almost always a cooperative effort and this project was no different. Between county funding, BMO Harris Bank and the Small Business Administration, HDI was able to secure the funding they needed to set their expansion plans in motion.
EDWC worked in conjunction with the other lenders to close on a loan of $5.1 million for the construction of a new HDI Wholesale facility in Jackson, WI. Ground has already been broken, with a projected opening date of June 2022.
Get to Know HDI Wholesale, a Wisconsin Woman-Owned Business
HDI Wholesale is a Wisconsin, woman-owned (100%) and operated importer and national distributer of a wide variety of good used in the home environment. HDI was founded in 1983 by Nola Scherer-Luft. The torch has been passed to her daughters President Sara Depies and Vice President Anne Blaedow, who carry on the family tradition of supplying quality products to organizations and businesses across the USA. They specialize in working closely with customers to understand their supply requirements and then finding the perfect product mix at the right price necessary for fulfilling their mission. HDI’s product lines include toys, back-to-school materials, rehousing supplies, PPE, disaster recovery items, storage products, organizational items and person hygiene supplies.
The company got its start in 1982 as an outlet store in West Bend, eventually growing to eight stores across the Midwest. As the outlet business became less lucrative, their distribution business developed and now constitutes the entirety of their business model. They are a nationally preferred vendor for several charity networks and customize their catalog offerings by target market.
Expanding to Meet Market Demands
HDI is embarking on their next level of growth with major investments in new technologies and a new facility. They have outgrown their current West Bend location. With the necessary funding secured through Washington County, EDWC and SBA and BMO Harris, they have already moved forward with investing in new ERP software and with breaking ground in October 2021 on a new, highly visible 70,000 square foot headquarters in Jackson, Wisconsin. Their growth plans also include additional investments in warehouse technologies around racking, wifi, barcode scanning and associated integrated software for their new ERP system.
The new facility will allow HDI greater opportunity to scale by expanding their third party drop shipping business with 100s of reseller customer and expanding their year-round product business to include essential clothing for non-profits, meeting the needs of the underserved. They will also increase their showroom capacity to allow for more foot traffic. Combined, these new market opportunities will allow them to diversity their business and keep up with customer demands.
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