South Florida's Custom Closets

By Michaelle Bradford | 08/10/2011 9:31:00 AM 


   International Closet Center (ICC) is a Miami-based wholesaler and retailer of custom closets systems, garages and other home organization products.

According Joel Frewa, owner, every job is custom designed and manufactured with International Closet Center’s advanced 3-D design software and state-of-the-art machinery. Although the company began as a retailer of closet organizing systems, the majority of its business now comes from wholesale sales to designers and other closet organizing companies.

The increase in outsourced business could be in part do to the economy. In CLOSETS’ Sept/Oct and Nov/Dec 2010 “Make versus Buy” series, a number of designers and companies indicated that the downturn in the economy affected their decisions about whether to manufacture in-house.

They cited many factors including: equipment costs, finding experienced personnel, warehousing, inventory and more, as things that could present a serious challenge, especially in a recession.

But this new alignment can prove beneficial to wholesale companies like International Closet Center, whose stated mission is “to facilitate the productivity of businesses in the closet and cabinet industry by improving their efficiency and profitability in a timely manner.”

CLOSETS recently caught up with Frewa and asked him a few questions about his South Florida, family business.

When did you start your business?
Our company started in September, 2005.

What is your background?
We are family-owned and operated. My parents brought us over from Venezuela in 1995.

How large is your company: number of employees and square footage of showroom and shop?
We are a small company, which allows us to maximize our customer service efforts. We have 10 employees, and while we have a small shop, we do have state-of-the-art machinery, which allows us to produce a top-quality product, with very low overhead.

Did your originally start out as a wholesaler, or have you always sold to wholesale and retail consumers? What percentage of your business is wholesale and what percentage is retail?
We started as a retailer. This has given us the experience to give maximum support to our wholesale clients because we understand everything they’re going through. I would say we are about 75/25 wholesale/retail at this point.

Do you use lean manufacturing principles in your shop?
Absolutely. We use every and any manufacturing principle that will streamline our process without sacrificing our quality.

Materials used: solid wood or mdf/laminates?
We work mostly with American melamine and plywood. Usually in 3/4 inches, but we also have 1.5 inch available. However, we can work with MDF and laminates as well.

ICC sells a custom closet line under the brand name Craftsman's Choice. Most of the company's organizing systems are manufactured with melamine and plywood.

Please describe the types of products that you offer – i.e. closet organizing systems, garage products, home office, etc.
Our product is versatile, while maintaining easy installation as a key feature. White is mostly used to closets systems, we also do home offices, wall units, garages, laundry/mud rooms and pantries.

Is Craftsman Choice the brand name of your closet line?
Yes. We manufacture the Craftman’s Choice brand, as well as the QUICKfit paneling system.

Do you have a specialty product or a product that is a high seller for your company?
The QUICKfit paneling system is a great seller.

Have you ever considered a niche market?
Yes. Right now we are developing the Florida Closet System, which will fill a huge void in the market. Unfortunately I cannot go into any more detail on that.

How has business been lately? What is your outlook for the remainder of the year?
The economic downturn has been hard on everyone. But for us, fortunately, business is up from last year, and we hope to continue our current trends.

What goals have you set for International Closet Center?
We have several long term goals. Expansion is always the main goal. However, our biggest goal is to increase profitability by maintaining our standards, and offering our clients anything and everything they may need to make their closet a Craftsman’s Choice.