Zumiez moving warehouse to Corona

Updated 2:15 p.m. with additional information from CFO Trevor Lang.

Zumiez announced this morning it is moving its warehouse and distribution center to Corona, Calif. from the current location at company headquarters in Everett, Washington.

The company said it was making the move to reduce supply chain complexity, save on freight costs and get goods to stores more quickly. It estimates it will save $1 million annually on freight and distribution costs.

Zumiez said Corona makes sense since so many of the company’s vendors are located in Southern California. CFO Trevor Lang also said in an interiew that Corona is close to the Port of Long Beach, where the company receives a lot of goods from Asia. In addition, Zumiez got a great deal on the 168,450-square-foot building, he said. According to company filings, it is paying $11.8 million for the property.

“It’s a buyer’s market,” he said.

Zumiez will vacate one of its leased buildings in an Everett office complex because of the move. Approximately 180 positions in Washington will be eliminated. The company said it will cost about $3 million to $3.2 million to shut down the Everett warehouse, including $1.7 million to $1.9 million in severance costs.

Zumiez will keep its headquarters and corporate offices in Everett, in addition to its e-commerce division.

At the new facility in Corona, Zumiez expects to hire 180 to 200 people and plans to be shipping out of the new building by late April.

Zumiez operates 377 stores throughout the U.S.