Watermark has decided to consolidate all of its warehousing and shipping through an outside contractor, Patterson Warehousing, based in Memphis Tennessee. The decision will close down Watermarks two current DCs in Piedmont, South Carolina and Otay, California in early fall of this year.
There are approximately 30 employees at each WaterMark distribution facility.
More than half of the employees at the Piedmont location will receive offers for new positions in Easley, South Carolina, where WaterMark boats are manufactured. Employees at the Otay distribution center will receive severance packages.
Mark Pate, Watermarks VP of marketing told BOSS that the decision to outsource hinged on several factors, but mainly the seasonality of the boat business forced the company to flex their workforce under the previous arrangement. Now with the new arrangement Watermark will be better able to meet the needs of their retailers.
Pate also said that while Watermark has not been experiencing significant growth over the past year, their projections show some healthy organic growth with the rebound in the economy.
“There is nothing on the immediate horizon in terms of acquisitions,” he said. “As a company, we are always looking for good brands and good products.”
