7 Store Offenbachers Chain Purchases Outdoor Fireplace Retailer

Furniture World News Desk on 10/5/2015

Antson Capital Partners, LLC, a private equity buyout firm headquartered in Baltimore, has announced the acquisition of Zane, LLC, which trades as Woodburners Plus, by its portfolio company ACP-Offenbachers, LLC. Woodburners is a twenty-three year old retail and service company based in Falls Church, VA specializing in the sale and installation of outdoor fireplace units, grilling stations and affiliated furniture and home furnishing products. The price was not disclosed. Last year, Antson Capital purchased Offenbachers, a seven-store retail chain with locations throughout Maryland and Northern Virginia that focuses on the sale of outdoor patio, fireplaces, grills and recreation products.

“The diversified product line offered by Woodburners Plus enhances an important area in the Offenbachers array of outdoor furnishings, and enables us to more completely capture the needs of customers in this growing category,” explained Jason Pappas, Acting CEO of Offenbachers and Managing Partner of Antson Capital. “Our acquisition team also recognized the opportunity to secure the highly-skilled service group that is adept in the permitting, installation and maintenance processes that are key to every product purchase.”

Formerly owned by Michael and Son and founded in 1975, Woodburners Plus operates a retail store and showroom at 6600 Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. The store specializes in the sale of outdoor gas-burning, wood-burning, wood and electric fireplaces; grilling stations including the Big Green Egg® and Saber® product line; outdoor furniture and complementary products including patios, pavers and decks. The showroom contains more than thirty different burning displays.

Combined with this company acquisition, Offenbachers secured the lease on the adjacent space in the building on Arlington Boulevard that will enable the ownership group to expand the current space by nearly 40% to 8500 square feet and launch an additional Offenbachers store by the end of the first quarter of 2016. Concurrently, Offenbachers intends to integrate the Woodburners name and product line into all of the Offenbacher family of stores, while establishing a Woodburners Plus “sub-brand.”

“The name recognition of Woodburners holds great value and it is important to retain that, while also elevating the established Offenbacher concept,” stated Pappas. “The combination of acquiring a different product line, wide-network professional service team and established brand were the key attractions to this purchase.”

The outdoor furniture and accessories category continues to exhibit strong growth characteristics based on design trends in new homes, the improvement and ease-of-use of cooking equipment and the popularity of cooking shows on television that accentuate outdoor entertainment. More than half of all new homes are now equipped with an outdoor deck, and the introduction of all-weather furniture and sturdy cooking equipment have lengthened the outdoor entertainment season.

“The extremely strong demographics that exist in the Baltimore through Northern Virginia corridor have positively impacted the outdoor furnishings and equipment category, and we see continued growth,” Pappas stated. “Outdoor spaces are more generally accepted as extended entertainment spaces in the home, and consumers are increasingly investing in products that are durable and accentuate the interior décor. Every indicator suggests the extension of this trend.”

Offenbachers maintains four store locations in Virginia and three in the Maryland area. Additionally, the company operates its warehouse operations and clearance center at its corporate headquarters in Lanham, MD.

Antson Capital Partners, co-founded by Anthony Rodgers and Jason Pappas, is a private equity firm that seeks acquisition opportunities in a wide range of sectors including consumer products, manufacturing, logistics and contracting while also pursuing private real estate interests. The company targets small to mid-sized companies operating in the Mid-Atlantic region with annual revenues ranging between $5 million to $25 million. For additional information, visit www.AntsonCapital.com