Ashley Furniture Leases 683,000 Square Foot Distribution Facility

Furniture World Magazine

ProLogis, a global provider of distribution facilities and services, announced that it has leased a newly completed distribution center in southern California to Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of home furnishing products in the U.S. Ashley has leased a 683,000-square-foot facility at ProLogis Park Redlands, located in San Bernardino County in California's fast-growing Inland Empire region. Ashley Furniture Industries currently owns and operates a 1-million-square foot distribution center in Colton, California; it will use the new facility as a complementary regional distribution center serving stores across California and six other western states. "We're very pleased to announce this agreement with Ashley Furniture Industries, one of the leading brands in American home furnishing," said Charles McPhee, senior vice president of ProLogis and regional director of capital deployment. "This transaction is one of the largest to be signed by any industrial developer in the Inland Empire over the past year, and underscores the strength of our company's position in this important market." "Strong demand for high-quality, reasonably price furniture is driving the growth of our business across the U.S.," said Todd Wanek, chief executive of Ashley Furniture. "As we expand, we are committed to ensuring the timely and efficient distribution of Ashley products to our retail partners. The state-of-the-art distribution center we have leased from ProLogis, the world's leading industrial facilities provider, will significantly enhance our supply chain operations and serve as a foundation for our continued growth in the future." ProLogis Park Redlands is located within the Redlands Business Center in the city of Redlands, about 15 miles east of Ontario International Airport. The park offers easy access to all major interstate highways in the area -- I-10, I-215, I-15, I-210 and I-60 -- and comprises more than 2.6 million square feet of industrial space that is either completed or under construction. Ashley Furniture will occupy Distribution Center No. 4 at the park, an inventory building completed by ProLogis in the fourth quarter of 2005. ProLogis is the largest owner of industrial distribution space in the Inland Empire, with more than 65 facilities totaling nearly 25 million square feet. Other customers in the region include APL Logistics, Big Lots, Black & Decker, Burlington Coat Factory, CKE Restaurants, Clorox, Exel, Gillette, Ford Motor Co., Skechers, Simpson Manufacturing, Solo Cup, Unilever, Volkswagen, and Wal-Mart. About ProLogis: ProLogis is a leading provider of distribution facilities and services, with over 377 million square feet (35 million square meters) in more than 2,300 properties owned, managed and under development in 77 markets in North America, Europe and Asia, as of December 31, 2005. We continue to expand the industry's first and largest global network of distribution facilities with the objective of building shareholder value. We expect to achieve this through the ProLogis Operating System(R) and our commitment to provide exceptional facilities and services to meet our customers' expansion and reconfiguration needs.