Since 1989, Teak Warehouse has prided itself on being more than your typical U.S. supplier of A-grade teak patio furniture. Business partners Doug Walsh and Carole Farrow employ more than 30 people, including 10 artisans, at their massive Manhattan Beach facility, producing fine outdoor dining chairs, benches, sun loungers, and garden accessories from Sunbrella, cushions, outdoor heaters, fire pits and propane storage vessels.
“We are wholesalers open to the public,” said Farrow. “We carry over 90,000 square feet of wholesale-priced outdoor and indoor furniture, all fully assembled and ready to take home with no installation.”
Walsh and Farrow opened their first retail outlet, Design Warehouse, in their native New Zealand in 1975 (the original store is still open). It was at this shop in Auckland where they first identified a breakdown in the supply chain: As manufacturers they realized that overpriced distributors often had huge markups on the original furniture and then passed along the added expense to the customer.
The pair decided they would do something different. They eliminated the middleman and began marketing their products directly to the public, which enabled them to dramatically slash retail prices.
In 1989, Walsh and Farrow relocated to California and expanded their business with Teak Warehouse.
Teak wood provides the perfect surface for outdoor furniture .
“There’s no other wood in the world that does that,” Farrow said. In fact, it’s seaworthy: most boats use teak.
Initially setting up shop in San Diego, Walsh and Farrow relocated to be closer to Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, from where they import internationally.
“Everything is built here,” Farrow said, referring to their South Bay warehouse. “Manhattan Beach reminds us of New Zealand, a little village on the beach. We’re very comfortable here.”
Each year, Farrow circles the globe attending trade shows, to find products and new designs. Fresh off the Singapore Furniture Show, her itinerary in coming months includes Jakarta and Sydney. “I’ve done five trade shows already and it’s only April. Indonesia is the main country [with] the best plantations in the world for wood.”
Whether it’s a massive hotel order of 1,000 lounge chairs or a personal custom order of one bench and two throw pillows, Teak caters to both major companies and private buyers, and it does so with efficiency in mind—offering same day or overnight delivery. “There’s no waiting,” Farrow said. “The designs are done on computers so they are precise and actuate.”
The company’s unique ethos has allowed it to succeed both on the large and small scales. Around the country and internationally, Teak Warehouse boasts prestigious hotel/restaurant clients such as Boathouse Resort in Martha’s Vineyard, Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand, Hawaii’s Four Seasons and, closer to home, San Diego’s iconic Hotel del Coronado (inspiration for author Frank Baum’s land of Oz and where master filmmaker Billy Wilder shot “Some Like It Hot”). Nearby, Teak handled Santa Monica’s Georgian and Fairmont hotels, and in Malibu the company outfitted the Beachcomber Caf/ and Ruby’s Diner at Malibu Pier. Teak Warehouse furniture also appears at the recently opened Anaheim Garden Walk, NYC’s Botanical Garden and the University of Florida.
With thousands of Malibu clientele, Teak also sells directly to celebrities for their personal needs and to buyers representing Hollywood studios, with products appearing onscreen in everything from “The Hangover” and “X-Men” to TV’s “General Hospital,” “CSI: Miami,” “Picture This,” “Landscapers Challenge,” and on OWN and E! Entertainment Network.
Summer is Teak’s biggest season. Farrow loves “this time of year when all the new styles are finally done and we can sell within the new summer.
Through it all, Farrow said she and Walsh feel most rewarded when their customers give their product a thumbs-up.
“When you develop something and people like it,” she said. “That’s the best part of what we do.”
For more information, visit TeakWarehouse.com, or one of its two Los Angeles-area stores: 2653 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach and 133 E. Maple Avenue, Monrovia.