Whiplash is expanding at home and abroad, adding more space to its Ann Arbor warehouse and preparing to open another facility in London.
Whiplash is the merchandising arm of
VGKids, handling logistics for its e-commerce activity. It got its start in Ypsilanti a few years ago but recently moved to Ann Arbor for a bigger facility.
"It turned out to be a very good decision for us," says James Marks, co-founder of
Whiplash. "It gave us a lot of room to grow."
So good that Whiplash has signed a lease for the space adjacent to its Ann Arbor warehouse, upping its facility's space by 50 percent. Whiplash also opened a facility in California last year which is growing quickly. About a third of its 25-person workforce operates out of Ann Arbor, including two new hires over the last year.
Whiplash is also preparing to open its third facility in London. The new warehouse will be opened through a partnership with Bleep.com, a culmination of a relationship the two firms have been building for years.
"They were a client of ours," Marks says. "We had done some work for them in the states."
Whiplash is also looking at opening a fourth facility in Asia. The new warehouse could open in China before the end of the year if right parts of the deal fall into place.
Source: James Marks, co-founder of Whiplash
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.