Kole Imports
Encyclopedia
Kole Imports is a general merchandise
importer and closeout
buyer/wholesaler in the United States
. According to the Better Business Bureau, the company was founded in 1985 by brothers Rob and Danny Kole. The Kole Imports website states the company offers "over 10,000 dollar store items" and "hundreds of over-dollar items". All of the products are offered for wholesale sales, as well as for drop ship.
The company has a diverse domestic and international customer base that includes both retailers and distributors/wholesalers. Their list of customers include 99 Cents Only Stores
, Big Lots
, HEB
, Fry's Food and Drug
, Kroger
, Food 4 Less & Foods Co., Dollar Discount, and Liberty Opportunities. Kole Imports is headquartered in the Southern California
city of Carson
, specifically located within the boundaries of Los Angeles County.
Kole Imports' currently employs over 100 people and occupies a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) warehouse in the business district of Carson, California
.
.
In 1985 the Rob & Danny Kole incorporated Kole Imports with their father, Art, and mother, Pearl.
In 2007 Kole imports launched Promopallets.com
In the recession of 2009, Kole Imports began buying closeouts from closing businesses.
On March 18, 2010, Kole Imports celebrated its 25th anniversary.
In May 2010, Jason Kole, Rob Kole's oldest son, founded the Kole Imports drop shipping program to allow websites direct access to the Kole Imports Product Data Feed.
In June 2011, Kole Imports released the Kole Imports' e-commerce API, which makes it easy for online retailers to receive daily updates of product data and submit orders.
Opportunistic purchases have become a substantial part of the Kole Imports catalog, now representing over 20% of the total items warehoused.
Kole Imports is actively seeking out closeouts and pays cash on the same day of purchase.
A pallet of merchandise, or a half pallet, is placed in a high traffic area of a store. Pallets are pre-assembled and require no set up on a retail level. Each item included in the Promotional Pallet is marked with the same UPC
to reduce set-up time for stores.
Current categories that are available for Promo Pallets include: automotive, general merchandise, tools and hardware, lawn and garden, pet supplies, school and office and toys.
shipping, Kole Imports is very familiar with customs
, duties and export laws across continents. Kole Imports has done business across five continents: South America
, North America
, Europe
, Asia
and Australia
while being very active with Central America
.
The sales staff at Kole Imports are all fully bilingual in Spanish
and English
.
All items are drop shipped in wholesale quantities.
The Kole Imports API allows for product data, ordering information and package tracking to be transmitted systematically.
to raise money for breast cancer research. The Pearl Endowment was named after Rob and Danny Kole's Mother, Pearl, who they lost to breast cancer in 2004. A percentage of all sales are donated annually to the Pearl Foundation.
Kole Imports also participates and donates to Tracy's Kids, the P.S. I Love You Foundation and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Los Angeles.
General line of merchandise
General line of merchandise or general merchandise is a term used in retail and wholesale business in reference to merchandise not limited to some particular category...
importer and closeout
Closeout
A closeout or clearance is the final sale of an item or items to zero inventory. It may be a given model of item that is not selling well, or in the case of the final closure of a retailer because of a relocation, a fire , or especially because of a bankruptcy. In the latter case, it is usually...
buyer/wholesaler in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. According to the Better Business Bureau, the company was founded in 1985 by brothers Rob and Danny Kole. The Kole Imports website states the company offers "over 10,000 dollar store items" and "hundreds of over-dollar items". All of the products are offered for wholesale sales, as well as for drop ship.
The company has a diverse domestic and international customer base that includes both retailers and distributors/wholesalers. Their list of customers include 99 Cents Only Stores
99 Cents Only Stores
99 Cents Only Stores is a price-point retailer chain based in Commerce, California. The store offers products at $0.9999 or less. Founded by David Gold in 1982, most of the stores are located in Southern California, with others in Nevada, Arizona and Texas...
, Big Lots
Big Lots
Big Lots, Inc. is a Fortune 500 retail corporation with annual revenues well over $4 billion.Its department stores focus mainly on selling closeout and overstock merchandise. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio, USA and currently operates over 1,400 stores in 47 states...
, HEB
HEB
HEB may refer to:*H-E-B, a supermarket chain named for founder Howard E. Butt* Hindu Endowments Board of Singapore* High Energy Biscuits* The HEB tri-city hub of the cities of Hurst, Euless, and Bedford in the northeastern portion of Tarrant County in North Texas, including:** HEB ISD, a name for...
, Fry's Food and Drug
Fry's Food and Drug
Fry's Food & Drug Stores, Inc., is a chain of supermarkets that has a major presence in the state of Arizona. Fry's also operates under the banner of Fry's Marketplace, a chain of multi-department stores. Fry's is a division of The Kroger Company....
, Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
, Food 4 Less & Foods Co., Dollar Discount, and Liberty Opportunities. Kole Imports is headquartered in the Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
city of Carson
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, specifically located within the boundaries of Los Angeles County.
Kole Imports' currently employs over 100 people and occupies a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) warehouse in the business district of Carson, California
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
.
History
In 1982 brothers Rob and Danny Kole began their business at a local California flea marketFlea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
.
In 1985 the Rob & Danny Kole incorporated Kole Imports with their father, Art, and mother, Pearl.
In 2007 Kole imports launched Promopallets.com
In the recession of 2009, Kole Imports began buying closeouts from closing businesses.
On March 18, 2010, Kole Imports celebrated its 25th anniversary.
In May 2010, Jason Kole, Rob Kole's oldest son, founded the Kole Imports drop shipping program to allow websites direct access to the Kole Imports Product Data Feed.
In June 2011, Kole Imports released the Kole Imports' e-commerce API, which makes it easy for online retailers to receive daily updates of product data and submit orders.
Closeouts
In 2009, Kole Imports began buying liquidation merchandise from business that needed to clear warehouse space or who were willing to part with their merchandise at a loss.Opportunistic purchases have become a substantial part of the Kole Imports catalog, now representing over 20% of the total items warehoused.
Kole Imports is actively seeking out closeouts and pays cash on the same day of purchase.
PromoPallets
Promo Pallets is a wholesale buying program aimed at reducing set up time, shelf space & creating impulse buys on a retail level.A pallet of merchandise, or a half pallet, is placed in a high traffic area of a store. Pallets are pre-assembled and require no set up on a retail level. Each item included in the Promotional Pallet is marked with the same UPC
Universal Product Code
The Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology , that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores. Its most common form, the UPC-A, consists of 12 numerical digits, which are uniquely assigned to each trade item...
to reduce set-up time for stores.
Current categories that are available for Promo Pallets include: automotive, general merchandise, tools and hardware, lawn and garden, pet supplies, school and office and toys.
International
With over 25 years experience in internationalInternational
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
shipping, Kole Imports is very familiar with customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
, duties and export laws across continents. Kole Imports has done business across five continents: South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
while being very active with Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
The sales staff at Kole Imports are all fully bilingual in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Drop Shipping
Kole Import's dropship program is available for free to the public for immediate download. Included in the product feed is item name, item description, UPC, images, item weight, wholesale package sizes and pricing.All items are drop shipped in wholesale quantities.
The Kole Imports API allows for product data, ordering information and package tracking to be transmitted systematically.
Charitable contributions
The Koles have set up the Pearl Endowment with the American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
to raise money for breast cancer research. The Pearl Endowment was named after Rob and Danny Kole's Mother, Pearl, who they lost to breast cancer in 2004. A percentage of all sales are donated annually to the Pearl Foundation.
Kole Imports also participates and donates to Tracy's Kids, the P.S. I Love You Foundation and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Los Angeles.
See also
- Variety store
- SupermarketSupermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
- Convenience storeConvenience storeA convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
- Hardware storeHardware storeHardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware including: fasteners, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for...
- PharmacyPharmacyPharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
- Filling stationFilling stationA filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
- Mail orderMail orderMail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
- Drop Shipping