Lillian Vernon Relo Comes as No Surprise

The firm moved to White Plains from offices it had leased in Rye. Over the years, the firm had maintained its corporate headquarters in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Rye and White Plains.

Michael D. Muoio, president and CEO of Lillian Vernon, says the move was "simple economics." The firm maintains a nearly one-million-sf distribution/call center in Virginia Beach and he feels that the office space in White Plains was just too big. Another key reason behind the move was his belief that the company's various management teams should work closely with its operational personnel. Muoio says that the company plans to put its White Plains space on the sublease market as soon as possible and expects to be completely out of the space by Oct. 31.

In early 2004, the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency granted incentives totaling approximately $250,000 to the firm in connection with its decision to keep its corporate headquarters in the county. The firm had considered moving its headquarters across the border into Connecticut. A spokesperson for the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency says that Lillian Vernon will have to repay all its benefits received from the IDA. Muoio tells GlobeSt.com that the company plans to repay the IDA.

On Friday, company officials informed its White Plains work force of its decision to relocate to Virginia Beach. Lillian Vernon was acquired just a few weeks ago by Sun Capital Partners Inc., a private investment firm based in Boca Raton, FL, for an undisclosed sum. At that time, Muoio, the former president and CEO of direct marketer and publisher Miles Kimball, was named president and CEO of Lillian Vernon. Sun Capital Partners acquired Lillian Vernon from Direct Marketing Holdings Worldwide, which was formed by Lillian Vernon and Time-Life in 2004. Lillian Vernon is still with the company that bears her name as non-executive chairperson.

Glenn Walsh of Cushman & Wakefield, the exclusive leasing agent at 445 Hamilton Ave., would not comment on the Lillian Vernon relocation. However, he says that at present there is approximately 100,000 sf of space available at the 312,000-sf building. That space, formerly occupied by Prodigy Corp., does not include the Lillian Vernon space.

Don Maxwell, director of economic development for the City of Virginia Beach, says that the relocation requirement resulted from about three weeks of discussions with the new ownership of Lillian Vernon. He says that while no final incentive figure has been reached as yet, the city will likely offer Lillian Vernon approximately $40,000 to help offset the build-out costs at the company's distribution/call center at the Oceana Business Park.

The firm is expected to pare down its current headquarters work force from approximately 120 workers to between 40 to 50. In Virginia Beach, the company has a full-time work force of 1,000 and has a peak employment during the holiday season of about 3,500 workers. Muoio says the company is considering opening a small buying office with a staff of between one to three workers in Westchester County.