BIG BUCKS IN BOXES

Biz that sells cardboard boxes
makes a whopping $12 million a year!

Marcus Muniz (left) and Brian Chapman were two employees of Boxes Etc. who bought the company from the founders. The original business was started with $5000 in savings and one employee. Today, the partners forecast sales of $18 million a year. They ship anywhere and pride themselves on superior customer service.

For more than three years Sue Garner mulled over the idea of opening a business that sold corrugated boxes. When she finally decided to go forward, she was told a woman had no business in the box business and, furthermore, a retail store selling boxes wouldn’t succeed anyway.

“One building owner wouldn’t rent space to a woman,” recalled Garner. Unfazed, she forged ahead, and founded Boxes Etc. in 1985 from an 800-square-foot storefront in Orlando, Fla., with $5,000 in savings and one employee—herself. The rest is a wonderful history!

Her fledgling venture posted first-year sales of $16,000, barely enough to cover rent and bills. But over the years, Boxes Etc. became a major distributor of corrugated cartons, customized boxes and packing supplies and posts sales of $12 million a year, a remarkable feat considering that its founder had zero experience in business. “I ran the company the way I ran my home,” said Garner. “I used common sense.”

This marvelous success story was capped in 2005 when Sue and Wendell Garner sold Boxes Etc. to Marcus Muniz and Brian Chapman, two longtime employees who started at the company as teenagers.

Sue Garner was a stay-at-home housewife and mother who never thought about running a business. But in the early 80s, Garner’s cousin, who ran a moving company, complained about the scarcity of corrugated containers and their high prices. “U-Haul Stores were the only places selling boxes—one size,” said Garner.
Garner started thinking that a retail business offering boxes in a variety of sizes would find a ready market. After her children finished school, she decided to go forward but ran into a roadblock—she couldn’t find boxes to sell. “Suppliers only sold by the truckload. They wouldn’t take small orders,” she said.

Then a friend told her about a citrus packing company that shipped fruit in corrugated containers supplied by Union Camp, from Bethlehem, Pa. “They’d get rejects—boxes mislabeled or wrong colors—unusable for them but ideal for me,” said Garner. “I took a trailer-load off their hands for $1,500.”

Then Garner hit another snag—she couldn’t find a store to rent. “No one took me seriously,” she recalled. “One owner couldn’t imagine anyone making a living selling boxes. Another wouldn’t rent to a woman.”
But she persevered and finally found a storefront for $700 a month, got licenses, insurance and a telephone and then went looking for business. “I phoned every business in the Yellow Pages,” she said. She got orders from a dairy, a water bottler, florists, bakeries, auto parts, gift shop, women’s clothing, furniture and a tire business, among others.

Soon she generated enough business to buy in volume and lined up major suppliers—International Paper, Inland Container; Georgia Pacific; and Micon Packaging.

Business boomed. Sue’s husband Wendell retired after 24 years as a tire salesman and joined his wife’s venture. They opened another outlet—1,600 square feet in a building next door to the landlord who earlier wouldn’t rent to a woman. “I guess I showed him!” said Sue.

Brian Chapman, later the company’s co-owner, said Wendell repeatedly reminded us, “Boxes are all the same—what counts is service! People will leave you for a penny. Service is why they stay with you.”
Wendell came up with a plan for the company to offer boxes that were custom-made for specific products. “We went to customers’ businesses, measured their products and designed exact-fitting containers,” said Chapman. “Then our suppliers built boxes from the specs.”

Soon they were selling to businesses that shipped furniture, doors, cabinets, appliances, windows, food, clothing, golf clubs and automobiles parts. An Orlando bakery bought 25,000 custom boxes to ship bagels across the country. When Universal Studios introduced its Harry Potter Ride, the company designed a 12-inch by 4-inch container for magic wands—a 100,000-box order.

The Garners started selling packing accessories such as bubble wrap, tape, stretch wrap, peanuts and mailing supplies which now account for 15% of revenues.

When the Garners announced they were selling the business and retiring in 2004, Muniz and Chapman looked at each other and said, “Let’s buy it!” recalled Muniz. Muniz and Garner got a bank loan for the down payment, and the Garners financed the balance.

The new owners continued Wendell’s insistence on good service. Last Thanksgiving, for example, Muniz drove a truckload of food containers across state to help a distributor pressed for time. On another occasion, Chapman drove six hours to deliver boxes to a flower company in Northern Pennsylvania.

From its initial 700-square-foot store, the company progressed to 3,000 square feet, then 23,000 square feet and finally to its present site, 70,000 square feet. It now employs 35, including seven sales people, and serves customers across the U.S.

Chapman and Muniz hope for sales of $16 million to $18 million within a few years. “We’re determined to hold onto our sense of urgency,” said Chapman. “If you need a box on Saturday, you’ll get it on Saturday.” •

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