K&K buys Akro-Mils building for $3 million

SANDUSKY — K&K Interiors purchased the old Akro-Mils factory for more than $3 million as the company continues to grow.Company founder Kyle Camp said the Venice Road property is undergoing renovations to serve as offices and as a distribution center for K&K's wholesale division."The major side of the business is wholesale," Camp said. "We design and ship products to 15,000 retailers in the U.S. and we have distribution centers in Australia and the U.K."Camp, who was born and raised in Sandusky, founded K&K Interiors in 1996. He was soon joined by Mark Walls, vice president of the company.What started as a cart in the Sandusky Mall has turned into a multi-million dollar wholesale supplier of home decor for leading retailers and companies like HGTV. It employs more than 200 people in the area.As the company has grown throughout the years, it moved its home office to Superior Street and bought a corporate showroom space on Venice Road near Toft Dairy."We purchased that land years ago from the city, but as we grew we continued to buy land because we needed the space," Camp said. "When the Akro-Mils factory went up for sale we took the opportunity to purchase it."The Akro-Mils purchase was just part of the developments going on at K&K Interior. The company is preparing to launch its national catalog, Crosstree Lane by K&K Interiors, in September."Crosstree Lane is where I live in Sandusky and the home is featured prominently in the catalog," Camp said. "It will come out four times a year and will show how to redesign your home for the season."The Crosstree Lane division will be operated out of the company's Superior Street location as the wholesale division moves to the old Akro-Mils by January or February 2020."All the offices from wholesale will move to Akro-Mils, but it has to be completely renovated because the office space just wasn't enough for what we needed," Camp said.The other K&K Interiors building farther West on Venice Road will continue to be used for product development and as an example warehouse.The K&K Home, the local retail division, is also growing. Its shopping center is on Venice Road and Olds Street near the Forest Dispensary. The CVS pharmacy moved out of the shopping center in December and its under renovation to make use of the space."Part of the space will be used as the corporate showroom for Crosstree Lane and then the K&K Outlet and the K&K Home Store will be in one location," Camp said.All the developments at the company are expected to add 50 to 75 jobs to the area in the first year. Camp said he's continued to choose to grow his company in Sandusky because it's home."It's been a blessing to keep everything in Sandusky which is definitely my home," Camp said. "But from a business standpoint, it's also in a great location for distributing to retailers across the country."Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterThe old Akro-Mils factory, which closed in 2017, on Venice Road was purchased by K&K Interiors for $3 million.