Merchandize Liquidators

When department stores, national drugstore chains and major wholesalers have overstock or closeout inventory, Merchandize Liquidators scoops it up and resells it to retailers around the world.

Joe Martin

The Miami Gardens-based company had 2011 revenue of $5.4 million, up from $2.2 million in 2010. During the first half of this year, revenue doubled over the first half of last year, and Joe Martin, the company’s founder and president, projects full-year revenue will be between $8 million and $10 million.

Nearly 80% of the clothing, cosmetics, electronics and other merchandise the company sells is shipped to sellers overseas, and that diversity is key to survival, Martin says. “If I was depending on the U.S. market, my growth wouldn’t be near where it is right now,” he says. Demand is constantly shifting. “After the Arab spring, we starting seeing a lot of demand coming from Arab countries, especially Libya,” he says.