HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The partnership between Leed’s and Zippo, Bradford, Pa., resulted from a
common business relationship with Polyconcept North America, the parent
company of Leed’s and Zippo’s longtime joint venture partner in the European
retail market.
Bill Galey, national sales manager for the promotional products division of Zippo—renowned for its products sold at Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and other fine retail stores—noted the end of a long and
successful stint in the promotional products industry. “Over the past five years, we’d made a decision to close our promotional products division because we weren’t seeing the growth, sales and profits we
wanted,” he explained. He added the partnership with Leed’s allowed both
companies to maximize their strengths—Zippo’s being the designing and manufacturing of flame products and the strong marketing arm of Leed's, not to mention the company's reputation in the promotional products industry. “Everybody … looked at their own expertise and … we felt that this is the direction that we should take,” Galey said.