"More than 90% of the products that we sell are manufactured here in Bradford," said Greg Booth, president and CEO of Zippo. "The last 5 years our revenue has been flat but we're still growing our profits. We're doing this by becoming more lean and efficient, and reducing headcount so that we don't have to outsource more of our business overseas."
Booth said the biggest challenge to Zippo lighters is the flood of knock-off products, many made in China.
"We are competing with products that are priced at 10% of the cost of one of our lighters," said Booth. Wholesale Zippo lighters sell for $7 but lookalikes sell for about 50 cents. "That's a dramatic price difference," he said.
The spread of anti-smoking sentiment is another threat to Zippo. "At some point, pocket lighters won't be the primary component of our sales," he said. "So we're looking at other items."
"We would be in real financial difficulty if we did not take steps to become more efficient."
Booth said no matter how tough the challenges become down the road, "we are committed to not moving out of Bradford."
NEXT: American Apparel
