Key Takeaways
• Centenarian Anniversary: Jeffrey Klein Ribbon Designs (asi/63290) celebrates 100 years in February.
• Integrity & Values: The company attributes its longevity to customer service and respect.
• Ever-Evolving: Adaptation to market changes has been crucial for survival.
100 years. A century – an entire century – of continuous business. It’s almost unheard of anymore, but it’s a milestone that Jeffrey Klein Ribbon Designs (asi/63290) will hit in February.
Founded in 1925 by Samuel Klein in Paterson, NJ, the company has been ever-present through periods of immense change in the country, to say nothing of the business landscape.
As it happened, Samuel Klein passed the company down to his sons Jack and Harry Klein, as well as his son-in-law Milton Weiner. From there, the company stayed in the family, going to Jack’s son Raymond Klein before arriving where it is today with Raymond’s son Jeffrey in place as the fourth-generation Klein in charge of the business. As part of the centenarian anniversary, the firm will be using its original name – Klein Ribbon.
When asked about the company’s secret to longevity, the current Klein at the helm points to the people, not the product, though he acknowledges that the evolution of technology has changed the way business is done dramatically.
“It’s still centered on customer service though,” Jeffrey Klein says. “My great-grandfather, my grandfather and his brother, they just knew how to treat people, and they treated them well. People respected our quality of product, they were respected, and we knew what we were talking about. All that continues today.”
During the early days, the founding Klein did a lot of the labor himself, weaving and dyeing goods and handling shipping in-house. “There were no third-party vendors,” Klein says.
While exhausting, the Kleins’ hands-on involvement in all aspects of the business through the early days meant they were able to cultivate relationships with an ever-growing list of clients. Integrity was key to it all.
“I think that’s what kept us going,” Klein says. “There was always a channel of distribution. We were the manufacturers, and we only sold to distributors and wholesalers – people that were going to resell our products to the marketplace directly. We never, ever, ever sold directly to [end-buyers] or tried to go around [distributors]. We were very loyal that way, and we were respected for that.”
While maintaining its human touch and family focus, the ribbon-making firm has also adapted to the times.
For one thing, Klein Ribbon doesn’t manufacture as much in-house due to rising costs. That change happened mostly in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Even so, the biggest change perhaps was in the ‘90s when countries like China became more prominent in Western markets, compelling companies like Klein to adapt to their own customers either closing up shop or adjusting their business plans.
“A lot of the traditional wholesale florists and other people that we sold ribbon to in that industry died, and we stumbled into the ad specialty market,” Klein says. “We just fell into it in the late ‘90s when a friend of mine, an umbrella supplier, asked me, ‘Why aren’t you selling to people in the ad specialty industry?’ And I didn’t even know what it was to be quite honest.”
Klein Ribbon learned the industry’s supplier-distributor model, and now promo is a major part of the business, where end-customers include the packaging and gift bag industries and candy industry.
As the digital marketplace took shape, Klein Ribbon again adapted. The firm is decorating products for sale on Amazon and Etsy and drop-shipping the goods. But even when the buying process is done behind screens, Klein Ribbon still keeps the focus on building relationships and having the best customer service. The firm certainly isn’t relying on the web for spreading the word.
“We’re pretty anonymous,” Klein says. “We don’t even have a website because we just don’t want to be bothered with direct sales or end-users calling us. I think the distributors in the industry really respect that. We’re very loyal to our distributor customers.”
