Why ZIPIT Chose Foxborough As Their Headquarters

Ask your kids to show you their favorite pencil case and most likely they will pull out a ZIPIT product. What readers in the greater Foxborough area may not be aware of is that this amazing company is right under their noses and most likely their products are on the backs and in the desks of their kids! Not only that, but ZIPIT is wildly popular all over the world especially in Japan and I recently spotted one of their products while watching the hit TV sitcom Black-ish.

I recently interviewed Itamar Cohen, CEO of ZIPIT who shared why they chose Foxborough for their headquarters and distribution center:

Cohen: “Because we wanted to be closer to the place were history takes place (and I'm referring to the Patriots of course). More seriously, one of ZIPIT’s first sales locations in the U.S. was in Boston at Quincy Market and it was always clear to us that Boston will be one day our hub city for many different reasons. When we started to look for a logistics center that would serve also as our headquarters in the U.S., we wanted to find a good location between Boston and Rhode Island, where Alex, our first ZIPIT USA employee lives. Foxborough was just the perfect place in that sense and we soon learned that our choice was excellent not only geographically because of the local talent in Foxborough.”

ZIPIT chose Distribution Resources on Spring Brook Road to be their distribution center of which Cohen says, “Without a doubt these are the most dedicated, modest, hardworking people we could have hoped to find.”

Q: What do you like best about living and working in the Boston area?

Cohen: As a person who was born and raised in Israel but spent a lot of time on the road, traveling and seeing a lot of parts of this country, I believe I can say with great confidence that Boston is very special. Boston has everything that a large city has to offer without the noise and hustle. It has an amazing education system, very reach cultural life, and above all, truly great people.

Q: What is one thing that the Foxborough community may find interesting about your company?

Cohen: Our company started with an idea of a student and a strong belief of young entrepreneurs that if you want to achieve something everything is possible. It might sound a bit corny, but I feel that our story can demonstrate that our world becomes very small and that this special country is probably still the best place for businesses to grow and for dreams to come true.

Q: Tell me a bit more about your expansion into Target and Walmart?

Cohen: ZIPIT made its first steps into the mass market in the U.S.A. in 2009. Office Depot were the first to give us the opportunity to test our basic pencil cases in all stores. Sales that summer were great, and it opened the door for us to more and more retailers who wanted to test out products. When we saw the results, and the customer’s feedback, they expended with us their cooperation. The expansion to Target and Walmart came when we had proven sales and much broader lines of products.

Q: How many designers do you employ for your designs?

Cohen: We employ five full time designers in our Tel Aviv Studio and cooperate with half a dozen more in several different countries. We are always looking and testing new ideas, since we are first and foremost a design house with great passion to truly original products. We believe that there is nothing more important than original thinking to make significant change in our world and our mission is to encourage as much people as we can to celebrate their originality and believe that everything is possible.

Be sure to check out the ZIPIT website: www.just-zipit.com and keep an eye out for their products in your local Walmart and Target stores!