2002 International Person of the Year
Bob Lederer:
More Than Two Decades Of Commitment To Bringing The Global Industry Closer Together

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By Michele Bell
Reprinted with permission from the July 2002 issue of Counselor

If you think exploring business opportunities beyond U.S. borders has about as much value as starting a dot.com, think again. Bob Lederer has parlayed his 20 years of experience in internationalism and become a respected voice in the global promotional products marketplace - not to mention what it's done to make his company, Counselor Top 40 supplier Prime Resources, the success and innovator it is today.

As president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Prime Resources (asi/79530), Bob Lederer has been in our industry for nearly 40 years, making a name for himself as someone who's as dedicated to the industry as he is to his business.

But it's his global vision - developed before many in the industry even thought to look beyond our borders - that has garnered him this year's International Person of the Year award.

And though he's been involved with nearly every governing body in the industry in some capacity (including spearheading a group that was an early incarnation of PPNA), it's through his involvement in the International Partnership for Premiums And Gifts (IPPAG) that Lederer has really made his mark overseas.

"It's a very rewarding and exciting opportunity," he admits. "It's a life experience because I do get to go all around the world, and many of these people have stayed in my home and I've stayed in theirs. We network on virtually a daily basis; there's always e-mails waiting for me from other members asking me questions about other companies or looking for help finding a product. It's a very comforting thing to be able to receive and offer such global support."

"Global" Before It Was Cool
IPPAG meets three times a year - once in Hong Kong for the Gift & Premium Show, once in Dussledorf for PSI and once in a host country in late summer for creative sessions. The meetings allow members to sit down face-to-face and develop innovative products in partnership with one another, leading to exclusivity in their respective countries. The members also network with each other via e-mail and telephone on a daily basis to exchange ideas, sources of supply, which vendor to use (based on issues such as quality, service and ethics) and important industry information on a worldwide basis.

A member of IPPAG for 22 years, Lederer was elected president for a two-year term two years ago and re-elected to serve a second term this year. Prime Resources was the first American company to be a member of the organization, which has 26 different members from 26 different countries - only one member per country, and prospective member countries have to be voted in.

Another purpose of IPPAG is to promote an international image to vendors and manufacturers around the world. As president - in addition to presiding at scheduled meetings - Lederer attends association functions such as dinners with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and meetings with VIPs from PSI, acting as an international "goodwill ambassador" for the group, Prime Resources and the industry as a whole.

Bob Waldorf, senior vice president, HALO (asi/218450), nominated Lederer for The Counselor's International Person of the Year award and believes he deserves this honor because Lederer has brought the same enthusiasm to the international promotional products industry that he brings to everyone in the U.S. promotional products industry.

"[Bob]'s an advocate for new ideas and respects the distributor's contribution to the unique relationship we enjoy with the suppliers," Waldorf explains. "As a longtime member of IPPAG, Bob has shown his leadership abilities and shares ideas that benefit everyone."

Lederer, who was also named The Counselor's Person of the Year in 1988, uses his experience and influence to mentor IPPAG partners and overseas manufacturers, introducing them to the benefits of ASI and PPAI membership and attending tradeshows and education sessions in the U.S.

"He's even opened his home to visitors from other countries, so much so that we call it 'Club Led,'" Waldorf laughs. "[Bob] feels this allows him to really connect with them while making their stay as comfortable as possible."

Rosario Circo, founder of CIPI, an Italian promotional products company and a member and past president of IPPAG, first met Lederer in 1986 in Hong Kong. "At that time my English was nearly 'zero,' but this fact didn't stop Bob," Circo recounts. "He told me 'don't worry, for sure your English is much better [than] my Italian.' Then he showed me his baby picture, [which] is for sure very amusing to every person who knows him. Doing business in the highest level in the most funny way [and] being able to combine a very high level of professionalism with a very friendly approach is something very natural in Bob."

Circo says Lederer has imparted much useful information, knowledge and experience to the members of IPPAG. "He has a special 'smell' for recognizing in advance the hot items, and many of our best sellers come from Bob's suggestions," she says. "I was very happy [last year] when Bob was elected president of IPPAG. I couldn't imagine a better successor of mine in this position."

The Real Value Of Internationalism
There's no doubt that having a company that's tagged with the moniker "international" carries a certain amount of prestige and cachet, especially in today's ever-shrinking world marketplace. But what advantage does it offer in the everyday practicality of dollars and cents? Lederer offers some examples of the value of being involved in an international consortium:

"Tooling can cost $40,000 to $50,000; but when we all do it together, then it's 26 companies dividing the cost," he explains. "Then we can make a larger mold because it's less expensive for each company and it's cheaper to have it made in China or Hong Kong. The cost goes way down because there are many more companies involved to defer the cost."

IPPAG also sponsors creative contests among design schools from all over the world, from which each member company - including Prime Resources - ultimately benefits. "That's one of the things that's helped make us an innovator in the industry," Lederer explains. "It's a very broadening experience, because people in this country tend to have blinders on - most suppliers have no clue how to export. My experience in the international promotional products marketplace has been very instrumental in the growth of my business, and it's one of the things that makes us different from many other suppliers."

He cites the value of constant exposure to new and different ideas and processes, as well as access to IPPAG's Database Information System, into which all 26 members feed their experiences and data. "We have information on 6,000 companies from around the world that gives us access to whatever products they might make, and we also have a 'blacklist' of 450 companies that we know we can't touch with a 10-foot pole because they're bad news - which limits our risk," Lederer says. "It helps dramatically to know companies abroad, and at meetings we have a list of best and worst suppliers - and we all offer our best and worst experiences."

Differences And Similarities
Though most industry practitioners who are veterans of the international business scene will offer that it's gotten easier to do business abroad, there are still some practices that are diametrically different than those in the U.S. For example, there are no distributors - or suppliers, for that matter - the way that we define them here, Lederer points out.

"And there are no catalogs with printed prices or codes; this is the only country in the world where there's such an organized level of marketing," he says. "They also don't have a great ability to sell very small orders, so many of them have their own equipment to do imprinting."

He concedes that someone attempting to conduct business abroad may experience initial frustration as they familiarize themselves with the habits and customs of the country they've chosen to do business in. Lederer cautions that people are also going to be frustrated with the ability of an overseas company to service them - the shipping costs are high, they don't handle orders in the same way, the turnaround is slower and it's more formal, with less emphasis on personal relationships in the day-to-day sense.

"If someone in Europe is placing an order in the Far East, it's perfectly normal to wait 6 to 8 weeks for that order," Lederer says. "With the exception of a few companies in Europe, almost no company carries inventory of any consequence. They're not set up to do it. Their lines are kind of like what ours will be one day - many different products. There was a time when U.S. companies only had one product. [Now] a lot of companies have taken a page out of our book and have many products in their lines, and that's what they have in Europe - 200- or 300-page catalogs, low-end to high-end, wearables to electronics."

Lederer also points to the PSI Show as being a good, encapsulated example of the international market, where someone from the U.S. could get a condensed version of the inner-workings of foreign markets. "There's an understanding here that suppliers don't sell direct, they sell through distributors," he says. "At their shows, it's kind of the opposite; it's understood that they will sell through distributors but also right to the end-users. And it's not considered unethical."

Strengths And Weaknesses
In addition to being quicker at turnaround, Lederer points to self-promotion as an area where the U.S. industry really shines. "If promotional products professionals abroad want to give out something with their own copy, they pay the regular price, whereas here we subsidize it for our distributors to help them make the sale," he says, adding "We make it so that it's an offer they can't refuse."

And whereas shipping, freight and customs issues can be a royal pain in the neck, the introduction of the Euro has lightened everyone's stress load considerably. With the exception of the U.K., Denmark and Sweden, the rest of the European Union now uses the same currency, making pesky, confusing monetary conversions a thing of the past.

Lederer also acknowledges that the countries - while more unified in some ways than ever - still have their own "personalities" when it comes to promotional product preferences. "Each country has its own style - Germany prefers high-end gifts; Italy's okay with low-end," he says. "Prices don't typically include the imprint - it's secondary to that extent. Here, the prices we show are a built-in profit for the distributor - there, it's the price that the distributor/manufacturer is going to get and the user has to build in his own."

Then there are things that are typically American. Stress balls, for instance, didn't do well in Europe - too "gimmicky" for them, Lederer says. "A small car refrigerator as a promotional product - a little thing that holds a six-pack of soda or beer, for example. They would consider that typically American - and it wouldn't fly over there."

He also cautions that although Europeans aren't as stiff and rigid as they used to be, they're not nearly as casual as the U.S. "The German members of IPPAG, a man and woman who are partners - at the meetings they're called by their first names. But when they're back in their office, they're 'Herr Dickopf' and 'Frau Spiegler', to each other," Lederer says.

And while he acknowledges that endusers in the U.S. often balk at paying top dollar for high-end gifts and designer names, that's something European promotional products salespeople don't have to worry about. "They're much more willing to pay for higher price points in Europe - I guess they need their status symbols," Lederer notes. "The emphasis is on more expensive items of somewhat better quality. But [Europeans] have a tougher time doing business here - our prices are high for them. They can get everything we have here in the Far East. Ninety percent of the world is made in China, and they don't need us for that."

The Next Big Thing
As this year's International Person of the Year, with his extensive experience in the overseas promotional products marketplace, what's Lederer's predication for the next country to experience a financial and cultural renaissance - a la Czechoslovakia a few years back?

"Definitely the Eastern Bloc countries - Poland and Russia, especially Russia - that's going to be a big deal," he maintains. "They have their own ad specialty shows now. Our Austrian member actually showed at a Russian show, and they're getting some business from it. I'm sure that one of these days we'll have a Russian member in IPPAG."

And while he acknowledges that Americans have typically been known for their superior attitude, the stereotypical "ugly American" really isn't true anymore. "We're more humble now," Lederer says. "It's heartening to me when I get together with these companies from other countries, because we're such good friends and we do have so much in common. The industry is the catalyst that keeps us together."

Michele Bell is senior editor of The Counselor.