Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

My father did business with Leo (Hollander, the late CEO of Hollander Home Fashions) way back in the early days of vinyl packaging (1976 – 1982). In the beginning, almost all vinyl bags had gold trim. Leo decided on a colored trim (rather revolutionary at the time) because he wanted to enhance the look of his product.

It was a great idea and IMEX was happy to do it for him. In our naiveté (again, in those days, the understanding of the “technology” of coloring vinyl was not close to what it is today) we made some colored-trimmed bags for Leo's nice white product. Due to a combination of heat and poor dying, some of the color transferred to a few items. It was enough to cause Leo to lose confidence in IMEX and end the Hollander-IMEX relationship at the time.

Fast forward to 2000. Both companies learned and grew. Despite past disappointment, Leo picked up the phone on his own to ask me to come down and get involved with his company again. After a few months, we launched some terrific packaging. Leo was the first to use 4-color printing on vinyl bags — replacing a paper insert — thus creating a permanent “advertisement” in the reusable bag. Also, Leo, working with Ron Murphy, was very creative with Laura Ashley's packaging, even using the Laura Ashley fabric as part of the bag.

I continued to visit Hollander's HQ in Boca about once a quarter. Leo would always drop into the meetings to say hello and ask how my dad and I were doing. When my father — who started IMEX in 1974 — passed away in November of 2001, it was Leo who picked up the phone to call me with his condolences.

On each trip, I was always treated with respect and dignity and as a partner. Leo never failed to treat this vendor in this way — demonstrating an uncommon character. He will be missed.

Steve Jeffrey, President, IMEX Vinyl Packaging