Zak Designs celebrates 40 years in business

When the Walt Disney Company came looking for someone to provide printed items to help market their movie, "Dick Tracy," back in the early 1990s, there was a catch.

To get the first bit of business, they needed to piggy back with a second movie project that no one seemed to want.

While in negotiations, Zak Designs CEO, Irv Zakheim said Disney would let his company produce dinnerware for Dick Tracy, but they needed to take on another project, "The Little Mermaid."

And that decision helped make his company, located in Airway Heights, a smashing success.

Zak Designs, founded in 1976, celebrates 40 years in business this year selling all kinds of licensed imprinted dinner and drink ware products featuring familiar movie characters around the world.

"When we started out in business in 1976, it was primarily manufacturing and selling textiles from the Philippines" Zakheim said.

That included hand-embroidered baby quilts and pillows for kids but evolved into many more product lines. Looking to further expand, Zakheim said the next step was children's dinnerware.

"We started doing that in the mid-80s and from that we started thinking that rather than just generic designs, which most people were doing, what if we got into licenses that would be preferable for kids?" Zakheim explained. Licensed products include characters and logos, among other things.

That part of the company started with producing merchandise with "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and PeeWee Herman.

"All of those did pretty well and Disney came along with one of their first movies in a long time called 'Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers'" Zakheim said. "We did well enough with that to think this was a good direction."

Then came the deal that gave them "Dick Tracy" and "The Little Mermaid."

"To give you an idea how surprising it was, nobody wanted it (Mermaid) so basically anybody who was negotiating for "Dick Tracy" had to take "Mermaid," Zakheim said with a laugh.

That paved the way for a series of Disney flicks like "Aladdin," "Jungle Book," and "The Lion King." Zak Designs was really off and running.

All this took place in the Los Angeles area, close to the center of the studio world. At the end of 1992, the company moved to the Spokane area and more specifically, Airway Heights. "We ended up getting all the licenses before anyone else could," Zakheim said.

It was certainly a right time, right place situation, but they also zeroed in on a children's market that was nonexistent at the time, Zakheim said.

"Our business exploded in the 90s," Zakheim said. That trend has continued with sales at just under $100 million domestically and in excess of $75 million globally, he added. "Our vision is to continue growing off of those numbers."

Inside the walls at 1603 S. Garfield Road employees do all the product design and creation and distribute from the warehouse. The manufacturing takes place in China.

"From China we can send it not only to here but our global offices in Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand and China," Zakheim said.

The company employs approximately 200 people in all of its operations. The North American locations include New York, New Jersey, Chicago and New Orleans.

What about the next 40 years?

"Right now we have good plans to continue growing," Zakheim said, hoping to broaden product lines that include a toddler division, ceramics and glassware. A hydration division for both kids and adults is another product line.

"Each has done very well," Zakheim said.

The good fortune that Zak Designs has enjoyed is spread throughout the community with the company's generous charity efforts.

When he arrived in Spokane, Zakheim said he served on a variety of boards in an effort to both meet people and weed out the charities that best fit his visions.

"I was on many boards in the beginning getting a sense for what I wanted to do," Zakheim said. He focused in on Children's Miracle Network where a Zak Designs' golf tournament now raises money for them.

That evolved into Zak's involvement with retired NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, whose 4-year-old son Andrew died of brain cancer.

With Zak's support, about $5.6 million has been raised to help build the children's wing at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

"That's sort of in our DNA to spend a certain amount of our profits in the community to help all kinds of organizations," Zakheim said.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.