Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Zirbel.
Doug, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was playing golf with a buddy and we talked about finding something to do. Being self-employed all my life and being retired for the last four years, he told me about Zerofit. They were looking for someone to bring it to North America, Zerofit is a 10+-year-old company from Japan, so I looked into it. Once I saw the product, I knew this was a no brainer, an I could run with this. I received my first shipment in May of 2019 for a test run on how the reaction was too Zerofit, which everyone loved. Once they changed the packaging and sizing for North America, I was off and running in September 2019.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not everything is a smooth road, but always being self-employed, I have no problem with motivation. I would say the biggest challenge was getting involved in something I have never dealt with (clothing) importing from Japan and China. Understanding how duties and tariffs work, setting up the freight companies and pricing for the US. The next biggest challenge is $, always needing inventory on hand, collecting outstanding invoices etc.
ZF North America – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
ZF North America is the exclusive carrier of Zerofit from Japan in all of North America. We specialize in state of the art base layers that are twice as warm as a sweater, create frictional heat, have a four-way stretch and look fantastic on. Once you put on a Zerofit, Ultimate, Move, or Hoodie, you will feel the difference between other types of compression wear. Right now, we are targeting golf shops, sporting good stores, ski shops, hunting & fishing stores, horse saddleries and clothing stores.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I really just define my success on how well I grow this type of business throughout the USA and Canada. With that success, everything else will take care of itself.
Pricing:
- Heat Rub Ultimates – $80
- Heat Rub Moves – $70
- Hoodies – $80
- Ultimate Leggings – $80
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zerofitusa.com
- Phone: 7603109840
- Email: info@zerofitusa.com
- Instagram: zf_northamerica & zerofitusa
- Facebook: ZF North America & Zerofitusa
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