Housewares and supermarket industry veteran Edward Spitaletta, who pioneered Clip Strip point-of-purchase merchandising, passed away this week. He was 91.
Spitaletta’s career started in 1955 as a route driver for a wholesale rack jobber in Jersey City, NJ. He later joined Supermarc Inc. in Linden, NJ, rising from sales manager to senior vice president and directing the growth of housewares sales over a 10-year period from $1 million annually to $52 million annually.
In 1969, Spitaletta founded Enterprise Marketing Associates, a housewares manufacturer’s representative firm in the New York City area. He was also responsible for the national sales and marketing for cleaning product companies Quickie Manufacturing and Lola Products.
From his experience within the supermarket industry, Spitaletta saw a need at store level to merchandise product into “dead” spaces, which would provide additional marketing and merchandising opportunities for suppliers and retailers. In 1980, Spitaletta along with several partners, invented, patented and trademarked the “Clip Strip” merchandising strip.
In 2001, Spitaletta purchase the assets of Lola Products, and with the help of his sons, revitalized the company as a full-line supplier of household cleaning products. His legacy carries on today through his family-owned and operated companies, Lola Products and Clip Strip.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Jan 15, 2022, 10 AM, Saint Gabriel’s Church in Saddle River, New Jersey, followed by his burial at Maryrest Cemetery Mahwah. Due to Covid, there will be a celebration of Spitaletta’s life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donate on his behalf may be made to Disabled Veterans of America.
