Survival of the Fittest
Every year, Print Professional’s sister publication, Promo Marketing (PM), unveils the best and brightest distributors the promotional products industry has to offer. In reviewing last year’s information, one message became abundantly clear: promotional products’ distributors are serious about their business. With sales figures ranging from $13.5 million to $260 million, those that made PM’s coveted Top 50 Distributors’ list showcased a keen voracity, not only in promotional product sales, but in employee growth, company expansion and professional development.
While numbers certainly mean something, it goes without saying today’s distributors live in a vastly different world from their peers of yesteryear. PM turned to its top 10 distributors to gain insight on how these industry leaders interact with the world around them and exactly what being a top distributor means to each of them.
1) Bensussen Deutsch & Associates
Woodinville, Wash.
www.bdainc.com
Principal: Jay Deutsch, CEO
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
JD: It means we pay attention to our clients’ objectives. It means creating effective and cohesive merchandise programs that provide a tangible, useful and personal connection to our clients’ brands. It means providing the most comprehensive suite of merchandise services, and backing them with the best people around.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
JD: BD&A’s strategy for success is proven processes, unmatched creativity, world-class expertise and relentless attention to quality. What makes us tick is being the best at these things and seeing our clients succeed as a result.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
JD: I’m bullish on it, but only for those industry members who can provide assured quality and ROI for their clients.
2) Corporate Express Promotional Marketing
St. Louis
www.cepromotionalmarketing.com
Principal: Dennis Multack, president
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
DM: A top distributor is one a client can depend on for more than just product. Top distributors are capable of providing custom solutions that fit each client’s infrastructure and measurably produce the intended business results. Finally, they have the proper controls in place to protect the brands of their clients by assuring their products are safely manufactured, ecologically responsible and produced in accordance with the highest social standards.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
DM: Our strategy is to objectively demonstrate, for each client, the quality, speed and value our programs generate.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
DM: The marketplace will increasingly reward merchandise partners that can bring efficiency to multinational supply chains and programs while simultaneously demonstrating that their solutions produce measurable business results.
3) Proforma
Cleveland
www.proforma.com
Principals: Greg and Vera Muzzillo, co-CEOs
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
GM: At Proforma, being a top distributor means being an organization that provides the best opportunities to our franchise owners and the best products and services to our customers. Our tagline says it all: ‘One Source. Infinite Resources.’
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
VM: We provide independent distributors with what we feel is the best model in the industry to own their own business[es], but not be on their own. We provide them with three significant advantages over the competition. First, they are part of a 650-member sales and marketing cooperative. Second, they have the purchasing power of a $310 million distributorship and third, they have the best back office support in the industry.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
VM: In 2008, we expect to see a higher demand for comprehensive solutions that integrate promotional products, printing services, e-commerce solutions and business documents. Based on 2007 trends, we expect growth at a controlled pace, with an increase in sales from eco-friendly items balanced with a product shortage from China.
4) Staples Promotional Products
Overland Park, Kan.
www.staplespromotionalproducts.com
Principal: Roger Henry, CEO
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
RH: We take great pride in knowing we are one of the Top 10 distributors in this great industry. ... It reassures our suppliers that we will be an important growth partner for them.
PM: What is your strategy for success?
RH: What truly makes our company work [is] great teamwork from all segments of the organization.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
RH: There will be great growth opportunities in our industry for those distributors and suppliers who continue to innovate and invest in technology.
5) IMS/Group II Communications
Morton Grove, Ill.
www.imsfastpak.com
Principal: Rick Remick, CEO
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
RR: It reflects a commitment to building long-standing relationships with client partners based on superior service, innovative thinking and proven performance.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
RR: Very simply, building strong relationships based on performance and trust between our client partners, our vendor network and our terrific IMS staff.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
RR: The industry will be even more successful by taking a holistic approach to promotional products; one that is in sync with client marketing organizations’ initiatives, brand image and objectives while delivering metric-based results for procurement.
6) Geiger
Lewiston, Maine
www.geiger.com
Principal: Gene Geiger, president/CEO; Responses by Peter Geiger, executive vice president
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
PG: Short term, it does not mean much, but if you are consistently among the top distributors, then it is an indication that your organization is providing goods and services in a way that satisfies your customers.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
PG: Our strategy is to treat our associates as our greatest asset. We couple education with the technology that allows us to transmit information quickly. ... Most importantly, we listen to our customers and react to their needs.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
PG: As long as we can continue to provide creative marketing solutions to client needs, our industry will thrive.
7) 4imprint
Oshkosh, Wis.
www.4imprint.com
Principal: Kevin Lyons-Tarr, president
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
KLT: [It] is a validation of the hard work everyone is putting in to make 4imprint a successful company. People put their heart[s] and soul[s] into their profession, and to see that acknowledged with a top-distributor ranking is certainly rewarding.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
KLT: It sounds simple, but we do our best to run things by the ‘Golden Rule’—treat others (customers, suppliers, each other) as we would like to be treated.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
KLT: Promotional products continue to offer companies great relationship-building value for money. And as long as that is the case, the future is bright.
8) HALO/Lee Wayne
Sterling, Ill.
www.haloleewayne.com
Principal: Marc Simon, CEO
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
MS: It means a great deal to us because it’s a result of the passion our sales force and support team bring to their jobs each day.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
MS: We have the most efficient and effective technology platform in our industry, providing world-class order management for many of the industry’s most talented and creative sales professionals.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
MS: Our industry will be driven by our customers’ need for efficiency more than ever before.
9) Adventures in Advertising
Neenah, Wis.
www.exploreaia.com
Principal: David Woods, president/CEO
PM: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a top distributor?
DW: We have never tried to be the largest in the industry. To us, being a top distributor means having a well-run, well-respected company where our franchise owners and sales affiliates are successful in achieving their goals.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
DW: We put a lot of emphasis on quality and integrity. We want to be known as an easy company to work with and one that is totally reliable.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
DW: In the next 18 months it will be a bit challenging, but in the long run, the outlook remains very bright.
10) Workflow Management and WorkflowOne,
Dayton, Ohio
www.workflowone.com
Principal: Greg C. Mosher, president/CEO, chairman of the board
PM: What does it mean to you to be a top distributor?
GM: The title is a great honor and a tribute to those individuals at WorkflowOne who drive our success. It validates our competencies and dedication to providing the best possible solutions, programs and campaigns that support our clients’ brand strategies and initiatives.
PM: What has been your strategy for success?
GM: We go to great lengths to learn exactly what [our clients and prospects] are trying to accomplish. ... Once we learn their critical business metrics, we use our own internal creative resources to design custom promotional products or source highly unique ones.
PM: What is your outlook for the promotional products industry?
GM: Our industry is transforming from its former ‘trinkets and trash’ reputation to that of a ‘strategic partner’ which uses creativity and problem-solving to [meet] its clients’ needs. At WorkflowOne, we’ll be ... leading by example in this evolution. PPR
(This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Promo Marketing, a sister publication of Print Professional. For more information, visit www.promomarketing.com.)
- Companies:
- Proforma
- WorkflowOne