Promotional Products Gain Popularity

Distributors find that promotional products open doors and increase sales.

Whether promotional products are used to add value to traditional printing solutions or as stand-alone sellers, distributors are becoming more drawn to them because they have the potential to open doors in an industry that has never even been knocked on before. And even though there are some drawbacks to supplying promotional products—like contending with expensive overhead—many distributors concur that promotional items are becoming a more vital part of their overall businesses.

Sales Report

In fact, Bob Troop, CEO of The Shamrock Companies, Westlake, Ohio, reported a 25 percent growth in promotional product sales for 2002.

And while promotional products do not represent one of his most profitable areas, those numbers are improving as his focus shifts to larger and more creative program-type sales while marketing the one-stop-shop concept to customers.

When asked if promotional products will be an integral part of Proforma, Cleveland, in the future, founder and CEO Greg Muzzillo answered an emphatic "absolutely." "Due to the economic downturn, existing promotional products distributors continue to join Proforma as they continue to look for enhanced sales and product lines," said Muzzillo.

The sale of promotional products is also becoming a major part of Merrill's operations and Brian Wiedenmann, general manager of Merrill Corporation, Monroe, Wash., said the company expects to see added growth. "We view promotional products as a large part of our business and it continues to be a high- growth area as we expand our customer base and product mix," said Wiedenmann.

Graham McClean, president and CEO of Global DocuGraphix, Chicago, reported promotional products sales as very robust. "It's becoming obvious to print distributors that clients use and need promotional products," said McClean. "As a result, it has become a very high growth area for us as well."