2019 Top Distributors: Kotis Design's Jeff Becker on Innovation, Change

By Sean Norris

Each year, Promo Marketing compiles the top promotional products distributors into one comprehensive list. We asked some of the 2019 top distributors for their thoughts on the industry, their plans for the future, what they love about promo and much more. Here, we profiled Jeff Becker of Kotis Design, the No. 34 company on our 2019 Top 65 Distributors list.

Kotis Design, our No. 34 distributor, grew its sales by 35 percent in 2018 and has been steadily working its way up our Top Distributors list over the last few years. That success hasn’t always come easy, which is why the company’s rallying cry is “fight for better.” “If all our people do this daily, in small and large ways, change starts to build and the momentum for progress increases,” says Jeff Becker, Kotis Design’s president.

And for Kotis, change has been good. In the past year, the distributor has opened two larger hubs, allowing it to provide two-day shipping throughout the entire U.S. for online store fulfillment, kitting and decoration services. More than half its office staff is now fully remote, which Becker says has had major benefits. And the company is now seeing the results of 10 years’ worth of new ideas and divisions. “We’re now really refining those services and telling our story in new ways,” Becker says. “We have so much to offer—it’s exciting being able to bring those solutions to even more brands and really help them promote their purpose.”

Best thing about promo: “I love that we get to use our platform to help a brand amplify whatever their message is,” says Becker. “Then seeing that happen as tribes of people wear, use and get excited about the swag we put forth is awesome. I wish the industry would change and adapt at a quicker pace to spur on innovation.”

Trend to watch: "We pay close attention to automation such as robotic sewing, augmented reality on shirts and self-driving trucks to ensure we're tracking changes that will impact our industry."

View the full 2019 Top Distributors list (including a separate list of the fastest-growing distributors) here, or click here for stats, trends and analysis from the list.