A distributor works directly with a client to determine every detail of the order and relays that to a decorator, who completes the technical aspect of the project. Decorators acknowledge the distributor’s role when creating their contract pricing. But what should distributors expect out of that relationship?...
Amanda L. Cole
Just like you have different promotional suppliers for different products, you’ll need the same for different decoration methods or geographic locations to reduce transit from your preferred supplier warehouse or to the order’s final destination. So you'll want to have solid relationships with more than one contract decorator...
Distributors sometimes opt to bring decoration in-house, and there are some good reasons to go this route. However, leaning on a contract decorator has one major perk: The distributor can focus on selling while relying on contract decorators who know a thing or two about decorating apparel already...
One thing is for sure: Whether distributors have been eyeing center stage or center field, now is an ideal time to jump into the entertainment space. Allowing fans back into venues nationwide should also provide a much-needed spike in promotional product sales...
Here's how one distributor overcame a yearlong pandemic-related delay, and utilized both its branded apparel and e-commerce capabilities to design a food service uniform program with a company store component that successfully outfitted everyone from chefs to corporate employees...
Ideas sometimes go beyond finding the latest decoration method. When his concrete installation client wanted to maintain the high price point of its previous employee gifts, but avoid repeating previous years' promos, John Helder created a multi-piece apparel collection that wowed his client...
Last year, a Fully Promoted franchisee earned a high-profile project doing an embroidery spec sample for one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. The finished product was featured in a hit music video, a financial commercial and the artist’s merch store. Here's how the project came together...
The print side of the industry has seen a number of mergers and acquisitions since the start of the pandemic, but the promo side has been relatively quiet. Here's how a top supplier and top distributor have navigated the M&A landscape—plus, what to know if you’re buying or selling, and what’s in store for industry M&A in 2021 and beyond...
The ever-popular T-shirt is still that, though it has taken on a new role within the past year as an actual everyday essential. Now, the same tee can transition from a full work day to a (virtual) happy hour and even to bedtime. For wearers, comfort matters just as much as durability. These are just a few of the ways the T-shirt market has changed...
To find out what the most common order mistakes are, we went to the experts—suppliers that handle your orders on a daily basis and have seen it all. Find out if you’re guilty of any of these missteps and learn how you can improve your purchase orders to make both supplier partners and end-buyers happier...
IMS LLC worked with McDonald's to create a variety of branded apparel to promote the international rollout of its mobile ordering technology. Read on as Mark Lenox, vice president of merchandising and design for IMS, tells us more about the launch’s success and gives advice on delivering complex branded apparel orders...
Creating innovative, high-end retail products to match client expectations is no easy feat, so Boundless Network relies on its own network of decorators to create end results that not only elevate brands, but develop creative apparel that becomes their target audience’s favorite garment. Here's how one such T-shirt came together...
For a mortgage company client's fall line in its online store, the American Solutions for Business team created a hoodie decorated with a unique laser applique process. Here's how that led to a best-selling piece of branded apparel for the customer and $11,000 in sales for ASB...
Bret Mealing, owner of SC Embroidery & Screenprinting, a promo distributor and decorator based in Columbia, S.C., explained how he expanded his apparel decoration business and helped a nonprofit create a branded merchandise program that grew into the organization's second-largest revenue stream...
Are you a promo distributor or a print distributor? Or, are you a print and promo distributor? There was a time when these were two different paths—two different industries even. That's not the case anymore, and especially after a grueling 2020, selling both print and promotional products is necessary for growth...
