The Back to Business Virtual Meeting took our now-classic Power Meeting event format and moved it to a first-class online platform. Leading up to the event, we weren't sure it could fully replicate the Power Meeting experience. Now that it's over, we can safely say it shattered our expectations. Don't believe us? Ask the distributors who were there...
Sean Norris
Apple's latest launch isn't an upgraded operating system or a splashy new iPhone with, like, six cameras this time. It's the Apple Face Mask. The company designed and created the mask in-house and will begin rolling it out to corporate and retail staff. In typical Apple fashion, the mask has a few specialized features...
Last year was another good one for promotional products suppliers. How good, exactly? Our 2020 Top 50 Promotional Products Suppliers totaled $7.5 billion in 2019 sales, up from $6.5 billion in 2018. In 2017, that number was $5.2 billion, meaning our Top 50 suppliers have increased sales by more than $2 billion in just two years...
When it comes to branding, it doesn't get more iconic than the Solo Cup. The secret lies in its simplicity. Sure, nowadays there's an embossed logo on there, but it's pretty much just a plain red cup. And yet, it's instantly recognizable. How do you turn that kind of design perfection into branded merchandise that does justice to the original?...
Boundless, the distributor based in Austin, Texas, recently announced that CEO Henrik Johansson has stepped down. Bridget Smith, chief of special operations at Zazzle, Boundless' parent company, will take over as CEO. Smith has worked closely with the Boundless team since managing Zazzle's acquisition of Boundless in 2014...
Epic Games, maker of the video game Fortnite, has been waging an all-fronts war on Apple, holding in-game events blasting the tech company and making sure Fortnite players know who the true villain is the ongoing dispute between the two companies. And, because it's 2020, the war has now inevitably extended into branded merchandise...
WHOOPLA, a distributor based in Encino, Calif., sends out two to three self-promo kits a year. Its latest, meticulously crafted and fully themed in '80s arcade branding, is already a smash hit, generating multiple orders totaling six figures in sales with 100 of the 200 total mailings still to go. Here's how it came together...
The FDA published its first list of medical device shortages on August 14. Nine of the 20 items fall under the PPE category, with data including item type, reason for interruption and other information. But the most telling information is the "estimated shortage duration" column, in which all nine PPE items are listed as "duration of COVID-19 public health emergency"...
After shortages early in the coronavirus pandemic, America’s PPE supply seems to have caught up. But why do so many hospitals and frontline health workers say they still don’t have enough? In this story, we look at the disconnect between supply and demand, plus revisit PPE in the promotional products industry to see how the market has changed and where it might go...
Apparel has been battered since the start of the pandemic, with various sources reporting that overall apparel shipments have fallen dramatically compared to 2019. But there are some signs of life. Apparel was the third best performing promotional products category for the June-July period...
There has been little debate among public health professionals that widespread mask use is crucial to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Where there has been some debate, though, is over the most effective face mask types outside of the approved medical-grade varieties. Which of the many available face coverings protects most against transmission of the virus? We finally have some data...
The pandemic has brought in-person interactions, business or otherwise, to a near standstill. Distributors can no longer meet face-to-face with customers. Colleagues can no longer meet up for lunch. There are no trade show networking events. Our scheduled Power Meetings have all been pushed back. Honestly, we miss everyone. And we know everyone misses everyone. So, after months of planning, we decided to take Power Meetings online...
Superior Group of Companies, parent of Los Angeles-based distributor BAMKO, announced record operating results for the second quarter 2020, including a 73 percent increase in net sales to $159.4 million. BAMKO was largely responsible for that growth, reporting that its Q2 2020 sales increased by 218 percent year over year to $75.5 million. Much of that was PPE, but not all...
On Taylor Swift's surprise new full-length album, released last week, there's a song called "cardigan." Swift just so happens to have a brand new branded cardigan available at her merch store. She also happens to wear this exact cardigan toward the end of the music video for the song "cardigan," which already has more than 29 million views on YouTube...
Overture Promotions, the distributor based in Waukegan, Ill., was named to the Women Presidents’ Organization’s 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies list for 2020. To qualify, companies must have annual sales revenues of at least $500,000. Overture ranked No. 38 on the list with 73.5 percent sales growth from 2017 to 2019...
