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 Jo-an Lantz of Geiger, the No. 8 company on our 2019 Top 65 Distributors list.
In August of 2018, Jo-an Lantz became the first non-family president of Geiger. It was a big deal, but it wouldn’t be the only huge news for our No. 8 distributor. Geiger would go on to acquire two other distributors—one in the U.S. and one, based in the U.K., that would give it a significant overseas footprint—and earn recognition as one of the industry’s best places to work. (It would also set an industry yoga record, for good measure.) All that on top of key investments in people and a tech platform to support customer relationships.
“We are paying close attention to integration with our customers, providing them value-added, consultative merchandising,” says Lantz, now president and CEO. “Integration includes team selling, retail-like merchandising, technical back-end system ERP integrations, punch outs, site sales, and global support.”
Looking back: “I would have invested earlier in working with a business coach,” Lantz says. “Having an outside perspective to provide guidance and gentle (and perhaps not-so-gentle) prodding has been helpful.
Fun facts: Geiger is 100 percent sustainable. We generate our own electricity through a solar array, and we’re 100 percent carbon neutral for all UPS shipments around the world.
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.
