Barker Specialty Company (asi/132690), a Counselor 2024 Best Place to Work, has acquired Wolfepromo (asi/362771). Financial terms of the deal between the two privately held, Connecticut-based distributorships were not released.
David Wolfe, managing partner and chief disruptor at Wolfepromo, has built a boutique-style distributor firm that focuses on client-specific creative solutions backed by white-glove service, executives said. That consultative approach to promo solutions appealed to Barker Specialty, which noted that Wolfe has an excellent reputation with his clients in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York and strong supplier relationships – all of which Barker intends to maintain and augment.
“I’ve always thought highly of David,” said Barker Specialty President Gerry Barker. “His company is small, highly respected and well run. This is just a terrific fit.”
Wolfe will be joining Barker Specialty for a six-month transitionary period, executives told ASI Media. His firm generated a little under $1 million in revenue last year. Gerry Barker shared with ASI Media that Barker Specialty’s 2024 sales, with revenue from its ongoing operations and now Wolfepromo, will be about $30 million.
According to executives, Wolfepromo clients will continue to experience the same level of customer care, with the benefit of additional resources that Barker Specialty offers. This includes implementation of company stores, on-premise warehousing, artwork services, on-site production, in-house kitting and global sourcing, executives said.
“As soon as I met David, I knew the synergy between our companies would be perfect,” said Amy Serrano, Barker Specialty’s chief revenue officer. “We both have the same goals: giving our clients peace of mind while providing the best solutions using promotional products.”
Barker Specialty has an approximately 75-year history. After they married in the late 1940s, Herb and Gloria Barker began selling souvenir salt and pepper shakers up and down the Atlantic coast. Soon enough, they were fielding requests for custom products and “tangible advertising,” so in 1951, they founded what would become Barker Specialty.
Seven decades later, the Barker legacy remains strong: The company was Counselor’s 2022 Family Business of the Year. In June of 2023, Barker Specialty announced that it was the first North American promo products distributor to partner with Sweden-based lifestyle brand and certified B Corp Agood Company, offering its environmentally friendly products to buyers. In response to Counselor’s 2024 Best Places to Work research, employees said the three words that best describe the company are “innovative,” “passionate” and “collaborative.”
Last month, Barker Specialty named Karen Heiligman chief operating officer.
