Just as the gigantic supermarkets have put a strain on smaller mom-and-pop grocery stores, those retail megaliths like Walmart and Costco are now competing with promotional products distributors by offering customizable products directly to consumers.
Walmart has been in the game for a little while now, but Costco has quietly started selling products in the same way Walmart has.
The common denominator here? Harland Clarke, a Texas-based integrated marketing services provider that handles promotional products fulfillment for the two retailers.
Costco announced on its site that it will now offer personalized items like writing instruments, apparel, bags, technology items, health and wellness products, and drinkware through its partnership with Harland Clarke, which offers brands like BIC, Champion, Carhartt, Gildan, Totes and more.
The Costco program redirects customers to a “Costco Logo Products” homepage, where customers can pick out the items they want and choose how they want them customized. Items have minimum quantities, and the site said that standard production time is seven business days.
Harland Clarke also supplies Costco’s wholesale printing products, like personal checks and bank checks.
Combined with other direct-to-consumer services, this obviously puts pressure on industry businesses. If end-buyers have the choice of ordering promotional products through a name brand like Costco or Walmart, it certainly ups the competition and makes it even more critical for promo distributors to offer top-notch service and solutions the larger companies cannot.
