On Tuesday, Inc. Magazine published its prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest-growing companies, and as in years prior, a number of industry suppliers and distributors have made the list. The number of promotional products companies on the list increased by two to 39 businesses, divided between 7 suppliers and 32 distributors.
MSR Promo, a distributor headquartered in New York, was the highest-ranked company overall at 266. The top supplier company was Costa Mesa, California-based technology company OrigAudio at 307.
The Inc. 5000 list ranks U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit companies based on their percentage of revenue growth over a three-year period (2009-2012 for the most recent list). Companies that went public or were acquired before December 31, 2012 are ineligible for consideration. As a result, volume of business is less important than speed of growth, and younger companies are at a distinct advantage. The number one company on the list, Fuhu, earned $117.9 million in 2012 but had a three-year growth of 42,148 percent. Computer hardware supplier CDW, which had the highest revenue at $10.1 billion, had 41 percent growth, placing the company at 4788.
MSR Promo, which does business as SilkLetter and was the top ranking industry company, is a perfect example of an Inc. 5000 business. Started in 2007, the New York distributor went from $138,301 in revenue in 2009 to $2.4 million last year, a 1,630 percent increase.
Supplier OrigAudio is another Inc. success story, with three-year growth of 1,423 percent since 2009, the year it was founded. In addition to landing in the Inc. 500, company co-founder and business development director Jason Lucash was named the Emerging Entrepreneur of 2012 by Entrepreneur Magazine.
“We are so thrilled to be named to the Inc Magazine’s ‘500 Fastest Growing Companies in America’ list,” Lucash said. “More importantly for us, we’ve been named the fastest growing supplier in the promotional products industry, which is the true validation that we’ve picked the right sector to focus our business in. We love the promo industry and so many distributors praise our products and I think that’s the perfect equation to contribute to our success.”
Of the 31 distributors on the list, eight were Proforma owners, making the Cleveland-based distributor the company with the most franchises on the list. Three of the five highest-ranking distributors were Proforma owners, with Proforma Powerhouse Solutions coming in highest among them at 829.
Greg Muzzillo, founder of Proforma, said, “We are very proud of the eight Proforma members who have earned a spot on the Inc. 5000. The fact that Proforma is the only distributor network with our owners on the list is a strong testimony to the unique ability of Proforma and its programs to help distributors dynamically grow their businesses.”
Inc. research into private businesses yielded several interesting statistics. Looking at the top 500 companies, the top industries by revenue were energy at $3.3 billion, consumer products and services (which includes suppliers) at $1.9 billion, and advertising and marketing (which includes distributors) tied with IT services at $1.2 billion. The advertising and marketing industry was the best represented in the top 500, with 58 companies generating $1.2 billion in revenue.
The full Inc. 5000 list is available on the magazine’s website. A list of the promotional products companies appearing on the Inc. 5000 appears below
266 – MSR Promo
307 – OrigAudio
829 – Proforma Powerhouse Solutions
1029 – Culture Studio Screen Printing & Embroidery
1419 – Proforma Marketing Agency
1718 – Society Awards
1751 – Main Event Merchandise Group
2011 – IQ Office Products
2085 – Proforma Progressive Marketing
2442 – Proforma GPS Global Promotional Sourcing
2613 – Proforma Signature Solutions
2717 – Proforma Promotion Consultants
2768 – Quality Logo Products
2864 – Raining Rose
3284 – Royce Leather Gifts/Emporium Leather Co.
3288 – InkHead Promotional Products
3354 – HDS
3404 – ALPI International
3432 – Proforma Promotionally Yours
3441 – Righteous Clothing Agency
3499 – DiscountMugs.com
3659 – iPROMOTEu
3784 – PrintGlobe
3806 – Boundless Network
3902 – Sir Speedy Printing & Marketing
3919 – Mercury Promotions & Fulfillment
4166 – Motivators.com
4176 – Proforma Graphic Services
4209 – Sonic Promos
4240 – Koala Tee
4369 – Allen Printing
4387 – Golfballs.com
4392 – Office Xpress
4424 – Ares Sportswear
4430 – Commotion Promotions
4544 – ePromos Promotional Products
4863 – SnugZ USA
4929 – Brenthaven
4975 – Impressions Printing
Editor’s note: Some companies may be listed on the Inc. 5000 under a different name and as a result may not appear on this list. Promo Marketing will update the list to reflect any new information provided.
