In a year considered to be the most momentous ever for mergers and acquisitions in the promo industry, it’s no surprise that there are four M&A-related stories among ASI Media’s Top 10 most-viewed news stories of 2024. The biggest deals in the industry commanded the most attention among our readers.
Meanwhile, strikes that threatened promo’s supply chain yielded the most-trafficked story of the year. A viral pen, high-profile executive departures and the sad downfall of a former Counselor Top 40 supplier also drew the interest of readers. Here are the top promotional products news stories of 2024:
1. Canadian Promo Braces for Impact From Postal Strike
In mid-November, more than 50,000 union members for Canada Post went on strike, regarding issues like wages, job security and how to staff for an under-consideration expansion that would entail offering weekend deliveries. The strike lasted for over a month, preventing critical pieces of mail like product orders and client payments from reaching their final destinations. This ASI Media article drew considerable engagement from promo pros in Canada and the U.S. as well as broader audiences, as did other ASI coverage of the strike throughout the late fall.
2. S&S Activewear Acquires alphabroder
Counselor Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear’s (asi/84358) August-announced acquisition of fellow Top 40 firm alphabroder (asi/34063), promo’s second largest supplier, was nothing short of the biggest acquisition the industry has ever seen. It involved two promo titans, both of which generate a couple billion dollars’ worth of North American promo business annually. Naturally, the deal had eyeballs popping around the industry and became the talk of the promo market through the final months of 2024. Subsequent stories related to S&S finalizing the acquisition and detailing its future operating plans didn’t crack the Top 10 but still racked up high page view counts.
3. Authentic Brands To Buy Champion From Hanes for $1 Billion
HanesBrands (asi/59528) had been on a dire run of financial results and, as part of streamlining operations and pursuing a new strategy, for months had been looking to sell its popular Champion brand. The apparel company found a buyer in April in Authentic Brands Group, a New York City-headquartered private-equity owned company whose portfolio already features Aeropostale, Billabong, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer and others. The companies closed the deal this autumn.
4. Koozie Group Pen Goes Viral on TikTok
For sure, this was one of the biggest feel-good stories of the year – an indisputable win for Counselor Top 40 supplier Koozie Group (asi/40480) and the promo industry overall. It all began when a TikTok user shared a story about the “best pen she’s ever used” – the BIC Intensity Clic Gel Pen (ICLGEL). The video went viral, and so did demand for the KG writing instrument. Koozie Group acted quick to capitalize, launching marketing and education efforts that included social media posts, blog content, email scripts, added attention on its website and having sales team members hold dedicated discussions with distributors about the pen’s soaring popularity.
5. Delta Apparel CEO Resigns; Chief Restructuring Officer Named
Formerly a Counselor Top 40 supplier, Delta Apparel fell on hard times, with sales plummeting in an out-of-control downward spiral that ultimately led to the once publicly traded firm filing for bankruptcy and being delisted from the NYSE American. News in May that former CEO Robert W. Humphreys had resigned and that a chief restructuring officer was appointed made clear that the bankruptcy was all but an inevitability – something that would come later this year and later on this list.
6. Cintas Set To Pay $4 Million To Settle 401(k) Plan Lawsuit
Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas (asi/162167) agreed to pay a notable sum for a class action lawsuit brought by former employees regarding the 401(k) plan the corporation had provided workers. First filed in 2019, the suit alleged that Cintas’ 401(k) plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a federal law that sets in place minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry, with the aim of protecting individuals in such plans. Cintas sought to have the case dismissed, asserting the issues should be worked out in arbitration, but multiple judges rejected that request, leaving the case to be concluded one of three ways: by trial, settlement or withdrawal. Settlement won out.
7. ASI Acquires Promo-Focused Events & Media Portfolio From PRINTING United Alliance
The interconnected printing and promotional products industries took major notice of this deal, which saw ASI acquire PRINTING United Alliance’s Power Meetings events and Print & Promo Marketing media brand. Especially notable, the deal also marked the formation of a new long-term strategic partnership between ASI (which of course serves the $26.1 billion promo industry) and the Alliance, a nonprofit member-based printing and graphic arts association in North America that serves industry professionals with education and training. The partnership would grow through 2024, with announcements of a new dual membership available now and an ASI Show Pavilion to be held at Alliance’s PRINTING United Expo in 2026.
8. Delta Apparel Files for Bankruptcy, Agrees To Sell Salt Life Brand
As noted earlier on the list, the writing had been on the wall that former Counselor Top 40 supplier Delta Apparel was free-falling toward bankruptcy amid financial turmoil. This article, published in July, announced the sad news that the bankruptcy had become official. Delta Apparel also agreed to sell its retail-focused Salt Life brand, which officially occurred later in the summer, with other assets being sold off as well.
9. iPROMOTEu Acquires AIA Corporation
When one Counselor Top 40 distributor acquires another, the promo products industry is going to take a keen interest. That was the case when Counselor Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) bought fellow Counselor Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (asi/109480). Combined, the companies had $365 million in 2023 revenue. Post-acquisition, AIA is operating as a division of iPROMOTEu, and Lori Bauer, CEO of iPROMOTEu and a current member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, is overseeing the combined senior leadership teams of both distributorships.
10. Denham Out at PPAI; Dawn Olds Named Interim President/CEO
Dale Denham’s run as president/CEO of Promotional Product Association International (PPAI) came to an end after three years this summer. Dawn Olds, a longtime promo executive who built a successful career with Counselor Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000), came out of retirement to become interim president/CEO, making her the first woman to lead the organization in its 121-year history. Denham moved back into the C-Suite recently, having been named CEO of eXtendTech, a firm that provides software solutions integrated with NetSuite, focusing on the applications of such tools in the promo vertical and other industries.
