Five years after the Federal Trade Commission put a stop to it, Staples Inc. is once again trying to buy its old competitor, Office Depot. Staples has reportedly put up an offer of $2.1 billion for Office Depot’s parent company, ODB Corp. Part of the plan involves working directly with the ODP board to tailor a merger plan that fits within FTC confines…
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Biden-Harris Inauguration Merchandise: Streetwear Designs, ‘Party Boxes’ and Friendship Bracelets
With just under a week until President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the first batch of official inauguration merchandise is starting to trickle out. The Biden-Harris camp put fashion first with their products, consulting designers to make streetwear-inspired apparel items. The most interesting item, though, might be the friendship bracelet…
Read MoreLogomark Launches Virtual Brand Experience
Logomark, Tustin, Calif., announced the launch of the Logomark Virtual Brand Experience, a four-room virtual design center, where customers can explore Logomark’s broad range of products. With its state-of-the-art Virtual Brand Experience, Logomark has created a web-based environment that is easy to navigate, user-friendly and…
Read More‘Warning Label’: U.S. Officially Bans All Cotton Imports From China’s Xinjiang Province, Citing Forced Labor
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced yesterday that it would seize all cotton products produced in China’s Xinjiang province due to the Chinese government’s oppression of the region’s Uighur Muslim minority. The vast majority of China’s cotton exports originate in Xinjiang…
Read MoreKoozie Group Debuts New ‘Keep It. Give It.’ Social Impact and Sustainability Commitment
Koozie Group, Clearwater, Fla., (previously BIC Graphic North America), has implemented an expanded social impact and sustainability commitment called “Keep It. Give It.” The program is new for the supplier, and aligns with its mission to keep the good going by leaving a positive, lasting impact with the solutions and experiences it delivers…
Read MoreNew Relationships, New Opportunities and an Upgraded Showroom: One Distributor’s Back to Business Virtual Power Meeting Experience
Olivia Scott, MAS, is owner and president of Promotional Partners Inc. She came away from a 2018 Power Meeting with notes and contacts she still uses today. She came away from a recent Virtual Power Meeting with all that and something extra: an upgraded showroom. Here’s how…
Read MoreAmazon Removes All QAnon Merchandise From Marketplace
On Monday, Amazon announced that third-party listings for QAnon merchandise would no longer be allowed on its platform, citing its terms of service, which prohibit selling products that “promote, incite, or glorify hate or violence toward any person or group”…
Read MoreTraditional Promotional Product Categories Bounce Back (and Other Product Demand Trends)
Our third look at the pandemic’s impact on the promotional products industry showed that sales are continuing to decline in the industry overall, but for the first time since the spring, the decline is starting to level out. More encouraging is that several product categories are now performing well compared to their pandemic lows—and some of them may be surprising…
Read MoreToddy Gear Announces Promotion of Jason Emery to President
Toddy Gear, Chicago, announced today that the company’s vice president, Jason Emery, was promoted to president, effective Jan. 1. In his new role, Emery will continue to focus on the development of new products while managing company operations and its sales…
Read MoreApparel Startup Launches T-shirt Made With Cinnamon to Limit Odor (and It Folds Up Smaller Than Rolled Socks)
An apparel company is using ancient Egyptian technology to keep shirts smelling fresh for longer. That ancient Egyptian secret? Cinnamon. Koup, a company founded by Brian Chuang, will debut a T-shirt made from recycled bottles and infused with cinnamon extract at CES 2021 in Taiwan…
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