Polyconcept, New Kensington, Pa., announced the appointment of Neil Ringel as its new CEO, effective today. Ringel, whose resume most recently includes head of corporate development for Staples, will replace Gene Colleran, PCNA’s CEO since 2015. “We appreciate Gene’s many contributions to Polyconcept and wish him the very best,” Josh Klevens, managing director at Charlesbank…
Read MoreAuthor: Brendan Menapace
Unlikely Promo Lessons I’ve Learned From ‘Slobby’s World,’ the Weirdest Show on Netflix
Today I want to talk to you about a Netflix show I’ve been watching. It’s quite possibly the dumbest show I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s called “Slobby’s World.” It’s a show about a caveman-looking fella named Robert “Slobby” Hall who runs a vintage clothing shop in Arizona called Generation Cool. He takes…
Read MoreDisney Gets Into Print On Demand With Personalized Apparel, Merch on Web Store
If you’ve been to a major theme park like Disney World, you’ve likely seen groups or families with coordinated outfits. They’re usually wearing custom T-shirts with their names on them, or celebrating some sort of anniversary or event. Before, these people either made the shirts themselves or went through a printing company. Disney noticed the…
Read MoreWalmart Is Now Selling Fanatics Apparel, Tailgate Items
Fanatics is continuing to establish itself as one of the frontrunners in licensed sports merchandise and fan apparel. Within the last year, the company has inked a deal with the English Football Association, signed on to create merchandise for professional e-sports, opened retail shops inside JCPenney and more. It’s now joining forces with another big-time…
Read MorePGA Show Proves Tech and Golf Are the Ultimate Combination
Everything is a tech item these days, it seems. It’s getting to a point where “technology” actually might not exist as a standalone category, as just about everything we use has some sort of tech integration. Golf is no different. No matter how much golf wants to pride itself on its dignified, simple design of…
Read MoreThe ‘Instagram Egg’ Merch Wars
#LikeTheEgg #EggSoldiers #EggGang. Do those hashtags mean anything to you? If so, you were part of the weird Instagram phenomenon that got a picture of a brown egg to be the most liked image in Instagram history. And, of course, there is merch…
Read MoreNobody Buys Music Anymore, So Merchandise Bundles Are the Future
Buying an album isn’t just buying an album anymore. Even if you go the classic method and buy an album on vinyl or (gasp) CD, most artists these days have some sort of promotional tie-in to sweeten the deal, or at least make the whole thing more interesting to people who otherwise aren’t buying it. That brings with a whole bunch of questions…
Read MoreChocolate Inn/Lanco Combines Embroidery Business With Shoreline Monogramming
Chocolate Inn/Lanco announced the combination of its screen print and embroidery decorating business, Screen Printers Design (SPD), with Shoreline Monogramming Inc. to form SPD/Shoreline, as the group will now be called. Shoreline, founded in 1984 and based in Westchester County, N.Y., is a long-established leader in the embroidery and screen-printing business, servicing major retailer and…
Read More‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Charged With Writing Bad Checks for Promo Items
Why don’t you take a seat right there? Chris Hansen, best known as the host of MSNBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” was arrested for writing bogus checks for $13,000 worth of promotional products. USA Today reported that Hansen was arrested last Monday and charged with issuing fraudulent checks…
Read MorePaul Bellantone on PPAI Expo 2019, Tariffs, Shutdown, Industry Evolution and More
At the end of the last few PPAI Expos in Las Vegas, we’ve made it a point to catch up with Paul Bellantone, PPAI’s president and CEO. The conversations cover his feelings about the show, usually as it’s being broken down around us (as was the case this year, too), and tap into larger themes regarding the industry and the economy overall…
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