As part of our 2021 Top Distributors list, we asked some of the top-ranked distributors about how they fared during the first year of the pandemic, their thoughts on the industry, their future plans and more. Here, we talked to Marc Simon of HALO Branded Solutions, the No. 1 company on this year’s list…
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For many distributors, the coronavirus pandemic has been a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities, ups and downs. That helped shape our newly combined (and expanded) 2021 Top 75 Distributors list. According to our data, the top 75 print and promotional products distributors totaled $6.79 billion in 2020 sales…
Read MoreAward shows always go all-out for the gift suites for nominees. This year’s Emmy Awards event is no exception, with merchandising experts estimating that the gift set is worth $104,825.98. It was also filled with luxury versions of various promo favorites, plus a personal photo printer from HP…
Read MoreJohn Cena and the WWE created a themed merchandise bundle that included apparel, caps, autographed pictures and an exclusive NFT. They created 1,000—with Cena involved in the design process—thinking they’d sell out quickly. In reality, they ended up selling just 37. “This idea failed,” Cena said. But why?…
Read MoreSpaceX just sent four non-astronauts into orbit, with the promise of more commercial trips in the future from other companies like Virgin Galactic. But the trip didn’t just include the lucky crew members—it also included merchandise from the voyage’s sponsors, like stuffed toys promoting a Netflix show and custom space-themed watches from IWC…
Read MoreAccording to data published by CNBC, the historical average change in online prices for apparel was -1.08% from 2015 to 2019. In August of 2021, the price of apparel online rose 15.52%. To compare, the next-highest rate was nonprescription drugs, which saw an increase of 4.66%…
Read MorePangaia, the apparel brand, has taken the sustainable sweatshirt to new heights by using screen printing ink made from air pollution. The stylish comfortwear line already uses minimal ink for small logos on its products. And what little ink it does use is made from turning carbon emissions into what the company calls “Air-Ink”…
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Sendoso, another startup in the rapidly growing gifting-as-a-service space, recently landed $100 million in Series C funding. That brings the company’s funding total to $152 million, surpassing the totals of Snappy and Alyce, two similar startups that have attracted significant attention from venture capital firms over the last year or so…
Read MoreSome Chinese manufacturers have started canceling orders as COVID-related shipping delays have caused inventory to stack up. The South China Morning Post reported that smaller manufacturers have started rejecting orders to avoid cash flow problems, since payments are tied up in orders that can’t be shipped.
Read MoreThe MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are one of the bigger award ceremonies for the music industry. So, you’d guess that the attendees, presenters and nominees would receive a pretty solid gift set, right? You’d be correct. And this set, unlike some we’ve seen for other award shows, seems like it contains items recipients will actually use…
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