Long Island-based promotional products distributor Motivators Inc, announced it acquired Rockaway, New Jersey-based distributor, R&R Productions. Under the agreement, R&R Productions founder Rhonda Blum will work with Motivators’ managed-accounts division. Founded in 1986, R&R Productions is a member of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY). Blum currently serves on the board of directors of SAAGNY and previously served on the SAAGNY foundation board from 2006 to 2007. “I am excited to join Ken Laffer and the Motivators team,” said Blum. “I look forward to working with one of the industry’s best companies.” Motivators CEO Ken Laffer, MAS is equally
Read MoreHanesbrands Set Date for Q3 Earnings Announcement
Winston-Salem, South Carolina-based Hanesbrands Inc. announced it will host a live Internet webcast during its quarterly investor conference call at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The call will review results for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 27, 2008. Hanesbrands also will summarize the quarterly results in a press release issued that day at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The live Internet broadcast may be accessed on the home page of the Hanesbrands corporate Web site, www.hanesbrands.com. The call is expected to conclude by 5:30 p.m. EDT. Replays of the conference call will be available
Read MoreAIA Set the Stage For Owners at Annual Convention
With summer over, Neenah, Wisconsin-based Adventures In Advertising (AIA) kicked off the second selling season with its 13th annual convention held at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tenn. Using the theme “The Stage is Set For You,” the two-and-a-half day event featured education workshops, business updates, a fashion show, an awards dinner, a supplier trade show and entertainment from comedian Buzz Sutherland. More than 200 AIA owners and 150 supplier representatives attended the convention, an almost 10 percent increase when compared to 2007 numbers. “We surpassed attendance from all previous years we’ve had this event,” said Rebecca Kollmann, MAS, AIA director of marketing. “This
Read MoreMore Than 100 Distributors Affiliate With iPROMOTEu in 2008
Wayland, Massachusetts-based iPROMOTEu announced 103 promotional products distributors affiliated with iPROMOTEu during the first three quarters of 2008. The annual sales volume represented by these iPROMOTEu affiliates is in excess of $22 million. Each of these new iPROMOTEu affiliates, as is the case with all iPROMOTEu affiliates, is an experienced industry sales professional—either an existing independent distributor or a salesperson formerly working for another distributor. Presently, 544 distributors and salespeople, from nearly every state in the country, are affiliated with iPROMOTEu. “No matter the season or the economic climate, distributors continue to be attracted to iPROMOTEu
Read MoreColorStrike/Liquid Technologies Launches New Web Presence
ColorStrike/Liquid Technologies announced the launch of its enhanced Web site. According to ColorStrike president Andy Mackay, the Web site was designed at his creative direction by ArtworkServices USA and employs many of the design firm’s industry-specific distributor selling tools and features. “From my own experience of working with distributors for nearly 15 years,” said Mackay, “the number one request from distributors I hear are comments like, ‘Your products are awesome—can I send my clients safely to your site to review your products?’” Mackay continued, “So I wanted the new Web site to … instantly make buyers aware of the multiple exciting products
Read MoreSenator Launches New Dallas-Based Hub of Operations
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, city council members and community representatives were on-hand to celebrate the completion of a much-anticipated move to a newer and larger facility for Senator Promotional Group USA Inc. Formed after the merger of promotional product industry leaders Dart Business Accessories and Senator USA, Senator Promotional Group USA houses both brands in the new facility. Located on the west side of downtown Dallas, the facility’s centralized location will further enhance the company’s nationwide delivery capabilities. The location of the company’s U.S. headquarters, near Interstate 30 in the Pinnacle Park development, is also a testament to the community’s emergence as a
Read MoreIt’s Real. It’s How People Feel.
Fear cannot be banished, but it can be calm and without panic; it can be mitigated by reason and evaluation. « Vannevar Bush, American scientist (1890 – 1974)
Like many Americans, I have been watching the national news a lot lately. On CNN recently, there was an interview with Suze Orman,
personal finance expert. In this interview, she answered the question: Is the financial fear and panic occurring on Wall Street and throughout the nation counterproductive? Her answer, “It is not counterproductive, it’s real. It’s how people feel and the markets are made up of how people feel. They buy or they sell
The Blacklist
A short while after the infamous and tragic Hollywood blacklist began to slowly unravel, another was in its infancy. This list, albeit less sinister and more shallow, was perhaps equally reviled and much more long-standing. Depending on how you define the word “law,” it, too, had to do with flouting some serious violations. Style violations, that is.
In 1960, designer, and one could say, professional judger Richard “Mr.” Blackwell, threw down the gauntlet against high crimes of fashion with his first “10 Worst-Dressed Women” list. Though his turns of phrase were unerringly salty (personal faves: “a trio of truck stop fashion tragedies” and
Let’s Hear About Those New Hires
Don’t be shy folks. We want to hear all about! Whose new? Whose hot (as in selling well, etc…)? And who just landed the well-deserved promotion. It’s a small industry after all, so drop me a line and get the word out there.
Jones Joins Fame Fabrics
Woodstock, Georgia-based Fame Fabrics, a manufacturer of uniform apparel, announced the addition of Dean Jones as regional sales manager for the Southeast covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Jones brings 22 years of apparel and textile sales and service experience with him to Fame Fabrics. Jones is an experienced industry veteran with vast
Good Look
I just need to take a moment to call everyone’s attention to the new Women’s Vineyard Jacket from Charles River. It’s on page 10 in the catalog, and here’s the link:
www.charlesriverapparel.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+L6F83209B4A8137004C3C016+A01+ENG).
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this might be one of the cutest, most stylish promotional jackets I’ve ever seen.
Hopefully, this is a harbinger of what 2009 will bring to the industry. For one thing, forget the six-month lag. This piece is right in line with current retail trends.
Plus, a defined waistline makes for a really flattering, classic look (see any