Ah, baseball season is upon us, and we find ourselves enthralled with the prospects of studying stats deep into the night and discussing with our peers. America’s pastime, after all, abounds in data, particularly thanks to the ubiquity of sabermetrics. The infatuation with numbers, however, does not need to end up limited to how players…
Read MoreStarbucks’ New Rewards Program Will Allow Customers to Redeem Points for Branded Merch
Starting April 16, the Starbucks Rewards program is allowing users to not only redeem points for extra espresso shots and bakery items, but also for some branded merch. Now that’s a reward system we can get behind!…
Read MoreHeritage Sportswear Could Be Liquidated: Court Filing
News emerged this week that Heritage Sportswear, Hebron, Ohio, could be liquidated soon, but reports were conflicted. The news came from Gildan, one of the brands Heritage Sportswear sells in the promotional channel, which notified investors it expected to take a charge of $19 million to $23 million in the first quarter of 2019 due…
Read MorePromo Buyers’ Expectations: Can You Meet Their New Demands?
What do promo buyers want? Like really want? That’s the $64,000 question. Since there’s no magic potion to drink so we can hear what others are thinking (that’s only on the silver screen, thankfully), we not only have to listen to what customers are saying, but we also must interpret their often unvocalized expectations. Case…
Read MoreSelling Promo Apparel to the Fast-Growing Legalized Cannabis Market
The legalized cannabis market, through hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) goods alone, stands to generate $22 billion by 2022. (That’s before you even factor in legalized recreational marijuana and related goods.) That makes now a good time for promo distributors to look into selling products that pay homage to marijuana culture. So says Eric Rubin, the president…
Read MoreThe Biggest Name in Fashion Is … USPS? Forever 21 Branded Apparel Collection Says So
Apparently, USPS no longer stands for the United States Postal Service. Instead, it stands for Undeniably Snazzy Popular Style. (We tried). That’s because Forever 21 recently teamed up with USPS for a new branded apparel collection, and it is actually getting a ton of buzz. Recently, Forever 21 has had success releasing apparel collaborations with…
Read MoreReport: Sycamore Partners, Staples’ Private Equity Owner, Wants Out
Bloomberg reported that Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm that bought Staples Inc. in 2017, is now looking to withdraw most of its cash investment through a recapitalization effort, leaving Staples with about $1 billion in additional debt. The firm could also consider an IPO that would allow it to exit the investment altogether…
Read MoreGonzaga Gets Promo Apparel Boost After Jimmy Kimmel ‘Feud’
We are deep into March Madness at this point, which means most of our brackets have been metaphorically and sometimes literally torn to shreds (especially if you’re this editor—thanks for nothing, Yale). The Sweet 16 kicks off tomorrow, and there’s one team that continues to dominate: Gonzaga. If you’re like us, you typically only hear…
Read MoreTHREADX and PRINTING United Demonstrate a Growth Path for Apparel Decorators
In mid-February, 154 apparel decorators gathered in San Diego for THREADX. The event, hosted by SGIA, was designed by apparel decorators, for apparel decorators. Terry Combs and Aaron Montgomery, industry vets and hosts of the 2 Regular Guys podcast, called it “Woodstock for decorators.” So, what exactly are these events? PRINTING United, SGIA’s evolutionary expo…
Read MoreQCA’s Distributor Advocacy Council Expands With The Addition Of Ethical Swag
Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), Chicago, has expanded its Distributor Advocacy Council (DAC) with the addition of Sydney, Nova Scotia-based Ethical Swag Inc. The DAC is made up of industry advocates who are leading the way for brand safety through the responsible sourcing of promotional products. Distributor Advocates recognize QCA as the standard by which industry…
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