INLT (in·let), Los Angeles, a logistics tech start-up and licensed customs broker that develops software to simplify importing, announced final U.S. government approval and launch of its cloud-based web application. The company raised $1 million from strategic, angel and family office investors in 2017 to fund the expansion of its engineering and trade compliance teams.…
Read MoreBIC Graphic North America CEO David Klatt on the Supplier’s Future Plans, Bringing Outside Experience to Promo Industry
In this episode, Sean and Brendan chat with David Klatt, newly-hired CEO of BIC Graphic North America, and talk about some of the biggest stories from around the industry…
Read MoreBEL Promo Hires Susan Lewandowski as General Manager
BEL Promo, Medley, Fla., announced that Susan Lewandowski is joining the company as general manager, and will lead the new BEL Promo transformation into 2018 and beyond. Lewandowski spent 23 years with ASI in various roles, including supplier sales manager, special projects manager and tradeshow manager. More recently, she…
Read MoreNot Everyone Is Happy About the Minnesota Twins’ Ballpark-Exclusive Prince Merchandise
After Prince passed away in 2016, there’s been no shortage of commemorative merchandise or pride in one’s Minnesota heritage. Both typically came with a lot of the color purple. The Minnesota Twins are looking to cash in on both at the start of this year’s MLB season by offering exclusive Prince merchandise at Target Field.…
Read MoreA Custom Hoodie Just Took the NBA Rookie of the Year Battle to New Levels of Shade
I have never enjoyed mincing words, so, having endured their futility, I am going to say that before this season, the now 51-30 Philadelphia 76ers served as the undisputed athletic example of hot garbage. With only 75 total wins in the four campaigns prior to this one, they never finished fewer than 25 games out of…
Read MoreChampion’s New Los Angeles Store Is Getting Attention With Exclusive Apparel
Champion Athleticwear opened its first U.S. store in Los Angeles over the weekend. The big grand opening took place on April 7, and the first 500 customers received a limited edition canvas tote bag exclusively designed by local artist Stella Blu. https://www.instagram.com/p/BhQGgAvF-D8/?tagged=championla Champion chose Los Angeles because of its cultural offerings, the company said in…
Read MoreHoly Embroidery! The Best and Worst of New Era’s 2018 NFL Draft Hats
We won’t pretend we know enough about the NFL to make predictions about future NFL players and what it means for the league going forward (that’s ESPN’s beat). But what we do know is hats. In preparation for the 2018 NFL Draft at the end of April, New Era has unveiled every NFL team’s draft…
Read More2018 Style Guide: SanMar’s Vicki Ostrom on What Millennials Want In Promotional Apparel (and More)
As part of Promo Marketing’s annual Style Guide feature, we interviewed several suppliers about the current state of the promotional apparel market, millennial promotional apparel, and where they thought the industry was headed. Here, Vicki Ostrom, trend editor for SanMar, Issaquah, Wash., shared her thoughts on the hottest new trends, and what millennials are looking for…
Read MoreThe Flannel Phenomenon and Decoration
Long thought to be untouchable for our marketplace, retail-style patterned plaid flannel shirts were rarely found in promotional products channels because there was always that nagging question of embroidery…
Read MorePPAI Reports 9% Increase In Promotional Products Industry Sales, Highest Sales Volume in 18 Years
PPAI’s annual industry sales numbers are out, and the results are encouraging. In a press release yesterday, PPAI reported that promotional products industry sales for 2017 increased 9.31 percent, totaling $23.3 billion. That’s the highest sales volume in 18 years. To compare, the industry saw a sales increase of only 2.4 percent in 2016. PPAI…
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