PPB January 2015

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JANUARY 2015 • PPB • 63
On The Up And Up
ALPI INTERNATIONAL (S)
Oakland, California
Francesco Indrio, president and CEO
• Founded: 1983
• 2014 Inc. 5000 Ranking: 4381
• Three-Year Growth Rate: 62%
• 2013 Revenue: $5.9 million
• Number of Employees: 33 (eight new jobs added
within the past three years)
• Previous Years On Inc. 5000 list: Two (2012 No. 3671,
2013 No. 3404)
Turning Stress Into Success
When Francesco Indrio immigrated to the United States from
Italy in 1981 he launched ALPI International, a retail company
that specialized in paper and pens. Soon the focus shifted to novelty
items, including stress relievers. Indrio had an idea to take the
original round stress ball and recraft it in unique, customized
shapes, which led to the company’s ultimate success. In the early
1990s he went to China to design original stress relievers in shapes
such as dolphins and cows. (Cows with stubby legs were a local
design.)
While ALPI had done some work in the industry, its main focus
was on retail. That changed in 2006 when Indrio left retail altogether
to focus exclusively on promotional products with a line that included
pens, sunglasses, key rings and stress relievers known as
SQUEEZIES®.
Strategy For Growth
When he moved exclusively into the promotional products indus-
try, Indrio also made some changes to ALPI’s operations. One of
those changes was doubling its inventory. He says corporations have
little patience when launching promotional campaigns, so demand
must be met right away. “We make sure we meet their demands. If we
don’t have it, they go somewhere else.” That decision has paid off. By
doubling its inventory, the company has more than doubled its sales
over the past three years.
Secret To Differentiation
The company first introduced SQUEEZIES® in the early
1990s and continues to create new and different products. “Our
company designs lines of items that are fun and distinctive. We are
defined by our creative side,” says Indrio. “We are mostly an inven-
tive company. We own certain categories and copyrights, so we stay
with what we do best.”
Good service is also key. ALPI offers quality service on all levels—
small and large orders. “We build relationships. We put the customer
before the single order and single event. We work with our distributors
to satisfy the needs of their customer.”
Sustaining Growth
ALPI is focusing on expanding the space at the back of its build-
ing for additional inventory. “We are dedicated to our customers and
we can’t disappoint. We keep a lot of inventory—we have over six
months of inventory available. If someone needs 20,000 items, we’ve
got the order. In October we provided the New York Giants with
5,000 balls to throw out to the crowd after their win. We were able to
do this because we had the products in stock.”
What’s Ahead In 2015
ALPI is still growing and revenue is increasing by 12 to 20 per-
cent each month. Indrio hopes to be on Inc. magazine’s 5000 list again
in the future. The company also continues to design new and creative
products annually. “We probably do 100 new, customized products for
our customers every year,” he adds.
“We build relationships. We put the customer
before the single order and single event.”