PPB July 2016

JULY 2016 •

PPB

• 55

2015 PPAI

DISTRIBUTOR SALES VOLUME REPORT

recognition solutions are growing faster than

our promotional solutions, but we are driven

by more larger opportunities in promotional,

which could spike us up quickly over recogni-

tion. We experienced a similar situation last

year with recognition growing faster.”

Biggest Concerns:

“Our biggest concerns

for promotional are safety and compliance

demands from our larger clients. We must

adapt our supply chain to match this demand

and [we] find it challenging.”

Marc Katz

CEO

CustomInk (UPIC:

C594384)

McLean, Virginia

Company:

CustomInk was founded 16

years ago to help people design and order

custom t-shirts online. Since then,

CustomInk has grown to be a leader in cus-

tom apparel for groups and communities, and

has helped its customers create more than 75

million custom shirts. It serves hundreds of

thousands of schools, teams, clubs, charities

and businesses large and small, in addition to

families and friends for all sorts of special

occasions. The company employs more than

1,600 people across multiple facilities nation-

wide. The company uses state-of-the-art

screen printing, digital printing and embroi-

dery for most of its production.

Economic Outlook:

“We’ve had robust

growth over the past few years, having tripled

sales since 2012 to over $300,000, and we’ve

continued to grow at a healthy pace this year,

led by strong customer loyalty and strength in

the business category, one of our fastest-

growing segments. As a private company, we

don’t provide financial forecasts, but we

expect to continue growing our historical

business, while also expanding newer business

lines, such as Booster, a grassroots fundraising

platform that helps raise awareness and

money for charity through custom apparel

sales, and Pear, a sponsorship platform that

helps connect brands with national and local

groups to fund their custom gear and other

needs. This April, we completed the acquisi-

tion of Represent, a Los Angeles-based social

commerce startup that helps celebrity influ-

encers like actors, athletes, musicians and

thought leaders create and sell limited-run t-

shirts and merchandise to their supporters.

Biggest Concerns:

“This is such a

dynamic market with lots of opportunity, so

our biggest challenge is generally prioritiza-

tion and execution. This is particularly true

online, where mobile and social trends have

fundamentally changed what’s possible,

while also upping the ante for what it takes

to succeed.”

Bob Lilly, Jr.

CEO/President

Bob Lilly Promotions, LLC.

(UPIC: BOBL8430)

Dallas, Texas

Company:

Bob Lilly Promotions is an

industry-leading integrated marketing solu-

tions agency with offices in Dallas, Houston

and San Antonio, Texas. It offers customers

solutions for promotional products, awards

and apparel as well as distribution, fulfill-

ment, printing, packaging, creative design

and technology platforms to support pro-

gram sales.

Economic Outlook:

Lilly reports the

company is down Q1 year over year by 10

percent but Q2 is slightly up year over year

by five percent. “Our pipeline has improved

FIG. 11

Top 10 Reasons To Expect Profit Increase In 2016

New business development

Year-to-date sales

Advertising and marketing efforts

Better margins

Anticipated sales increases

Expansion to other market

segments & product categories

Improvements in business practices

Experience and company history

New business established

Increased sales force

16%

13%

“This is such a dynamic market with lots of opportunity,

so our biggest challenge is generally prioritization

and execution.

This is particularly true online, where

mobile and social trends have fundamentally changed

what’s possible, while also upping the ante for what

it takes to succeed.”