SUPPLIER No. 1 SanMar The Making Of A Dynasty President and CEO Jeremy Lott presides over the model for any family business. by Josh Ellis On a Monday afternoon in mid-May, Jeremy Lott is drifting through SanMar’s five-story Issaquah, Washington, office like he would his own house. Giving a tour of the suburban hillside building to our PPAI Media contingent, he is versed on what is stored in each side closet and the work being done around every cubicle corner. Look, these are fabric swatches from the current product line. Over there is an inspiration board for spring 2025 fashions. This machine tests the color of fabric under different lighting. And here is how it works. He is one of the most powerful people in the promotional products industry, yet seems to know fine details on everything going on around him in the SanMar operation, a swirling summation of 5,500 global employees that collectively ship upward of 100,000 parcels of branded apparel a day. What’s more, he has a keen grip on his customers’ experiences. He regularly drops in on key clients and may stand for hours to greet those who visit his booth at The PPAI Expo each January. “SanMar was a small family business when I was a kid, so we really grew up working in the business,” says Lott, now 10 years into his role as the company’s president, and five years since he added the CEO title. “After college, I went and worked outside the business for a few years, went to business From a major manufacturing hub in Honduras to its headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, SanMar is truly a global operation. In the US, it has nine national distribution hubs for a combined 7.85 million square feet of space. Suppliers | Must Read PPAI • JULY 2023 • 41
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