The Business Is Personal Whatever supplier would’ve ranked as the No. 1 industry leader when SanMar was founded in 1971 surely had no way of knowing what would hit them. Marty Lott, Jeremy’s father, started the company as a capstone to his business degree from the University of Washington. He worked out of the basement in his dad’s office. With his wife, Sharon, at his side, he made a good business in his 20s while traveling in search of great products to import and sell. One particular order of 1,200 T-shirts for the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team proved pivotal. When the shirts came in from one of the wholesalers Marty used for large orders, they were a mismatch of fabrics and different shades of yellow. He asked the company to make it right, only to be dismissed rudely. The deal was done, they told him. That night, he talked to Sharon about the incident, and she insisted that he could do a better job supplying and printing on blank shirts and taking care of customers. Even now in 2023, with Marty Lott retired, the corporate culture at SanMar is built around a narrow set of family values established in those early days: Be nice and tell the truth. The business is personal, they say at SanMar. What is interesting is the way those cultural mandates have molded the company into the multifaceted industry leader that it is. Suppliers | Must Read Benchmarking PPAI 100 Suppliers Average KPIs from the industry’s leading companies. 2022 Revenue $262 million Revenue Change Since 2019 +29% Total Order Count 175,319 Integrated Orders 32.7% Gross Profit Margin 35% Sample Costs 1% Factory Employee Turnover Rate 21% Office Employee Turnover Rate 9% On Time Shipping 97% Rank Score Company 2022 Revenue (Millions) Change Since 2019 11 219.03 Cap America $76.8 73% 12 Hirsch $44.0 83% 13 Starline $57.9 68% 14 Showdown Displays $103.0 13% 15 Ariel Premium Supply $90.4 27% 16 Goldstar $57.0 12% 17 Vantage Apparel $79.7 187% 18 NC Custom $77.0 27% 19 Logomark $106.7* 8% 20 Edwards Garment $99.6 49% Score equals the total number out of a possible 500. * Estimate. 2019 revenue calculated based on figures reported to PPAI and others. All 2022 revenue figures have been certified by a company representative unless denoted. Revenue Growth Industry Faith Professional Development Responsibility Innovation Employees Happiness Online Presence Suppliers Earned HIGH MARKS in The Following Categories PPAI • JULY 2023 • 43
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