• 4imprint is also known to use the weight of its purchasing power to steer industry suppliers toward safer and more sustainable product offerings, thus increasing the responsibility of the entire market. This is industry leadership. It’s evidence that 4imprint, in so many ways, uses its force to create good in promo. And yet during my 18 months reporting on the industry, I have gathered the sense that a lot of typical distributors have historically viewed 4imprint with some dread. After all, 4imprint markets directly to their clients. Many end buyers are aware of just two options for buying promotional products: There’s the distributor down the street, who they may know on a first-name basis. And there’s 4imprint, which claims it can usually get the job done cheaper and faster, with fewer complications. Other distributors do great work and compete hard for their share of business, certainly, but 4imprint has built quite a few advantages for itself. Two decades have passed since Lyons-Tarr took over the company and turned it into promo’s galactic Empire by shifting its ecommerce model into hyperdrive. 4imprint has no doubt motivated other firms to improve their operations to be more competitive. But its looming presence has surely played a role in some distributors deciding to walk away. “There was a period of time,” Lyons-Tarr tells me, “when I felt very much like we were sort of the Death Star.” Distributors | Must Read Rank Score Name 2022 Revenue (Millions) Change Since 2019 11 267.70 Taylor Promo Marketing $275.0 16% 12 BDA $448.6 -9% 13 iPROMOTEu $209.0 17% 14 Boundless $160.0 70% 15 Overture Promotions $121.1 48% 16 National Pen $179.7* 12% 17 IMS $212.5 8% 18 Fully Promoted $123.7 17% 19 ePromos Promotional Products $83.0 36% 20 Brand Addition $145.1 12% Revenue Growth Industry Faith Professional Development Responsibility Innovation Employees Happiness Online Presence 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. Distributors Earned HIGH MARKS in The Following Categories Benchmarking PPAI 100 Distributors Average KPIs from the industry’s leading companies for 2022 2022 Revenue $194.8 million Revenue Change Since 2019 +28% New Client Revenue 20% Gross Profit Margin 34% Revenue From Top Three Clients 16% Revenue From Top 10% Of Sales Reps 28% Days To Payment 43 Full-Time Finance Staff 15 Customer Service Reps 74 Q1 2023 vs. Q1 2022 +7% PPAI • JULY 2023 • 53
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