Distributor Top 40 - Advertising Specialty Institute

SOI 

2008 To p 40 Di s T r i bu Tor s 

Distributor Top 40 

(Last year’s rank in parentheses) 

2 

1 

BDA (5) 

(asi/137616) 

BDA enjoyed a banner year in 2007, winning some 

large accounts and opening a new fulfillment center 

in Plainfield, IN. It all added up to BDA moving 

to the top spot on the Top 40. North American ad 

specialty sales for the company were up 29%, from 

just under $200 million in 2006 to more than $250 

million in 2007. 

✽ 2007 results: BDA’s sustained growth is due to a 

continued focus on strengthening relationships with 

$137 $145 

existing clients, says Alison Paisley, vice president 

of marketing. The company signed strategic agreements 

and contract extensions with a variety of 

key customers, she says, including FremantleMedia, 

Intel Corp., Major League Baseball, and Michelin, among others. 

$118 

✽ Personnel shifts: BDA added several key individuals to its executive ranks in 2007, including Drew 

Kanellopoulos, CFO and Paul Wagner, CIO. 

✽ Top challenges: Paisley identifies a top challenge as maintaining the highest level of quality and customer 

service while undergoing rapid growth. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: BDA expects to sustain its double digit growth levels again this year. 

Corporate Express Promotional Marketing (2) 

(asi/168786) 

The industry’s second biggest distributor held onto second place for a second consecutive year with 5% growth in 2007. This year, though, 

will most likely bring much change for this organization: Parent company, Corporate Express, agreed in June to be purchased by Staples. The 

deal, a $2.6 billion transaction, is expected to close later in the summer and the merger of the two companies’ promotional products divisions 

would create the largest distributor in the industry with more than $450 million in sales. 

✽ 2007 results: “The strength and depth of our organization has been a very powerful 

$247 differentiator in helping us add new domestic clients and expand our business with 

existing clients,” says Sam Krause, director of business development. 

$229 

$235 

✽ Top challenges: Clients are demanding more from distributors in 2007. A survey 

conducted by its parent company, Corporate Express US, showed that 64% of office 

workers said environmental practices affected both who they would work for and 

influence their buying decisions. “It’s not enough to merely provide good products 

and services,” says Krause. “We all must continually protect the brands of our clients 

$201 

by assuring their products are safely manufactured, ecologically responsible and produced 

in accordance with the highest social standards.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: The company expects a solid year for business in 2008. It’s yearon-year 

sales are tracking significantly higher than last year. However, a merger with 

$171 

Staples Promotional Products would greatly change each of the company’s standings 

in the 2009 Top 40. 

✽ Movie and actor: Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner as Dennis Multack. 

MilliOns 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Jay Deutsch, BDA 

MOvie: 

BrandTrek: The Final 

Frontier 

MOvie sTar: 

William Shatner as CEO 

Jay Deutsch. 

MilliOns 

$199 

$256 

www.counselormag.com STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 2008 105

SOI 

2008 To p 40 Di sT r i buTor s 

Proforma (3) 

3 (asi/300094) 

$240 Proforma saw a 5% sales increase in 2007, reaching 

$240 million. 

$228 

✽ 2007 results: “Proforma’s sales were up in 2007 

for a number of reasons,” says Greg Muzzillo, company 

founder and co-CEO. He cites a 110% growth of 

$202 

e-commerce sales (more than 5% of total sales volume), 

attributable to Proforma’s continuing commitment 

to develop and sell technology integrating print, 

promotional products and business documents. 

$161 

✽ new in 2007: Proforma became the exclusive 

distributor for RR Donnelly’s smaller and mid-sized 

accounts in 2007 and added several other major 

$140 

accounts, including Coca-Cola, Labatt, AT&T and 

NASCAR. 

✽ Top challenges: “In 2007 one of our biggest 

challenges and focuses was increasing the strength of the Proforma brand,” Muzzillo says. “We worked 

through in-depth research and creative execution to produce some exciting new tools and programs.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Muzzillo says that overall, Proforma is on track to reach the $400 million mark with 

its second highest billing month ever in April 2008. 

MilliOns 

staples Promotional Products (6) 

4 (asi/334634) 

This division of office products retail giant Staples was formed last year when the company 

acquired Top 40 distributor American Identity. On its own, American Identity had 

ranked as the sixth-largest industry distributor in 2006. 

✽ 2007 results: With the two companies’ combined efforts in the ad specialty market, 

2007 saw an increase from American Identity’s sole results in 2006 of 13%, to total sales 

of $215 million. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Staples should shoot up the Top 40 list even further next year, after 

it completes its acquisition of Corporate Express, the parent company of the second-largest 

ad specialty distributor Corporate Express Promotional Marketing. The combination 

with Corporate Express would create the largest distributor in the industry – by far. The 

two companies’ combined industry sales for 2007 would be more than $460 million. 

Group ii 

5 Communications/iMs (4) 

(asi/215310) 

IMS is counting on a new focus on 

integrated sales, as well as its product 

development expertise, to offset a difficult 

economy and decreased revenues 

from the company’s large corporate clients. 

The revenue dip caused the firm to 

lose one spot, from 4 to 5 on this year’s 

Top 40. 

✽ 2007 results: Last year’s sales dip of 

nearly 10% is reflective of transitional 

times for key clients, says Kathy Evans, 

marketing department manager. “I think 

it’s mostly just the industry we work 

MilliOns 

106 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 2008 www.counselormag.com 

$158 

$177 

MilliOns 

$180 $180 $180 

Muzzillo 

says that 

overall, 

Proforma is 

on track to 

reach the 

$400 million 

mark. 

$191 

$215 

with. Wells Fargo is one of our biggest clients, and we know it’s 

tough in the banking industry right now,” she says. 

✽ new in 2007: The company has put a new focus on building 

an integrated sales force, embodied in 

weekly conferences where different sales 

$222 

groups sit down together to share ideas. 

“We work more as a team this year than 

we’ve ever done,” Evans says. 

$202 

Top challenges: “To try to keep our sales 

up and find new avenues,” Evans says. 

$185 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Evans says this year 

will probably be as challenging as last 

year. The company is being aggressive 

in showing new products, but “people 

are asking for cutbacks. Unit sales aren’t 

necessarily down but prices are down. 

Clients are demanding it.”

SOI 


Geiger (7) 

6 (asi/202900) 

Geiger saw a 7% increase in sales in 2007, largely thanks to acquisitions it closed the previous year, and the 

results helped to move the company up one spot to number six on this year’s Top 40. 

✽ 2007 results: The distributor’s revenues increased from $172.5 million in 2006 to $184.1 million in 

2007. Lo-an Lantz, executive vice president of Geiger, attributes the growth to a couple of factors. “One 

was an increase in corporate program sales and 

the second reason was because of revenues as a 

$184 result of acquisition,” she says. “Program sales are 

strong. This suggests that even though the econ- 

$173 

omy continues to be soft, large firms are continuing 

to promote their brands.” 

MilliOns 


✽ new in 2007: “In addition to the increased interest 

in eco-friendly, and ‘safe products,’ we saw a 

shift in how clients evaluate our capabilities,” Lantz 

says. “The need for integrated Web sites as a deliverable 

for clients is not new, the emphasis on the 

appearance of client integrated Web sites is. Clients 

are drawing conclusions regarding our creativity 

and capabilities from the appearance and 

functionality of Web sites.” 

✽ Top challenges: “This year, we are focusing on balance,” 

Lantz says. “We’re shifting resources to areas of revenue generation, educating our buyers on the 

importance of product safety and brand management, and assisting our sales partners in growing their business.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Lantz believes this could be a soft year for Geiger and the industry. “While some market segments are up,” she says, 

“the impact of the mortgage crisis and property devaluation has had an impact on other former growth markets.” 

7 

Cintas (8) 

(asi/162167) 

The Cincinnati-based company is looking to a number of moves to drive growth, including strategic 

purchases and redirecting sales resources to follow demand, according to executives Bill Gale, 

senior vice president, and Mike Thompson, vice president and treasurer. 

✽ 2007 results: While Cintas saw North American ad specialty sales increase 8% last year, a slowing 

economy impacted the company’s direct sale uniform business toward the end of 2007, Thompson 

told industry analysts in a March corporate earnings call. “During challenging economic conditions, 

these direct sale businesses tend to move with greater volatility than our rental business, as many 

of the direct sale customers will delay purchasing during economic downturns,” he says. 

✽ new in 2007: Significant in 2007 was the company’s expansion into the international market 

with the purchase of a small document management business in the Netherlands. Cintas has 

also been reallocating sales resources in its uniforms and fire protection segments to focus on 

growth markets. 

✽ Personnel shifts: As of presstime, Cintas 

$171 was in search of a new executive to take 

over its promotional products division, 

after Jim Stutz announced his move to 

$155 

$158 

become executive vice president at Halo/ 

Lee Wayne. 

✽ Top challenges: Thompson cites energy 

$149 

costs as a major challenge for the company, 

due to an increase in delivery fuel prices 

and greater seasonal usage of natural gas. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: A combination of 

$135 

lower revenues and increased energy costs 

should point to single-digit growth this 

year, Gale told analysts. 

MilliOns 

$121 

$125 

$138 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Gene Geiger, 

Geiger 

MOvie: 

Indiana Jones and the 

Kingdom of the Crystal 

Skull 

MOvie sTar: 

Harrison Ford as 

Gene Geiger 

8% 

increase in 

Cintas’ 

north 

american 

ad specialty 

sales from 

last year

SOI 


MilliOns 

national Pen Company (11) 

8 (asi/281040) 

National Pen Company moved up three spots into the top 10 this year, after its acquisition early last year of 

fellow Top 40 distributor Atlas Pen. 

✽ 2007 results: “We showed some slight increases due to expansion in the area of Internet sales and product 

expansion in paper goods – calendars and holiday cards,” says company CEO Richard Schulte. The company’s 

overall North American ad specialty sales show a 23% increase over 2006. 

$93 

$110 

$114 

$130 

$160 

✽ new in 2007: Schulte reports the biggest change last 

year was innovation in the way the company approaches 

the marketplace. “We had pretty much approached the 

market as telesales, Internet and mail,” he says. “For the 

first time we brought a lot of focus to integrating our 

approach.” 

✽ Personnel shifts: National Pen brought in a completely 

new senior management team in 2007, Schulte reports 

(Schulte himself came on as CEO in late 2006). Sean 

Clough is executive vice president of sales and marketing; 

Alan Honeycutt is executive vice president of 

human resources; Ed Fares is the company’s new CIO; 

Terry Quinn is executive vice president of operations; 

and Ted Heininger is CFO. 

✽ Top challenges: “I would say the upgrade of our Oracle system platform was a big challenge,” Schulte says. “Postage increases also impacted 

us last year – sample mailings is where we really felt it. We had to do reengineering of packages to adhere to postal standards and avoid some of 

the postage increase.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Schulte expects the company to be ahead of last year, but won’t yet identify a growth percentage. 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

richard schulte, 

national Pen Company 

MOvie: 

At the Edge of a Rising 

Summit 

MOvie sTar: 

Denzel Washington 

as Schulte 


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4imprint (12) 

9 (asi/197045) 

MilliOns 

N/A 

$73 

$83 

$111.6 

$145.35 


It was the second consecutive year of greater 

than 30% revenue growth for the Oshkosh, WIbased 

distributor. And, as the largest online seller 

of promotional products, 4imprint extended its 

reach with additional catalogs to enhance its 

offerings. 

✽ 2007 results: 4imprint is one of the fastestgrowing 

distributors on the Top 40 this year, as 

its North American ad specialty sales increased 

from $111.6 million in 2006 to $145.35 million last 

year. “Our sales increase was driven by further 

development of our catalog/internet based business 

model, with an emphasis on new product 

and service offerings,” says company CFO David 

Seekings. 

✽ Top challenges: The company’s strategy continues to focus on developing “great offers that resonate 

with our customers in tougher economic times,” Seekings says. “If we can get this challenge right, we 

remain optimistic about our growth prospects in 2008.” 

Halo/Lee wayne (10) 

10 (asi/356000) 

Halo/Lee Wayne, in a year that it was acquired by public equity firm Compass Equity, 

increased its revenues from $131 million in 2006 to $145 million in 2007. The distributor 

also continued its acquisition spree this year, as it purchased fellow Top 40 company 

Goldman Promotions in April. 

✽ 2007 results: Halo grew its sales by 11.5% in 2007, 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Marc simon, 

Halo/Lee wayne 

MOvie: 

A Few Good (Sales) Men 

MOvie sTar: 

Tom Cruise as Simon 

and CEO Marc Simon attributes the results to both 

acquisitions and organic growth. “Our continued 

growth derives from our culture of high performance, 

efficient and accurate support,” he says. “The 

result is a combination of successful acquisitions and 

recruiting along with gains in organic growth.” 

✽ new in 2007: Simon says the company introduced 

enhancements to its order management software, 

created new marketing material to help its account 

executives promote their business and developed a 

year-long sales training series of weekly webinars. 

✽ Top challenges: “The primary challenge we faced last year was customers’ growing sensitivity to product 

liability, and how to position ourselves to reduce their exposure and ours,” Simon says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Bookings so far this year are strong compared to 2007, Simon says, and he expects 

the company will realize “substantial revenue increases from our recent recruiting success and our acquisition 

of Goldman Promotions.” 

‘‘ The primary challenge we faced last 

year was customers’ growing sensitivity 

to product liability. 

’’ 

– MARC SIMON, HALO/LEE WAyNE (ASI/35600) 

MilliOns 

$186 

$207 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Kevin Lyons-tarr, 

4imprint 

MOvie: 

Back To The Future 

MOvie sTar: 

Michael J. Fox 

as President Lyons-Tarr 

$106 

$131 

$145

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11 

12 

MilliOns 

Adventures in Advertising (9) 

(asi/109480) 

Adventures in Advertising experienced a slight dip in sales in 2007, from $135 million 

in 2006 to $133 million last year. “Actually, after three years of strong sales growth 

and no new franchise sales, we were pleased to see sales plateau at such a high 

level,” says David Woods, CEO of AIA. “As in all sales organizations, there is always 

some attrition.” 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

David woods, 

Adventures in 

Advertising 

MOvie: 

Built to Last 

MOvie sTar: 

Tom Hanks starring as 

Woods. 

tic toc (13) 

(asi/158990) 

$86 

$95 

$96.2 

$99.1 


✽ 2007 results: Woods says that the 1.5% drop in 

$128 

revenues last year was expected, as the company 

hadn’t recruited new franchise owners over the 

previous two years. “By not being able to sell franchises 

for three years, we expected our momentum 

would slow down temporarily,” he says. “We 

$119 

also continue to selectively prune out low margin 

N/A 

and unprofitable business.” 

✽ new in 2007: AIA tried to focus its 2007 efforts 

on initiatives to help its franchise owners and support its sales affiliates. “We have added additional 

resources in field management, internal customer support and IT,” Woods says. “We announced an 

investment of more than $2 million to transform our operating platform. Our focus is continuing to invest 

in the best people and systems to support our long term growth and success.” 

✽ Top challenges: “Sales development is a major initiative for AIA, and it is always challenging to find the 

best people,” Woods says. “Thus far in 2008, we have experienced the best recruiting results in several 

years, maintaining very high selection standards. Product safety issues and potential price increases 

require constant vigilance.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “The year got off to a slow but steady start, and there have been signs of improvement 

recently,” Woods says. “We expect it will be at least 12 to 18 months before we see strong growth 

in the overall economy again.” 

$105 

Tic Toc has focused recently on expanding its relationships 

with key clients, as well as penetrating 

new international markets. Last year, the moves 

lead to a 6% increase in sales from $99 million in 

2006 to $105 million in 2007. 

✽ 2007 results: CEO Paul Gittemeier chalks the 

company’s revenue jump in North American sales 

up to increased business from a couple of large 

clients, and the addition of a new client in late 

2006 that has since become the company’s largest 

customer. 

✽ new in 2007: Tic Toc expanded its operations 

outside the U.S. last year with the addition of several 

new international clients, Gittemeier reports. 

✽ Top challenges: “The devaluation of the dollar 

coupled with the petroleum price increases have caused our costs to rise because much of what we sell 

is manufactured outside the USA and is made of plastic, a petroleum derivative,” Gittemeier says. In addition, 

there is the impact on the industry from recent reports of harmful chemicals in common plastic products. 

“Although we’ve been clean as a whistle and have very stringent material and safety testing protocols, the fallout from the ’07 global 

plastic content and lead paint issues has caused our clients to be hyper-aware of potential problems,” he says, while stressing that none of 

these problems have directly affected Tic Toc. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Gittemeier reports “some very nice increases” in sales this year. 

MilliOns 

$135 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Paul Gittemeier, 

tic toc 

$133 

MOvie: 

The Imagination Company 

MOvie sTar: 

Paul Newman as Gittemeier.

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13 

workflow one (26) 

(asi/333647) 

Of all the big movers on this year’s chart, no company could beat Workflow One’s tremendous 50% 

growth from last year, which took the company from number 26 with $60 million in 2006, all the way to 

number 13 with $90 million in 2007. The move was not wholly unexpected given the comments from Dan 

Welborne, vice president of the promotional product division, who predicted in last year’s report there 

would be monumental growth in 2007. 

MilliOns 

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$38 

$42 

$60 


$90 

✽ 2007 results: “WorkflowOne has become more 

mature in the process of selling and supporting the 

business of promotional products,” Welborne says. 

✽ new in 2007: The company added a number 

of divisional directors in 2007 that were responsible 

for building sales plans and working with the 

local offices. Divisional vice presidents also more 

aggressively promoted promotional products in 

their sales regions. 

✽ Top challenges: “The biggest challenge in 2007 

was internal communication and strategy relative 

to adding this line of business to everyone’s traditional 

business,” says Welborne. “We had to show 

clients they could be even more successful through 

promotional products. For 2008, it’s more of the 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Greg Mosher, 

workflow one 

MOvie: 

Mission Possible 

MOvie sTar: 

Marlon Brando as CEO 

Mosher 

same. We must continue to push ourselves internally to be the best.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Expect another big move in 2008: Welborne says the ad specialty division of his company is already more than 30% 

ahead in year-over-year revenue. 

asi 78065 ppai 143980 

So much more than picnic 

www.PicnicPromotions.com 

Since 1982 

outdoor, tailgating, totes, coolers, wine, entertaining, tools, garden...

SOI 


14 

15 

American solutions for Business (18) 

(asi/120075) 

ASB’s secret to success is remaining customer-focused, according to founder and president Larry Zavadil. 

This means looking after the needs of its three customers – sales associates, end-users and vendors – rather 

than becoming too operations-centric. 

MilliOns 

Banyan incentives (14) 

(asi/342382) 

The ever tight-lipped Banyan Incentives declined to give its sales for a fifth year 

in a row, so the company’s standing is based on a Counselor estimate. Despite 

another year of projected flat growth, the company was able to hold onto the 

number 14 spot on the list. 

✽ 2007 results: President Paul Griffiths, though, did give some insight about the 

company’s performance last year: “The continued cost increases from Asia have 

been a challenge,” he says. “With oil and plastics going up along with metals, it’s 

hitting us both in materials and labor. Costs are going up quicker than we are able 

to pass it on to the customer and some are balking. I think that’s going to push 

through the next two years quite honestly.” 

✽ new in 2007: Online sales have become huge for Banyan, which for years has 

depended on its direct marketing and telesales. The company expects online sales 

to remain strong, so it has been investing in its Web site and adding functionality. 

✽ Top challenges: Like many industry companies, safety has become a major concern 

as has the general cost of doing business. Staying on top of both issues while 

retaining low prices is increasingly difficult, Griffiths says. “In the competitive market it’s hard to pass all those costs on. The result is we 

end up tightening what we can spend to promote ourselves to grow the business.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “We plan on making further investments in this industry in the next couple of years,” Griffiths says, “and we continue 

to grow the business.” 

✽ Movie: The Never-Ending Story 

$49 

$55 

$67 

$78 

$88 

✽ 2007 results: Having a diversified focus has 

helped ASB weather tough economic times. “When 

one industry or vertical market is down, we see 

growth in others,” Zavadil says. Overall, it adds up 

to a 12% increase in North American ad specialty 

revenues last year. 

✽ new in 2007: ASB launched the development 

phase of a new operating system, American People- 

Soft Solution. “This platform will give American the 

most robust fully-integrated system in the industry 

capable of handling everything electronically from 

end-user to vendor for inquiry, ordering, shipping 

and collection,” Zavadil says. ASB is scheduled to 

go live with the new system this month. 

✽ Personnel shifts: A reorganization plan at the 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Larry Zavadil, 

American solutions 

for Business 

MOvie: 

Field of Dreams 

MOvie sTar: 

Kevin Coster as 

Larry Zavadil 

company’s Glenwood, MN, home office has created unified sales teams across operational departments 

and resulted in management shifts. Joining the sales support team as director of vendor relations is Justin 

Zavadil, Larry’s son. The younger Zavadil replaces Wayne Martin, who will continue as a vice president 

focusing on strategic and national accounts. 

✽ Top challenges: “Communication has been and always will be our most difficult challenge,” Zavadil says. “With the changing of generations 

in the work force, and preferences for technology changing almost daily, the ability to successfully communicate everything to everyone in 

real time is a significant challenge.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Bottom line profit is significantly ahead of budget, Zavadil reports. He expects implementation of the American People- 

Soft system to contribute significantly to growth this year and moving forward. 

MilliOns 

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MilliOns 

MilliOns 

$65 

$143 

$85 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Gregg Emmer, 

Kaeser & Blair 

$146 

$85 

MOvie: 

For A Few Dollars More 

MOvie sTar: 

Clint Eastwood 

$87 $87 

17 


Kaeser & Blair (19) 

(asi/238600) 

Kaeser & Blair increased its sales about 10% last 

year to move it up two spots on the Top 40 list. 

”We continue to be successful attracting top 

industry sellers to K&B,” says Chief Marketing 

Officer Gregg Emmer. “Their volume, along with 

$86 

the success of other K&B dealers provides the 

growth.” 

✽ 2007 results: Kaeser & Blair capitalized 

on continued upgrades to its operations and 

dealer outreach to achieve revenues of $85.6 

$76 $76 

$78 

million in 2007, an increase of 9.7% from 2006’s 

$78 million. 

✽ new in 2007: “We redesigned our recruiting 

Web site and the collateral materials that tell the 

K&B story,” Emmer says. “This helped our recruit- 

$70 

ing by providing the most current information in a very user-friendly way.” 

✽ Top challenges: Emmer identifies the top challenge as holding prices down in the face of rising oil costs. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Kaeser & Blair revenue will likely be up 11% to 14% for 2008, Emmer estimates. 

$84 $84 $84 

summit Marketing Group (15) 

16 (asi/339116) 

After growth of 2.5% in 2006, Summit Marketing Group experienced a flat sales year 

in 2007. The company’s sales increased from $87.1 million in 2006 to $87.3 million in 

2007. 

✽ 2007 results: Summit’s less-than-one-percent sales increase in 2007 caused it to 

move down the Top 40 list one spot to number 16 this year. While Daniel Renz, the 

company’s CEO, predicted in last year’s State of the Industry report that his company 

would experience double-digit growth in 2007, he declined to comment on Summit’s 

2007 performance. 

✽ new in 2007: The distributor continued to expand its Arlington, VA-based 

Government Services Group and saw an increase of its business from government 

accounts as a result. Last year, Summit also acquired Drone Communications, an ad 

agency specializing in interactive marketing, and launched an interactive promotionson-demand 

program for its clients. 

18 

Myron (16) 

(asi/278980) 

MilliOns 

Counselor estimates put Myron’s 2007 revenues at $83.6 million for a third consecutive 

year. CEO Jim Adler declined to confirm the estimate. 

2007 results: The continued flat estimate moves Myron down the Top 40 list two spots 

to number 18. And while the estimate is based on a Dun & Bradstreet report gathered 

two years ago (Myron has since removed its revenue numbers from any public information 

reporting service), Myron contends that their revenues are actually significantly 

higher than the Counselor estimate and the Dun & Bradstreet report. 

Business background: Myron was formed in 1949 and claims to have serviced more 

than one million customers over its more than 50 years in business. The company has 

more than 1,000 employees and is based in Maywood, NJ.

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MilliOns 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Eric Belcher, 

innerworkings/ 

Corporate Edge 

MOvie: 

To the Edge and Beyond 

MOvie sTar: 

Harrison Ford as Belcher 

$77 

$81 $81 $81 $81 


19 innerworkings/Corporate 

Edge (27) 

(asi/168860) 

The big news for perennial Top 40 distributor Corporate 

Edge was its purchase in December by 

Chicago-based managed print and promotional 

solutions provider InnerWorkings. The integration 

of Corporate Edge has opened up new revenue and 

growth potential in promotional products sales, 

according to InnerWorkings president and CEO 

Eric Belcher. 

✽ 2007 results: Corporate Edge enjoyed a great 

2007 leading up to and after its purchase by Inner- 

Workings, seeing a 41% increase in sales to $83 million. “Our promotional products revenue growth is due 

to both rapid organic growth – fueled by an increase in our e-commerce activities and our ability to continue 

to expand the percentage of our client’s spend that we manage – and the combination of InnerWorkings 

and Corporate Edge’s promotional product revenue,” Belcher says. 

✽ new in 2007: The purchase has facilitated cooperative sales strategies, with Corporate Edge CEO Scott 

Levy and President Stuart Weisenfeld continuing to manage operations of the promotional products business. 

“Promotional products have always been an important category for InnerWorkings, and the acquisition 

has made InnerWorkings a more powerful buyer in the marketplace,” Belcher says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: For the overall InnerWorkings company, Belcher anticipates a continuation of last year’s healthy growth trends. He 

anticipates a “tremendous” 2008, with revenues projected to increase at least 50% to more than $450 million. “Promotional products is an 

important component of this revenue growth,” he says. 

EmbroidMe (24) 

21 (asi/384000) 

EmbroidMe enjoyed strong growth in 2007, fueled by a continued aggressive franchising 

strategy that now encompasses more than 450 retail locations worldwide. 

✽ 2007 results: EmbroidMe North American sales were up 19% last year, to just over $75 

million. “Comparable store sales were up in ’07 in comparison to ’06 as a result of younger 

stores in our system growing into their second and third year and expanding their customer 

base,” says Tipton Shonkwiler, director of marketing. 

✽ new in 2007: A stronger emphasis on e-marketing campaigns for stores was an important 

part of the company’s strategy last year and has proven successful, he says. 

✽ Personnel shifts: Mark Johnson was appointed president of EmbroidMe. Former president 

Ray Titus has moved into the CEO position for parent company United Franchise Group. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “We are tracking nicely with a strong global markets expansion,” 

Shonkwiler says. 

MilliOns 

$32 

Midwest trophy (17) 

20 (asi/270880) 

While MidWest declined to provide their revenues for 2007, Counselor estimated a 

flat year for the company, which resulted in $81 million in sales and a loss of three 

places on the Top 40 from 17 last year to number 20 this year. 

✽ new in 2007: The company’s incentives arm, MTM Recognition, was named the 

official awards program supplier for the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 

April 2007. This deal is in conjunction with MidWest’s Jostens division, the well-known 

class ring company that MidWest purchased in 2001. 

✽ Personnel: MidWest’s MTM Recognition division alone has about 800 employees in 

seven locations, and the division has about 70 recognition consultants in the U.S. and 

Canada that work directly with the company’s incentive and rewards clients. 

MilliOns 

$26 

$41 

$45 

$49 

$45.7 

$59 

$63 

$83 

$75

SOI 


22 

Jack nadel international 

(20) (asi/279600) 

Jack Nadel International bills itself as an extension of a client’s existing marketing strategy, an approach 

the company believes is well-suited to an era when corporations are seeking a clarity of message amid 

brand clutter. 

MilliOns 

$74 

$86 

$86 

$76 

$75 

✽ 2007 results: Sales were essentially flat – down 

$1 million to $75 million in 2007 – even as profits 

rose slightly, according to Senior Vice President 

Craig Reese. 

✽ new in 2007: “We tried to strengthen our 

relationships with vendor partners over the last 

year,” Reese says. “We really focused on those 

relationships and tried to leverage them as best 

we can.” 

✽ Personnel shifts: The company announced a 

management change in September 2007, which 

was instituted in March of this year with the 

retirement of COO Robert Buckingham. President 

Craig Nadel and the rest of the senior management 

team remain in place. 

✽ Top challenges: Citing the economy as the 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Craid nadel, 

Jack nadel 

international 

MOvie: 

Get Smart 

MOvie sTar: 

Steve Carell as Nadel 

number one issue for the industry right now, Reese says the main challenge is to help salespeople sell smarter as they adjust to the shifting 

needs of clients. “We see that a lot of our clients and potential clients are looking at condensing their promotional product suppliers and 

tightening up that supply chain,” he says. “They want to bring it down to a manageable level so they have more control over purchases, logos, 

and marketing – basically, to ensure that one voice is being spoken.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Reese reports that the company is tracking slightly upward for 2008. “We’re still concerned about the economy and 

how it will play out this year,” he says. 

23 

the vernon Company (21) 

(asi/351700) 

Like many distributors, The Vernon Company is looking to some strategic moves and new revenue streams to see it through a challenging 

economic environment. 

✽ 2007 results: Vernon’s North American sales last year were essentially flat, down 

$73 

$72 

less than 1%, from $72.6 million in 2006 to $72.1 million in 2007. Vice President of 

Sales Dave Regan chalks the results up to the loss of some major orders (though 

not whole accounts) from top clients cutting back on promotions, and a transitional 

period in sales, with many older reps gearing up for retirement and new reps being 

recruited and trained. 

$68 

✽ new in 2008: Vernon is putting a new focus on acquisitions and aggressive sales 

targets in order to reach a goal of $10 million in new annual business. Regan says 

the company seeks to generate at least half of this through added revenue from 

$66 

new acquisitions and half from increased sales in existing accounts. 

✽ Personnel shifts: The company is seeing some higher-level retirements, most 

$63 

noticeably national sales manager Harry Holmes, who has been replaced by Sharla 

Elscott, recently promoted to the position of business development manager. 

✽ Top challenges: “We need to bring in new revenue, and need to find the right 

balance between acquisitions and new individual hires added to the sales team,” 

Regan says. The third leg of the company’s growth strategy involves a focus on getting 

more business out of existing accounts. “Over the last two, three, four years our profitability has gone up substantially, and this has 

come through technology, manpower efficiency and streamlining management in the field,” he says. “We’re pretty darn efficient – now the 

increase in bottom line profit has to come from top line growth.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Regan summarizes this year’s outlook as “cautious optimism,” noting the company is up 2% to 3% from the year before 

as of the end of May. 

MilliOns 


SOI 


$80 


24 

Evigna (22) 

(asi/155460) 

$71 

Evigna increased its sales $2 million in 2007, from $69 million to $71 million. The 

2.9% increased ended up dropping Evigna from 24 on the Top 40 last year to number 

22 this year. 

✽ new in 2007: With new CEO Marc Belanski at the helm of the company, Evigna 

began to expand through acquisition this year. It purchased Indiana-based Marc 

$68 

$69 

Promotions at the end of 2007, and most recently acquired Maestro Managed Print 

Solutions in May. Belanski says the deals help to expand the services it can offer 

to its clients. “We provide a managed solution for the procurement of promotional 

$65 

merchandise and this is really just another managed solution for the procurement 

of print,” he said of the distributor’s acquisition of Maestro in May. 

✽ Personnel shifts: Belanski took over in October 2007, succeeding Jeff Beckett, 

the Evigna co-chair who had served as interim CEO. Belanski’s promotion came 

after seven years at Evigna, where he was most recently the executive vice president 

of customer care. Also, Tom Donnellon, the founder of Maestro, became COO of Evigna following his company’s acquisition. 

MilliOns 

Brown & Bigelow (23) 

25 (asi/148500) 

Brown & Bigelow continues to enjoy success with its nationwide reach and decentralized 

sales structure. Strategic purchases last year allowed the company to increase 

revenues even as business slowed in some key promotional products sectors. 

✽ 2007 results: Sales were up over 3% last year, due primarily to the company’s purchase 

of Strong & Cutter in Boston and IPW Product Development in Cost Mesa, CA, 

according to Executive Vice President William D. Smith, Jr. 

✽ Top challenges: “We believe we offer the most lucrative compensation plan of any 

national distributor in the industry and that our decentralized office network combines 

the strength of a national distributor with the flexibility of a local distributor,” Smith 

says. “Our challenge is getting that message out to the salespeople in the industry.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “This is a challenging year for many of our salespeople who have 

been selling the construction, financial and pharma sectors,” Smith says. 

Artcraft Promotional Concepts (25) 

26 (asi/125050) 

✽ 2007 results: Artcraft enjoyed a 5% increase 

$64 in sales last year to $64.1 million. Company Vice 

President Howard Zimmerman chalks the increase 

$61 

up to clients’ purchasing more proprietary products 

and utilizing increased fulfillment services. 

✽ new in 2007: The company increased warehouse 

space last year by 16,000 square feet, 

$53 

enabling it to handle larger and more complex 

fulfillment projects, Zimmerman says. In addition, 

$49 

some of the company’s patented products were 

picked up by national retailers Brookstone and 

$45 

Williams Sonoma. 

✽ Top challenges: Pricing pressures mandate 

tighter cost controls and increased efficiencies, 

he says. 

MilliOns 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Zimmerman expects the 

company’s sales volume to drop this year due to a “perfect storm” in this country: the mortgage and 

credit crunch, high oil prices, and political uncertainty. 

MilliOns 

$62 

$63 

$65 

$67 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

MOvie: 

The African Queen 

$69 

Howard 

Zimmerman, 

Artcraft Promotional 

Concepts

SOI 


27 

G & G outfitters inc. (28) 

(asi/199904) 

Sales were slightly down for G & G Outfitters last year, dropping from $58.3 million 

in 2006 to $56.6 million in 2007. 

✽ 2007 results: The 3% decrease is mostly due to changes in the marketplace, 

says Richard Gergar, executive vice president. “We have seen some challenges 

with one of the sectors in the financial institutions area,” Gergar says. “Consumer 

product companies continue to stay strong while financial institutions become 

weaker in their marketing efforts. But we had a lot of good things also in that 

number and we were happy with how we ended up.” 

✽ new in 2007: In 2007 G & G launched a beverage division, called Liquid Swag, 

which focuses solely on its core customers in the beverage industry. 

✽ Top challenges: Challenges last year are similar to ones that the company 

is still facing this year, Gergar says: managing internal costs including cost of 

goods, transportation, fuel, electric, benefits, etc. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: This year is looking good so far for G & G. “It’s very strong and we look to see sales continue to increase and beat 

expectations of last year,” he says. “G & G is better poised than most of our competitors because of our wide scope of our products and 

services that we manufacture and develop in-house.” 

The same high qualiTy meTal barreled 

producT ThaT you are used To buT 

from a four sTar supplier whom 

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pen/highlighter combo with metal barrel 

Ballpoint pen with black ink at one end and yellow highlighter 

tip at the other end. Features steel barrel available in gold 

or silver finish and metal pocket clip. Double ended for dual 

purpose! Also available as Marker/Highlighter Combo with 

Metal Barrel; order XDM. Set up Charge to: 34.00 (c) 

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Silver 1.17/Pc. 1.15/Pc. 1.10/Pc. 1.08/Pc. 1.06/Pc. 

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Discount code: 5C 

GOTHAM PEN 

asi/57860 

MilliOns 

N/A N/A 

$51 

$58 

$57 

Made in the USA 

Made in the USA 


SOI 


28 

newton Manufacturing Co. (29) 

(asi/283300) 

$51 Revenues for Newton Manufacturing increased 

$50 

3% last year, jumping from $49.6 million in 2006 

to $51.1 million in 2007. The jump helped the com- 

$48 

pany move up one spot on the Top 40. 

✽ 2007 results: Jerome Hoxton, Newton presi- 

$47 

dent, attributes 2007’s growth to the company’s 

commitment to supporting each salesperson. 

“We try to understand their unique selling styles, 

$45 

customers and markets,” he says. “We provide 

them customized, appropriate education, customer-centered 

marketing materials, presentations 

ready-to-present and support all of that 

with intelligent, rapid service responses.” 

✽ Top challenges: Along with increasing sales, 

the company’s top challenge in 2007 and 2008 is 

“understanding the rapidly changing expectations of customers and markets,” Hoxton says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Hoxton describes 2008 as “promising in many respects.” First quarter achievements 

include a number of new customers and important contracts. 

MilliOns 

29 

GMPC LLC (30) 

(asi/260340) 

While GMPC continued to grow in 2007, it was up just 3%, compared with 7% in 2006 

and 15% in 2005. 

✽ 2007 results: GMPC’s sales increased from $48.1 million in 2006 to $49.8 million 

in 2007. It achieved this growth by emphasizing customer service, creativity, broad 

product categories and providing added value to customers, says Flash Mandel, vice 

president. 

✽ new in 2007: The company focused more on environmentally friendly products in 

2007, “on educating our customers about the importance and availability of using 

eco-conscious promotional products,” Mandel says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: 2008 has been a success for GMPC so far, he says. 


MilliOns 

$31 

$39 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Jerome Hoxton, 

newton 

Manufacturing Co. 

MOvie: 

Friendly Persuasion 

MOvie sTar: 

Clint Eastwood as Hoxton 

thomas Direct sales inc. (33) 

30 (asi/343878) 

After a flat year in 2006, Thomas Direct Sales saw 10% growth in 2007 and jumped up 

$44 

three spots on the Top 40. The company garnered sales of $44.1 million in 2007, after 

its $40 million result in 2006. 

✽ 2007 results: Last year’s growth can be mostly attributed to two additional preferred 

supplier contracts that Thomas Direct secured, says Nancy D’Andrea, president. 

$40 


✽ new in 2007: The company placed a greater emphasis on eco-friendly and green 

products in presentations to its clients, D’Andrea says. 

✽ Top challenges: Product safety was a challenge for the company in 2007, and 

D’Andrea expects it to continue. “We anticipate this to remain a challenge in 2008 as 

$35 

certain state laws regarding product safety are about to become stricter,” she says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: With many current customers seeming to have smaller promotional 

budgets in 2008, Thomas Direct is working to secure new business to fuel growth. 

$33 

✽ Movie: The Incredibles. “Our staff has proven their commitment to customer service 

in heroic proportion,” D’Andrea says. 

MilliOns 

$45 

$48 

$50

SOI 


31 

Accolade reaction Promotion Group 

(n/a) (asi/102905) 

The largest distributor in Canada makes its first appearance on the Top 40 this year 

after it acquired Merit Impressions last year to increase its revenues 62%. 

✽ 2007 results: Accolade increased revenues from $27 million 2006 to $43.95 

million in 2007, and while the Merit acquisition certainly helped the surge, CEO 

Mark Roy says the company also saw 16% organic growth last year. 

✽ new in 2007: Roy says the Merit deal “firmly positioned ARPG in the Western 

Canadian market as well as new sales offices in the Montreal and Quebec markets.” 

Also, this year, Accolade was purchased by Canadian retailer Golftown, which has 

now created a corporate merchandising division headed up by Roy. The companies 

together now have more than 75 salespeople across Canada, and Golftown plans to 

place a corporate merchandise rep in each of its 39 locations. 

$44 

✽ Personnel shifts: Neil Piitz, Accolade’s president retired after the company was 

acquired by Golftown. 

✽ Top challenges: “Integration was the number one challenge for us in ’07,” Roy 

N/A N/A N/A $27 

says. “Managing rapid growth was second and limited space in our distribution center was third.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Roy says that 2008 started off slow, but “spring sales have rebounded and we are presently showing 10% growth 

over last year.” 

✽ Movie: The Mighty Canucks. 


MilliOns

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MilliOns 

MilliOns 

32 

N/A 

Merit industries inc. (31) 

(asi/268100) 

$31 

$39 

$42 

iPromoteU (n/a) 

33 (asi/232119) 

Sales growth of 45% between 2006 and 2007 has propelled iPromoteU into the Top 

40 for the first time. 

✽ 2007 results: Ross Silverstein, president and CEO of iPromoteU, says two factors 

contributed to the company’s growth last year: the fact that 157 new distributors 

affiliated with iPromoteU in calendar-year 2007 and the increased business from the 

company’s existing affiliates. 

✽ Personnel shifts: The company added Ken Purington as its director of affiliate relations 

and David Stolper as its director of operations. 

✽ Top challenges: “How to further accelerate the company’s growth so that we can 

achieve one of our goals of having an affiliate network of 1,000 experienced distributors 

as quickly as possible,” says Silverstein. 

✽ Outlook for 2008. Through the middle of May, iPromoteU was forecasting growth 

of about 30% and 2008 sales volume of more than $55 million. 

$44 

✽ Movie and actor: School of Ross, with Jack Black as Silverstein. 

34 

eCompanystore (37) 

(asi/185782) 

An industry company at the forefront of green product programs, Merit Industries’ growth 

in 2007 was mainly fueled by clients buying into its green way of doing business. 

✽ 2007 results: Sales grew 4% in 2007, up to $43.9 million from $42.2 million in 2006. 

Herbert Piller, president, says this was because Merit “concentrated on bigger companies 

and mainly on premium deals.” In addition it found a strong demand for green products 

such as trees, seeds and bamboo, he says. 

✽ new in 2007: Merit focused on more green items in 2007 and used sample mailings 

to larger accounts to draw more attention. “We’ve learned that green is the new red, 

white and blue,” Piller says. 

✽ Personnel shifts: More sales associates were added to handle the increased volume. 

✽ Top challenges: The biggest challenge for Merit is keeping the momentum going, 

Piller says. The company is going to continue to target large companies with its mailings 

to spark sales. “People like to see product samples rather than just pictures and 

some words in a catalog,” he says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: So far, 2008 is up 15%-18% over 2007, Piller says. 

MilliOns 

N/A N/A 

2007 started out strong for eCompanyStore and helped the company grow an impressive 26% over 

2006’s numbers. 

$23 

$28 

$32 

$34 

$43 

✽ 2007 results: From 2006 to 2007, eCompany- 

Store jumped from $34 million to $42.9 million in 

sales. This was mainly attributed to four new Fortune 

500 accounts. 

✽ new in 2007: In 2007 the company built up its 

creative services team, which did “outstanding 

work in collateral, product and Web site design,” 

says Craig Callaway, CEO. 

✽ Top challenges: “Maintaining margins in an environment 

where procurement managers continue to 

try to commoditize our business,” he says. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: First quarter 2007 was a 

record setter, and it is down in 2008 so far. But, “we 

are on our business plan and looking forward to a 

rebounding economy,” Callaway says. 

$18.2 

$29.8 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Craig Callaway, 

eCompanystore 

$43 

MOvie: 

David Amongst Goliaths 

MOvie sTar: 

Will Ferrell playing 

Callaway 


SOI 


Goldman Promotions (39) 

35 (asi/209700) 

Goldman Promotions enjoyed a successful 2007, acquiring a couple of small distributors 

that added to its 20% growth. And the growth attracted the attention of Halo/Lee 

Wayne, which acquired Goldman this past May. 

✽ 2007 results: In addition to the small acquisitions, Goldman also added a new branch 

office in Orlando, FL, new people and some company store programs that contributed 

to its growth from $33.1 million in 2006 to $39.7 million in 2007. 

✽ Personnel shifts: Susan young was added as the vice president of the Orlando office. 

✽ Top challenges: Technology was the top challenge for Goldman in 2007. “Trying to 

upgrade our software, that was always a challenge for us,” says Ken Goldman, chairman. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Commenting on Goldman’s recent acquisition by Halo/Lee 

Wayne, Goldman says, “We’re very happy to be a part of the Halo/Lee Wayne family 

and part of that is their technology. And they have a very similar culture to ours – we’re both Midwest companies and we’ve found there 

are a lot of similarities in how we operate.” 

MilliOns 

N/A N/A N/A 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Chuck Fandos, 

Gateway CDi 

MOvie: 

Speed To Market 

MOvie sTar: 

Speed Racer as Fandos. 


37 



MilliOns 

Positive Promotions (34) 

36 (asi/297370) 

Counselor estimates that Positive Promotions garnered $39.5 million in revenues in 

2007, which resulted in a flat year for the company’s North American ad specialty 

sales. While Nelson Taxel, the company’s president, won’t confirm or deny this estimate, 

it drops Positive Promotions from number 34 last year to number 36 this year. 

✽ about the company: Positive has been in business since 1947. The company’s 

strategy is to break its offerings up into market specialties, by showing specific sections 

on its Web site for specific promotional events (like Breast Cancer Awareness 

and Black History Month). 

Gateway CDi (38) 

(asi/202515) 

Gateway CDI had a strong year in 2007 with 14% 

growth, which the company attributes to its 

increased focus on special orders. The results helped 

Gateway move up one place on the Top 40 list. 

✽ 2007 results: Change was the name of the game 

in 2007. Gateway doubled the size of its sales team, 

improved its marketing and training resources 

and upgraded its technology, which among many 

things, allowed it to better track its business more 

strategically. 

✽ new in 2007: The reorganization of its management 

team had a big affect on performance last 

year, says Chuck Fandos, president: “For the first time, we developed strategic plans for the entire company 

and each department. We also flattened out the decision making process and gave each area strategic 

control of their plans. We feel we went from a company to an organization.” 

✽ Top challenges: Making the decision to change was huge in 2007, but so will be the evolution of the company. 

This year will be about adjusting to the changes while also dealing with potentially strong growth. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “We are optimistic for 2008 because we have become a better company with better vision and structure,” says Fandos. 

“We hope to see 5% growth, which is where we are tracking.” 

MilliOns 

$29 

$23 

$28 

$29 

$30 

$32 

$33 

$34 


$40

SOI 


MilliOns 

38 

norscot Group (35) 

(asi/284520) 

Norscot posted another strong year of growth in 2007 with an increase of 9% for $37.9 million in sales. 

Caliendo-savio Enterprises-CsE (40) 

39 (asi/155807) 

2007 found Caliendo-Savio Enterprises with a solid 10% increase in sales, which stemmed 

partially from the company’s continuing strategy of setting itself up as a “true marketing 

partner, similar to an agency, versus a ‘vendor,’ ” says Mark Ziskind, COO. 

✽ 2007 results: The jump from 2006’s $32.8 million to 2007’s $36.2 million was mostly 

from new business, but also revenue from repeat customers, Ziskind says. In addition, 

“The combination of our creativity and full-service offering provides a one-stop shopping 

experience for our clients,” he says. 

✽ new in 2007: In 2007 CSE added online awards programs for timely recognition and 

employee motivation and online distributor imprint programs. It also emphasized selling 

the breadth of its products and services. 

40 

Promo shop (n/a) 

(asi/300446) 


✽ new in 2007: Norscot added several new field staff to attract and service new 

accounts, as well as to build deeper relationships with existing accounts. They expanded 

their manufactured product lines and upgraded their online ordering capabilities to 

serve customers better and stepped up promotional efforts, including trade shows 

✽ Top challenges: “Cost containment was and continues to be a major focus here at 

Norscot,” says Scott Stern, president and CEO. “Because our product mix includes our 

own manufactured line, as well as the full array of promotional products, raw material 

prices can have a huge impact on our business. Add to this the increased cost of transportation, 

and it’s doubly clear why cost containment is critical.” 

✽ Outlook for 2008: “We’re tracking well ahead of last year for the first part of 2008,” 

says Stern. “Increases seem to be across all product areas. Some of the robustness has 

been driven by special events that several of our clients have had or will have in 2008, 

but a significant amount of the increase has been core business as well. We expect to 

finish well for the year.” 

✽ Top challenges: Attracting top sales talent continued to be a challenge for CSE in 2007, 

as well as finding high quality/low cost offshore manufacturing partners. It’s facing the same challenges so far in 2008, in addition to controlling 

the rising cost of freight. 

MilliOns 

N/A 

$24 

$31 

$35 

$38 

✽ Outlook for 2008: So far 2008 is looking very good for CSE, showing an increase over 2007, Ziskind says. 

N/A N/A 

$24 

$28 

$30 

MilliOns 

$30 

✽ 2007 results: Sales grew 10% – from $27.6 million 

in 2006 to $30.3 million in 2007. 

$31 

✽ Top challenges: Promo Shop started feeling 

pressure from the cost of oil in 2007 and into 

2008. Product compliance also started to develop 

as a factor in the market. “We do a lot of business 

with some very well known brands at which 

time we needed to make sure we had all of our 

paperwork and all of our compliance initiatives in 

order,” says Memo Kahan, president. 

✽ Outlook for 2008: Its revenues are up so far, 

compared with last year, Kahan says, and it’s also 

working with a new tech platform that is helping 

to streamline business processes. 

$32.5 

$33 

MoviE stAr 

wAnnABE 

Memo Kahan, 

Promoshop 

MOvie: 

300 

MOvie sTar: 

Andy Garcia 

as Kahan 

$36

Distributor Top 40 - Advertising Specialty Institute

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