Strategy July 01, 2022
Top 40 Distributors 2022
There’s competition at the top and good feelings all around after a much-anticipated rebound.
Amid the unprecedented turmoil for businesses in 2020 was this little nugget: the Top 40 distributors didn’t do so badly. In fact, as a group they only fell 5.8%. And so it makes sense that when the industry came rumbling back at a 12% clip in 2021, this year’s Top 40, with an 8.8% revenue increase, lagged behind. There was simply less ground to make up. But the details of these rankings are far from uniform with a sizable group shaking off the effects of the pandemic, while others were dealing with disappearing PPE sales and continued COVID headwinds. There’s intrigue at the bottom – where three new companies make their appearance – and at the top, with HALO Branded Solutions holding on to the number-one spot but 4imprint hot on its heels after a massive bounce-back year. The race to become the first billion-dollar distributor just got very real once again.
| Company | 2021 sales (millions) | 2020 sales (millions) | Difference | Ranking change | 2019 sales (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HALO Branded Solutions | $822.0 | $765.7 | 7.4% | same | $787.0 |
| 2 | 4imprint | $773.7 | $549.9 | 40.7% | 1 | $839.3 |
| 3 | Staples Promotional Products (E) | $740.1 | $643.6 | 15.0% | 1 | $601.6 |
| 4 | Proforma | $540.8 | $538.5 | 0.4% | same | $501.0 |
| 5 | Cimpress (E) | $464.0 | $429.3 | 8.1% | 1 | $477.0 |
| 6 | BDA | $338.5 | $477.4 | -29.1% | 1 | $494.0 |
| 7 | HH Global | $318.0 | $260.0 | 22.3% | same | $149.3 |
| 8 | American Solutions for Business | $244.3 | $238.3 | 2.5% | same | $202.0 |
| 9 | Geiger | $243.7 | $206.0 | 18.3% | 1 | $236.3 |
| 10 | Taylor Promotional Products | $240.3 | $215.4 | 11.6% | 1 | $243.1 |
| 11 | BAMKO | $215.8 | $193.9 | 11.3% | same | $108.6 |
| 12 | IMS | $202.1 | $185.0 | 9.2% | same | $196.8 |
| 13 | iPROMOTEu | $180.0 | $165.0 | 9.1% | 1 | $178.0 |
| 14 | Cintas (E) | $177.0 | $163.8 | 8.1% | 1 | $181.4 |
| 15 | DiscountMugs.com (E) | $172.3 | $172.3 | 0.0% | 2 | $215.4 |
| 16 | Nadel | $167.4 | $116.4 | 43.8% | 3 | $154.9 |
| 17 | AIA Corporation | $124.7 | $146.2 | -14.7% | 1 | $210.7 |
| 18 | Deluxe/Safeguard | $120.4 | $129.6 | -7.1% | 1 | $136.0 |
| 19 | Overture Promotions | $114.0 | $126.9 | -10.2% | 1 | $81.7 |
| 20 | Fully Promoted | $109.5 | $115.0 | -4.8% | same | $105.6 |
| 21 | Positive Promotions | $102.0 | $97.2 | 4.9% | same | $90.9 |
| 22 | Corporate Imaging Concepts | $99.8 | $87.0 | 14.7% | 1 | $87.0 |
| 23 | Kaeser & Blair | $94.8 | $92.0 | 3.0% | 1 | $124.3 |
| 24 | Touchstone | $92.0 | $72.5 | 26.9% | 2 | $48.5 |
| 25 | Boundless Network | $88.8 | $80.3 | 10.6% | 1 | $100.3 |
| 26 | G&G Outfitters | $78.0 | $77.0 | 1.3% | 2 | $96.0 |
| 27 | Myron (E) | $74.3 | $74.3 | 0.0% | 2 | $82.6 |
| 28 | ePromos Promotional Products | $72.0 | $70.0 | 2.9% | 1 | $61.0 |
| 29 | The Vernon Company | $65.5 | $61.9 | 5.8% | same | $80.6 |
| 30 | BrandVia Alliance | $63.7 | $43.0 | 48.1% | 4 | $71.2 |
| 31 | PromoShop Inc. | $55.8 | $39.9 | 39.8% | 6 | $52.4 |
| 32 | Zorch | $52.5 | $39.3 | 33.6% | 4 | $54.1 |
| 33 | Kotis Design | $49.3 | $36.4 | 35.4% | 7 | $47.9 |
| 34 | Stran Promotional Solutions | $47.3 | $46.9 | 0.9% | 2 | $31.7 |
| 35 | Summit Group | $45.5 | $47.3 | -3.8% | 4 | $66.0 |
| 36 | The Artcraft Group | $44.0 | $39.5 | 11.4% | 2 | $53.5 |
| 37 | Genumark Inc. | $42.4 | $34.6 | 22.5% | NR | $50.2 |
| 38 | Quality Logo Products | $38.6 | $33.3 | 15.9% | NR | $45.3 |
| 39 | SomethingInked | $38.5 | $26.0 | 48.1% | NR | $28.0 |
| 40 | Drive Marketing | $37.0 | $40.6 | -8.9% | 5 | $43.7 |
Note: All revenues represent North American promo sales.
E: Estimate;
EG: Estimate W/Guidance;
NR: Not Ranked (new to list)