{"id":2659,"date":"2016-06-06T13:38:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T13:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asi2.wpenginepowered.com\/uncategorized\/counselors-state-of-the-industry-reports-record-breaking-sales\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T15:47:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T19:47:18","slug":"counselors-state-of-the-industry-reports-record-breaking-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/counselors-state-of-the-industry-reports-record-breaking-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Counselor’s “State of the Industry” Reports Record-Breaking Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top 40 suppliers report highest revenue ever in sales of promotional products<\/p>\n

TREVOSE, PA \u2013 July 29, 2014 \u2013 <\/strong>Counselor<\/em>\u00ae<\/sup> magazine\u2019s annual \u201cState of the Industry\u201d reports distributors hit record sales in 2013, while the top 40 suppliers in the promotional products industry exceeded $5 billion in revenues for the first time.<\/p>\n

The Advertising Specialty Institute\u00ae<\/sup> (ASI) publishes Counselor <\/em>magazine, which annually surveys the buyers and sellers of logoed and branded promotional products for its special State of the Industry issue, available in print and online at www.asicentral.com\/soi each July. The 2014 report, considered the most important and influential in the promotional products industry, analyzes key sales, marketing and operational metrics used throughout the industry.<\/p>\n

According to this year\u2019s report, the top 40 suppliers and distributors in the industry exerted growing influence over the marketplace amid predictions of more major consolidations within the next five years. \u201cI expect apparel suppliers will continue to consolidate and large distributors will create unique partnerships the likes of which the industry hasn\u2019t seen before,\u201d said Andy Cohen, editor of the Jesse H. Neal Award-winning Counselor<\/em> magazine. \u201cIf you can\u2019t beat competitors, join \u2019em!\u201d<\/p>\n

Low-cost, high-return promotional products, or ad specialties, are usually given away for free by companies, schools, hospitals, sports teams, organizations and more to advertise a brand or event or to thank employees or clients.<\/p>\n

As a whole, 2013 was a good year for the promotional products industry, the report concluded. The overall industry health for distributors improved for the fourth year in a row, with distributors growing sales by 5.7% to reach a record $20.5 billion. The 40 largest distributor companies in the market hit nearly $4.4 billion in sales, accounting for 21.5% of total industry revenues, and an increase of 3.9% over the year before.<\/p>\n

At the same time, data shows the profit pressure distributors face and customer trends that include more price shopping, more interest in additional services and more safety and compliance inquiries.<\/p>\n

Industry predictors quoted in the annual issue say that while product staples like T-shirts and pens will remain strong, sales of branded technology items like USB cards should increase dramatically in the near future as more millennials enter the workforce. Other predictions: The average order time for suppliers will significantly decrease in today\u2019s \u201cneed it now\u201d marketplace, and 90% of the top 40 apparel suppliers will offer in-house decoration in five years.<\/p>\n

Highlights from Counselor<\/em>\u2019s 2014 survey include:<\/p>\n