February 2, 2010

INDUSTRY NEWS

Haiti Clothing Supplier
Resumes Operations
Island Apparel, S.A, based in Port Au Prince, Haiti, has resumed operations allowing more than 1,000 employees to return to work, according to Cintas Corporation, (UPIC: CINTP001) a Cincinnati, Ohio-based distributor. Cintas and other customers are assisting Island Apparel in establishing alternative transportation logistics to maintain operations.

"We were deeply concerned about them upon hearing about the earthquake," says Scott Farmer, CEO of Cintas. Island Apparel’s facility sustained minimal damage during the January 12 earthquake. Since then, the plant’s management team has been able to complete repairs, secure fuel and reestablish operations.

New shipments of raw fabric and finished goods in and out of the facility will continue to be difficult for several weeks as the country’s infrastructure continues to rebuild, but Island Apparel has enough fabric and orders to keep its employees working for some time.

Budgets For Incentives Increase
In 2010
About one-third of companies plan to increase their budgets for merchandise/non-cash incentive programs in 2010, according to a Pulse survey released last week by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) in New York.

Another third surveyed anticipate budgets for such incentive programs will remain unchanged, while the remaining companies noted a decrease in merchandise award values for 2010 programs.

Click here to read more.

PPPC Convention
Draws Strong Attendance
The 2010 Annual PPPC National Convention in Toronto, January 22-25, had an "excellent" turnout, according to Ed Ahad, PPPC’s new president and CEO.

"We had close to 600 brand new visitors to the show this year, and more than 1,300 end users on the third day," says Ahad. "Sunday was a great day and the suppliers saw a lot of action."

Mark Wingrove, CAS, the new PPPC chair and a regional sales manager in Canada and the northeast United States for BIC Graphic USA (UPIC: BIC) says the last day was "phenomenal."

Click here to read more.

Pacific Coast Golf Partners With The Hunt Group
Torrance, California-based supplier Pacific Coast Golf (UPIC: PCGLINE) has entered into a partnership agreement with The Hunt Group (UPIC: HuntGrp), a multi-line rep agency located in Leawood, Kansas.

"Over the past year Pacific Coast Golf has gained tremendous traction in the West and now we look forward to expanding our reach into the Midwest. I feel the partnership with Lewie and Joan Hunt will provide us with the organic growth we are looking for in 2010," says Mark Hobbs, CEO of Pacific Coast Golf.

Staples Hiring In Northwest Iowa 
Distributor Staples Promotional Products (UPIC: AMER0116), based in Overland Park, Kansas, has said it will add 40 to 50 new jobs to two cities in northwest Iowa during the next six months. The jobs will be in customer service, distribution and decoration including embroidery and screen printing.

Most of the jobs will be in Orange City, Iowa, with the rest in Marcus, Iowa, where cutting and embroidery is done, according to Larry Sanson, vice president of operations. The jobs will be filled as the company closes a facility in St. Louis, Sanson says. The company employs 525 people in the area.

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PEOPLE NEWS

Dallas, Texas-based Senator Promotional Group USA, Inc. (UPIC: SPGUSA) has hired new sales team members Melissa Handy, LeAnn Rankin, Victoria L. Watson and Ronda VanBuren.

Parsippany, New Jersey-based supplier MediaTree (UPIC: tni) has added Steven Komarnitsky and Jillian Riegger as account managers. Komarnitsky's sales territory includes California, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii. Riegger’s sales territory includes Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas.
 
Sterling Cut Glass Co., Inc. (UPIC: STERL881), an Erlanger, Kentucky-based supplier, has hired Vince Bagwell of Bagwell Advertising as a rep in Kentucky and Tennessee, and John Browning of The Browning Group as a rep in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico and Colorado.

Greenville, Ohio-based supplier Bags by Troy (UPIC: TROYS067) has hired Richard Waldinger as a national sales consultant. Bags by Troy/Troy Sunshade Company also has hired Brian Ketterlin of Bridge Marketing for its Southwest division; Tina Jameson, Bo Turner and Dianne Watson of Brad Watson & Associates for its Southeast division; and Jason Thor for its Northeast division. 

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

Target Facebook Campaign Supports Kids In Need Foundation
Target, a national sponsor of the Kids In Need (KIN) Network of Resource Centers, has chosen KIN to receive a portion of  $1 million gathered through a Facebook campaign in support of education that runs until February 14. Target’s Facebook page will allow users to decide how to allocate the $1 million donation among five different charities.

Since 2007, PPAI has supported the Kids in Need Foundation through product and cash donations and product harvesting at its tradeshows.

For more information on the promotion, visit http://kinf.org/superlove.html.

Newton Employees Raise Money
For Red Cross Efforts In Haiti
Employees from Newton, Iowa-based distributor Newton Manufacturing Co. (UPIC:NEWTON) responded to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti by donating more than $600 to the Red Cross’ relief efforts. Most of the contributions were a result of popular casual days in which employees paid $1 for the right to wear jeans to the office.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

The Wow! card, a 24/7 personal concierge service made for banking customers by Carrollton, Texas-based Maestro, was featured in the January 2010 issue of Community Banker Magazine.  

CONTRIBUTE TO PPB

Do Nice Guys Finish First?
We're told to "be nice" as children, and even as adults we may be told to "smile." But does being nice work in the real world? Does it get you ahead in business? Is being nice related to success? Where do we draw the line between being nice and being realistic? If you have any thoughts on this subject, we'd love to hear them. E-mail Brittany Glenn at brittanyglenn11@gmail.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming story.

Kick Off A Culinary Promotion
The April issue of PPB is stuffed with kitchen products including cooking utensils, jar openers, food storage containers, measuring cups and spoons, bottle openers, wine openers, wine glasses, serving trays and oven mitts. Get your kitchen items on the menu by sending descriptions and high-resolution images to Audrey Sellers by February 5 for possible inclusion. 

April PPB Has Tees For All
From tanks and long-sleeve to short-sleeve and V-neck, turn to the April issue of PPB for t-shirts of all varieties. We’re looking for men's, ladies' and youth tees, so submit yours to Audrey Sellers for consideration. February 5 is the deadline to send apparel descriptions and high-resolution images. 

INSIDE PPB

Together We're Making An Impact On Washington
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." A year has passed and it is still appropriate to quote Charles Dickens. It would be unfair to say we have come full circle, but we are experiencing positive signs of economic improvement. We still face tighter budgets, increased government regulation and legislative scrutiny, but we are far more familiar with these waters than we were 12 months ago.

A Reason For Optimism
The U.S. economy is finally showing improvement as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and U.S. Industrial Production. The news is both encouraging and consistent with a forecast made last summer at PPAI’s North American Leadership Conference.

Have Products, Will Travel
Though it may seem that fewer travelers are boarding planes and hitting the highways, the $770 billion travel industry is booming--and is projected to grow even larger in 2010, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A distributor asks: "Is it a good idea to send out a company report card to clients and ask for their feedback? I'd like to know if they're satisfied with our services and what we could do to serve them better, but I don’t want to open a whole can of worms about pricing or services we're not equipped to offer right now."

What's your answer? E-mail answers along with your name, title and company name to Question@ppai.org by February 15 for possible inclusion in the April issue of PPB magazine.

Answers to this month’s question are in. Click here to read advice on how to deal with a competitor who is calling on your clients.