Distributor sales of promotional products tumbled for the second consecutive year, according to PPAI’s just-released 2009 Annual Estimate of Distributor Sales. Distributors have reported 2009 sales at $15,638,571,468, a 13.61-percent decline over 2008 sales.

The study was conducted exclusively for PPAI by Prof. Richard A. Nelson, Ph.D., at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University and Rick Ebel, principal of Glenrich Business Studies.

Last year’s study reported 2008 sales at $18,101,298,808, the first decline in several years, and followed a record sales year in 2007.

“As most of us expected, 2009 was a tough year for distributors and suppliers,” says PPAI President and CEO Steve Slagle, CAE. “A 13.6-percent drop in sales shouldn't be surprising when you're in the worst economy since the 1930s. For many other media, it was worse; newspaper advertising, for example, was down more than 28 percent. Yet, many members are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. An uptick in this year's first quarter sales reported by industry firms seems to be carrying over into April. 2010 may not be a great year, but it’s certainly better than 2009.”

Watch for more details in next Tuesday’s PPB Newslink. The full study report, including distributor reaction and top-selling product categories, will be published in the July issue of PPB magazine.

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