Fastest-Growing Promotional Products Companies Represented on the Inc. 5000

Inc. Magazine published the Inc. 500|5000 list of fastest-growing companies last week, and several promotional products businesses were represented. The highest-ranking industry company to appear on the list was Aztec Awards, a San Diego distributor that came in at number 229. USB provider iClick, Seattle, was the highest ranking supplier at 1,143.

More than 25 promotional products industry companies appeared on the 2011 Inc. 500|5000 list, which ranks U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit companies based on their percentage of revenue growth from 2007 to 2010. Companies that went public or were acquired before December 31, 2010 are ineligible for consideration.

iClick first appeared on the Inc. list in 2010, and has had a three-year growth of 261 percent. "We continued our laser-focus on customer service, making sure that our existing customers had absolutely no reason to take their business elsewhere; we fine-tuned some of our promotional programs; and despite weakness in the wider world, we maintained our marketing spend," said Lon McGowan, CEO and founder of iClick.

Other suppliers on the list include National Gift Card (#1340), Raining Rose (#2445) and SnugZ USA (#4749).

"When I first heard the news I was absolutely shocked," said Brandon Mackay, CEO of SnugZ USA, who recently acquired 100 percent of the Salt Lake City-based company. "I could not believe that our little company from Utah was running with the big boys."

"Our success is two fold. One, we have the best and most loyal distributors out there and two, I've said this a million times, our staff is hands down the hardest working, intuitive and most forward thinking crew in the business, period," Mackay added.

Distributors also had a very strong showing on the 2011 rankings. Breaking into the Inc. 500 is Aztec Awards, marking their first appearance on the list. "Prior to 2006, Aztec Awards sold thousands of products to thousands of customers, and it was unable to grow," said Thomas Phan of Aztec Awards. "With the new leadership team, one of the first decisions we made was to eliminate 90 percent of our products ... and focus on catering to a very specific niche of the corporate market only."