What do Patrick Mahomes and Kevin Lyons-Tarr have in common?

Both the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs and the CEO of 4imprint (PPAI 107200, Platinum) have led their respective organizations in back-to-back, stand-out years as the best among their competitors.

The Wisconsin-headquartered distributor – located closer to Green Bay Packers country – has been named the No. 1 distributor in the PPAI 100 rankings for the second consecutive year. There has yet to be a PPAI 100 list that 4imprint has not sat at the very top of.

“We’re pleased to be named to the PPAI 100 again for 2023,” Lyons-Tarr says. “Knowing that the list looks at multiple dimensions of what constitutes success makes it unique and valuable.”

It’s not that it didn’t have stiff competition. HALO, another household name in promo and PPAI 100’s No. 2 distributor in 2024, was in a race with 4imprint to become the first distributor to reach $1 billion in sales back in 2022. Both companies actually reached the milestone although 4imprint achieved a higher total revenue.

This year, Revenue and Growth once again played a part in 4imprint’s No. 1 ranking. In 2023, it comfortably passed $1 billion, reporting a total of $1.3 billion in sales.

A publicly traded company that was already a force in promo sales entering the decade, 4imprint has only extended its lead over competitors since then. The distributor has grown by 137% since 2020, a growth rate that begs one to wonder what sort of heights the company has the potential to reach in the next few years.

The company reported a 32% bump in profit for 2023.

“The year marked another year of strong growth for us as the team did a great job executing our strategy to take full advantage of the pandemic recovery,” Lyons-Tarr says. “And although the rate of growth slowed later in the year as the macro backdrop softened, we continued to make investments that strengthen the business for the future.”

 

It should be no surprise that Online Presence was one of the high marks received by 4imprint, a company that takes a digital-first approach, which largely eliminates the need for individual salespeople. This was – and still is – a disruptive model but has been emulated by other companies and has likely influenced 4imprint’s belief in leveraging online capabilities for branded success.

Back when the company was founded in 1985, though, the company’s model was in some ways similar, but it was catalogs that served as the medium for success in those days. A lot has changed since then including problems facing the world and environment, and 4imprint has once again earned a high mark in Responsibility.

Whether distributors are able to challenge 4imprint in the coming years – there are plenty of impressive companies with big plans – it’s clear that its current spot at the top is well-earned.