Counselor Top 40 distributor Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BDA, asi/137616) has been grabbing headlines with recent international acquisitions in the merch space.

Now, the Woodinville, WA-headquartered global branded merchandise firm has completed a domestic M&A deal that executives said will help significantly bolster business.

On Wednesday Dec. 4, BDA announced that it has acquired SwagUp (asi/340527), a New Jersey-based distributorship that offers what executives described as a streamlined platform for creating, automating and distributing branded merchandise. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Jay Deutsch, BDA (asi/137616), and Michael Martocci, SwagUP (asi/340527)

SwagUp launched in 2017 and has worked with a bevy of household-name clients, including Nasdaq, Logitech, Coca-Cola, Crunchbase, Walmart and Northrop Grumman. The firm’s technology platform enables such end-clients to create, manage and ship swag with enterprise-level distribution, executives said.

Jay Deutsch, CEO and co-founder of BDA, said that SwagUp’s entrepreneurial spirit and tech-first approach make the company “both a strategic and natural addition to our BDA portfolio and growth plans.”

“SwagUp and BDA share the same commitment to delivering incredible branded merchandise to customers – white-glove service, seamlessly delivered and supported by the very best technology solutions,” said Deutsch, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of the most influential people in the promotional products industry.

SwagUp ranked 23rd on Inc. magazine’s list of the fastest-growing companies in the United States in 2021. The firm again made the list in 2023. Michael Martocci, SwagUp’s founder and chief swag officer, appeared on Forbes’ 2021 30 Under 30 list.

“We look forward to unlocking new levels of engagement with customers and employees with Jay and the team.” Michael Martocci, SwagUp (asi/340527)

SwagUp said its platform enables clients to create online stores – which the firm dubs Swag Shops. It also allows for real-time inventory tracking and management while enabling the use of redeem pages to automate shipments. SwagUp’s related service offerings include design, inventorying/warehousing on behalf of clients, assembling and packing orders, and storing leftover swag.

Martocci said SwagUP has long admired BDA for the Counselor Top 40 firm’s “unique combination of scale and entrepreneurial spirt. With the resources of BDA now behind us, we will continue to elevate this process so that we can bring a best-in-class experience to enterprise customers, and remove friction from the distribution and ordering process. We look forward to unlocking new levels of engagement with customers and employees with Jay and the team.”

“SwagUp and BDA share the same commitment to delivering incredible branded merchandise to customers – white-glove service, seamlessly delivered and supported by the very best technology solutions.” Jay Deutsch, BDA (asi/137616)

BDA has been busy making notable acquisitions. In June, the firm completed the purchase of The Great Branding Company, a sports-merchandise provider headquartered in the United Kingdom whose clients include some of the biggest names in European professional athletics.

BDA’s acquisition of The Great Branding Company came about a year after the firm acquired large Germany-based promotional products distributor ipm | gruppe.

Opinion: 2024 has been the #promoproducts market's most momentous year ever for mergers and acquisitions. I explain why I think that is -- and what's behind all the deal-making -- in this commentary.https://t.co/v9Mj3jLXQV

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) November 8, 2024

Deutsch and company have also been forging new high-profile partnerships of late. In September, the company announced that it will serve as the Seattle Seahawks' official branded-merchandise partner in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Then, in October, BDA inked a new partnership with the Women’s National Soccer League, the top women’s professional league in the United States.

Based on reported 2023 North American promotional product revenue of $452 million, BDA ranked sixth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The firm has been in business for more than 40 years, providing marketing, branded merchandise, e-commerce and fulfillment solutions for sports organizations, entertainment industry clients and Fortune 1000 enterprises, among others.

It’s been a momentous year for mergers and acquisitions in the promotional products industry. In addition to the abundance of deals, there’ve been several high-profile blockbuster acquisitions that involved one Counselor Top 40 company buying another, including the second largest supplier in the market, Counselor Top 40 firm S&S Activewear (asi/84358), buying the industry’s third largest supplier, fellow Top 40er alphabroder (asi/34063).