Top 40 distributor BAMKO (asi/131431) increased sales to nearly $20.4 million during the first quarter of 2019 – a 9% rise over the same quarter last year.

That’s according to a Thursday-released earnings report from the Los Angeles-based firm’s parent company, Superior Group of Companies. “We continue to see strong growth at BAMKO,” said Superior CEO Michael Benstock.

In a financial filing, Superior said it could make more acquisitions in the promotional products industry through BAMKO, which acquired former Top 40 distributor Tangerine Promotions and promo firm Public Identity in 2017. “We believe that BAMKO has well developed systems and processes that can serve as a platform for additional acquisitions that we expect to complete in this highly fragmented market,” Superior said in the filing.

Michael Benstock, Superior Group

Of late, BAMKO has engineered a series of high-profile sales wins. There was a successful “swag drop” sweepstakes for yogurt brand Chobani that garnered considerable media attention. There was “pancake wear” for household name restaurant chain IHOP. And, there was a branded merchandise line for reality TV star/accountability coach Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.

Additionally, BAMKO produced a notable victory last autumn when it beat out other Top 40 firms to hire Jill Albers as director of client success. Albers, a sales leader known throughout the promo industry, is on Counselor’s Power 50 – a definitive ranking of the most influential people in the promotional products market. BAMKO also recently debuted CORE, a 4th-Gen order processing system that executives believe will give the firm a distinct competitive advantage.

“We are in the advertising business, not the products business,” BAMKO’s Joshua White, general counsel and SVP of strategic partnerships, told Counselor. “Our goal is not just to sell some product. It’s to provide exponential value through a multi-channel marketing campaign.”

Joshua White, BAMKO

BAMKO’s sales gain was part of a first quarter in which Superior increased total company sales to almost $86.6 million, an 18.4% rise over the same quarter the prior year. Superior shares were up nearly 2% Thursday morning following the release of the financial data.

Nonetheless, Superior’s total net income dipped in the first quarter, falling from $2.45 million in Q1 2018 to $2.37 million in Q1 2019. Diluted earnings per share were flat year-over-year at $0.16. Basic EPS was down a cent to $0.16 from 2018’s $0.17.

The slip in net income appears to be a result, in part, of increased costs related to products sold and selling/administrative expenses. Rising pension costs and accelerating interest expenses also dragged on Superior’s earnings.

“During this quarter, we started the construction of our second manufacturing facility in Haiti, which is scheduled for completion this summer,” Benstock noted. “We also initiated our multi-year modernization initiative at our keystone distribution center in Eudora, AR, as well as our center supporting CID in Dallas. Our investments in these initiatives are designed to generate cost efficiencies, improve working capital usage, and allow us to better serve the needs of our customers.”

With reported 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $79.9 million, BAMKO ranked 25th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.