Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) increased annual sales about 11% in 2017 to $174.5 million, the company reported this week. Last year, the Massachusetts-based firm also eclipsed $1 billion in total promotional product sales since the company’s inception, Founder/CEO Ross Silverstein said in a letter to iPROMOTEu affiliates.

“(We) enjoyed yet another record year,” Silverstein wrote. “iPROMOTEu continues its steady climb up the list of the industry’s largest distributors.”

In 2017, iPROMOTEu’s average order size stayed steady at approximately $1,200, but the number of orders processed jumped 13.2% to 146,100. “This is equivalent to 577 orders per business day, 72 orders per hour, and roughly one order every 50 seconds,” Silverstein noted.

Currently, iPROMOTEu’s network consists of 623 “Independent Distributor Affiliates” throughout the United States and Canada. When salespeople who work for affiliates are factored in, iPROMOTEu has a total North American selling network of 1,116 distributors and salespeople. That number was reached with the addition of 77 independent distributors, or experienced former salespeople, who affiliated with iPROMOTEu in 2017.

“It is particularly noteworthy that -- except for an unusual outlier in 2016 -- the average annual order volume among all new affiliates this past year was the highest in the company’s history – just under $400,000 in annual promotional product sales,” Silverstein said.

In the letter to affiliates, Silverstein highlighted a number of important developments that occurred at iPROMOTEu in 2017. These included the addition of Gary Goodhart and Guy DuPuis, who joined as directors of affiliate sales development. Other highlights included the successful launch of the “affiliate services team.”

Also, iPROMOTEu reported that it made donations to 52 distinct charitable organizations selected by iPROMOTEu staff. Rather than identifying a single charity to support, iPROMOTEu allowed each employee to designate a charity of its choosing to which iPROMOTEu made a donation on behalf of the employee.

Going forward, Silverstein is bullish about iPROMOTEu’s future, saying growth prospects remain strong. “While continued growth is an important objective for iPROMOTEu,” he added, “our top priority is and always will be our existing affiliates. We want to be certain that our existing IDAs are and remain pleased with their decision to have affiliated with iPROMOTEu. Our affiliates are our customers, and I am committed to doing all that I can to ensure that they are and remain happy customers.”

iPROMOTEu ranked 13th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors by revenue in the North American promotional products industry.