Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (asi/109480) increased revenue in 2018 to $194.9 million, an 11% rise over the prior year. That’s according to an announcement the Neenah, WI-based firm made this week that also stated AIA is aiming for topline revenue of $210 million in 2019.

Matt Gresge, CEO, AIA

With reported sales of $175.4 million in 2017, AIA ranked 11^th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the promotional products industry. The 2018 sales tally of nearly $195 million would bump AIA one spot up the list to tenth, just behind IMS/Group II Communications’ (asi/215310) $209.4 million. Still, AIA’s upward movement is hypothetical; it doesn’t account for at-this-point-unknown gains or losses by other leading distributors. It does, however, provide some additional context on AIA’s progress.

Speaking with Counselor, AIA’s CEO Matt Gresge said that 2018’s revenue rise was the result of organic growth combined with adding new owners to the firm’s network, including the addition of Something Inked (asi/466856). “AIA had 74 owners who grew sales 10% or more between 2017 and 2018, and another 34 who grew sales between 1% and 10%,” Gresge told Counselor.

AIA hosted a Red Carpet Celebration at Celebrity Cars of Las Vegas to commemorate the strong 2018. Attendees included AIA-affiliated promo pros Beth Brackett, Imagewear Promotions; Suzan Pauley, Promotions N' Motion; Cathy Verghage, Casta Marketing; Ryan Jones, Promotions N' Motion; Debbee Poche, Promotions N' Motion; and Billie Dunn, Promotions N' Motion.

In all, AIA’s network consists of more than 300 independent distributor businesses. To help achieve the $210 million revenue goal for 2019, AIA aims to add at least 20 new distributors. Those prospective partners will find a robust infrastructure to support their growth – something from which current owners are already benefitting, said Gresge. Last year, for instance, AIA focused on building out its leadership team, improving business practices and processes, and adopting an entrepreneurial operating system – all of which helped foster the organic growth.

“In 2018, we took great strides to be a catalyst for change in the face of a rapidly-changing industry,” Gresge said in a statement. “We prioritized working smarter to accomplish more. We did that by hiring smart and committed leaders; developing a cloud-based platform to help owners do more in less time; prioritizing our Owner Success Management program to provide customized sales and business coaching; and investing in critical data analysis to help owners make educated decisions, specifically when it comes to sales planning, anticipating inputs and outputs, and increasing gross margins on goods sold.”

With the foundation firmly in place, Gresge is confident about AIA’s 2019. “We’re firmly focused on supporting AIA owners in the growth of their sales and gross margin,” he told Counselor.