HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000), the largest distributor by revenue in the North American promotional products industry, has named Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) as the company’s 2021 Supplier of the Year and Charles Duggan of Goldstar (asi/73295) as its 2021 Supplier Representative of the Year.

CJ Schmidt is CEO of Hit Promotional Products – HALO’s 2021 Supplier of the Year. Charles Duggan of Goldstar is HALO’s 2021 Supplier Representative of the Year.

More than 1,000 HALO account executives and support team members voted on which company and individual should win the awards. In the end, Hit, a Top 40 supplier, and Duggan, a national and strategic accounts manager and ASI’s 2020 Supplier Salesperson of the Year, garnered top marks.

“Our sales grew in 2021 in one of the most difficult supply chain environments we have ever experienced because we could rely heavily on key partners like Hit and Charles,” said Terry McGuire, HALO’s senior vice president of supplier relations. “Collaboration with our HALO Preferred Suppliers created success for our account executives and satisfaction for our clients.”

CJ Schmidt, CEO of Hit and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, expressed similar sentiments.

“In one of the most challenging years the industry has ever experienced, this award reinforces the spirit of collaboration and problem-solving that we enjoy with a key customer like HALO,” Schmidt said. “It’s an honor for the Hit team.”

In 2021, Goldstar’s sales to HALO increased nearly 60%. HALO executives said that was thanks to Duggan. Still, the industry veteran deflected praise, saying it was a team effort.

“The award goes to the entire Goldstar team,” Duggan said. “We worked closely with HALO to find every way to help them grow their sales overall, and with Goldstar.”

HALO CEO Marc Simon said the firm’s preferred suppliers like Hit and Goldstar are essential to success. “We rely heavily on the partnership with this elite group to continue to grow our business regardless of the challenges the market presents,” Simon said.

With reported North American promotional product revenue of $765.7 million, HALO Branded Solutions ranked first on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.