As first reported Monday in a Counselor Breaking News Alert, Top 40 distributor ePromos Promotional Products (asi/188515) has acquired certain assets of Motivators, including Motivators.com and its customer base. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Per the agreement, Motivators and its staff will remain in their current Westbury, NY headquarters and continue to operate under the Motivators.com name. Motivators’ President/CEO Ken Laffer will stay on as a consultant during the transition, ePromos President Steve Paradiso told Counselor. Last year, Motivators had affiliated with Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119), but that affiliation has ended, Paradiso said.

“We’re very excited about this deal and we feel like this aligns perfectly with our market strategy,” said Jason Robbins, CEO of ePromos. “Our staff, resources and technology give us an edge over other firms and we remain well positioned to compete and thrive in the online space.”

ePromos has grown into one of the largest web-driven distributors in the promo market, reporting 2015 North American ad specialty sales of nearly $50 million. Meanwhile, Motivators was founded in 1979 as a traditional distributorship, but went on to be one of the first industry firms to become e-commerce enabled.

Nonetheless, Paradiso told Counselor that the high cost of account acquisition, among other issues, has made it increasingly difficult for small and mid-sized web-based promo players to compete – issues Motivators ran into. Even so, Paradiso says Motivators has a strong brand name. He also characterized Motivators as having an “exciting account base,” which includes coveted clients ePromos would consider enterprise level. As such, ePromos believes it can use its efficient platform and related marketing strengths to help maximize the potential in Motivators.

“We can take advantage of what we have built with ePromos to grow the Motivators brand,” says Paradiso, noting that ePromos could consider future acquisitions of other web-based promo companies. “If the right opportunity arises, we would definitely be interested,” he said.

ePromos ranks 31st on Counselor’s most recent list of the Top 40 largest distributors in the branded merchandise industry as ranked by 2015 North American promotional product sales. The company has two divisions. ePromos.com serves businesses through its proprietary website and more than 60 brand consultants. Meanwhile, ePromos Brand Solutions is an agency that provides customized merchandise and fulfilment solutions to enterprise clients.