Charlotte, NC-based Top 40 promotional products distributor A Brand Company (asi/141964/145177) has entered a foreclosure sale that will see certain of its assets purchased by New York City-headquartered The Sourcing Group (TSG).

As part of the foreclosure sale, A Brand Company and other of its assets under the BrandAlliance-US umbrella, including BrandAlliance, LLC, Global Direct of N.C., LLC, and Branded Business Support, LLC, will enter a wind-down process using, in part, the anticipated proceeds from any remaining assets from the foreclosure. Creditors of any BrandAlliance entities may contact Gordon Lewis of Altman and Company LLC at 781-341-5170 or galewis3@altmanandcompany.com.

A Brand Company is the second Top 40 firm to close in the last year. Former Top 40 supplier Heritage Sportswear entered liquidation in spring 2019.

A Brand Company’s North American promotional product revenue declined 11.2% year-over-year in 2018 to $79.5 million, which dropped the firm from 20 to 28 on Counselor’s most recent list of the 40 largest distributors in the industry.

The company’s five-year average annual revenue growth through 2018 was 1%. While executives predicted a rebound in 2019, financial pressures mounted, the business became unsustainable, and a senior secured lender initiated the foreclosure sale. A Brand Company CEO Fred Parker was Counselor’s 2012 Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year and part of Counselor’s Power 50, a ranking of the most influential people in the promo products industry. The firm’s recent struggles, however, saw Parker drop down the list in recent years, falling from 23 in 2017 to 50 in 2019. Parker will not be joining TSG.

Fred Parker, A Brand Company

Founded in 2005 by President Dennis Clemente and CEO Billy Caan, TSG is a branded merchandise firm that says its differentiating purchasing system and company store technology helps clients generate measurable savings on print and promotional products, including hard goods and logoed apparel.

The firm says the acquisition of certain BrandAlliance-US assets will bring its annual revenue to more than $130 million. Two more acquisitions, scheduled to complete in August, could increase revenue to $145 million. While headquartered in New York City, TSG’s website notes that it has offices in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.

“The BrandAlliance-US footprint is very complementary with our ongoing efforts to expand our reach strategically throughout the United States,” said Clemente.

Indeed, executives at TSG are excited about what the future holds for the fast-growing company, which has emerged as a major player in the promo industry.

“Throughout this entire (acquisition) process, we have focused on the synergies and the potential for organic growth that will be realized from day one forward with the acquisition,” said Caan. “Our proprietary technology platform will provide an enterprise-wide system to manage all business transactions in one fully integrated process in a manner that will best utilize the BrandAlliance assets acquired. This will deliver significant savings in time, labor and money to all of our new and existing customers.”

An unspecified number of BrandAlliance salespeople are expected to join TSG.

“We are thrilled to have such experienced, energetic salespeople join our family,” said Joe Falcone (pictured), TSG’s chief operating officer. “They are a great fit for our company and will enable TSG to continue to expand our suite of services in the premium and promotional marketplace, as well as expand TSG's reach into our other service areas including marketing collateral, operational print, labels and packaging.”