United Franchise Group, parent company of Top 40 distributor Fully Promoted (asi/384000), is holding its World Expo this week in West Palm Beach, FL.

Tim Andrews (left), president and CEO of ASI, and Ray Titus, CEO of United Franchise Group

Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, delivered the keynote address on Tuesday, June 29, congratulating Fully Promoted for increasing sales in 2020 by 9% over 2019, in part, due to pivoting to PPE earlier than most.

Andrews provided an update on the promotional products industry as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Q1 2021 showed year-over-year sales down nearly 15%, with larger distributors faring better than smaller ones. The hottest markets in Q1 2021 were healthcare, construction, education and real estate.

Based on ASI data in May, the promo industry is certainly rebounding, Andrews said. For the first time since January 2020, PPE failed to make the top 10 list of most-searched items in ESP, ASI’s database of products from around the promo industry, last month.

Andrews also shared some key statistics, strategies and case studies from the Counselor 2021 State of the Industry report, available in July.

“With the pulse that ASI has on the industry, Tim’s take on its recovery and current trends was inspiring to see for many of our franchisees,” says Mike Brugger, president of Fully Promoted. “Our franchisees were engaged while hearing relevant information on everything that affects them from the supply chain and hiring to top-selling product categories. In today’s fast-paced world, information is critical and ASI has the data and team to help this industry continue to move forward.”

With reported 2019 North American promotional product revenue of $105.6 million, Fully Promoted ranks 20^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The new list is due out in July 2021.