Top 40 distributor BAMKO (asi/131431) reported this week that its annual sales declined 11.7% year over year to about $342.7 million in 2023.

The Los Angeles-headquartered firm said that reduced spending from clients in the technology sector, segments of which experienced challenges last year that led to layoffs and marketing budget cool-downs, was a reason for the decline.

The yearly decrease ends what had been a hot streak of annual increases for BAMKO, which debuted on the Top 40 in 2018; the firm ranked 25^th that year based on 2017 revenue of nearly $80 million. In 2022, revenue was $387.9 million – good enough for BAMKO to place eighth on the 2023 list of the North American promotional products industry’s largest distributors.

Despite the revenue retreat, CEO Jake Himelstein shared that the distributorship’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 6.4% on an annual basis in 2023 to $33.14 million. The rise was partly a result of efficiencies gained.

Himelstein, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, said the fourth quarter of 2023 was BAMKO’s strongest of last year for sales, with significant “quarter-over-quarter increases.” Revenue tallied $97.7 million in Q4.

ASI Research shows that #promproducts distributors overcame many challenges to set a new industry sales record in 2023. This report is a deep-dive into the numbers, nuances & stories that made 2023 & a look forward to 2024. https://t.co/kHnQmN08Ev @asicentral @NKucsma_ASI

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) January 26, 2024

“We ended the year with a very strong pipeline and bookings have remained strong in the first quarter of 2024,” Himelstein told ASI Media.

BAMKO is part of Florida-headquartered Superior Group of Companies (SGC), which also operates businesses in the healthcare apparel and contact center channels.

Across all of its business divisions, SGC’s total revenue declined 6.1% year over year in 2023 to $543.3 million. Net income was $8.77 million, which translated to earnings per share of $0.54. The net income was an improvement over 2022, when SGC posted a $32 million loss. A year-over-year decrease in inventory write-downs helped bolster the bottom line.

SGC is forecasting that full-year 2024 sales across all of its businesses will be in the range of $558 million to $568 million. Earnings per share are predicted to be $0.61 to $0.68.

“With our strong retention and new client wins,” said SGC CEO Michael Benstock, “we are optimistic that we will continue to drive improved performance and consistently solid results.”

The most recent Distributor Quarterly Sales Survey from ASI Research showed that North American promo distributors’ sales rose on average by 1.2% in 2023 to $26.1 billion, setting a new annual revenue record for the industry. Still, business slowed considerably in the second half of the year, with Q4 sales essentially flat year over year. Polling at the recent ASI Show Fort Worth indicated that business is on an upward trajectory for the industry.