Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900) announced Monday that it has acquired a web-based distributor with a national reach. Bank Express/Promo Warehouse, a Sandwich, MA-based firm, will operate as a division of Lewiston, ME-headquartered Geiger.

Jo-an Lantz, chief operating officer and incoming company president of Geiger

Going forward, Charlie Billard, the president of Bank Express and Promo Warehouse, will stay on, serving as director of business development for the acquired company. Bank Express/Promo Warehouse will remain in its current location, with the brands continuing to go to market under their respective names, Geiger told Counselor.

“Bank Express/Promo Warehouse has a unique go-to-market strategy that couples consultative relationship selling with digital marketing,” said Jo-an Lantz, Geiger’s chief operating officer and incoming company president. “Charlie has built a strong customer-focused culture that unites perfectly with Geiger.”

Charlie Billard, president of Bank Express/Promo Warehouse

Additionally, Lantz told Counselor that the acquired company does extensive business in the financial institution market – a factor that made the firm an even more attractive partner. Geiger didn’t share Bank Express/Promo Warehouse’s exact annual sales numbers, but said the company is growing. “They have had strong growth,” Lantz told Counselor. “We plan on combining the synergies between our firms to accelerate their growth trajectory.”

Bank Express/Promo Warehouse’s 2018 sales numbers will not figure into Geiger’s annual sales this year. That will begin in 2019. “Our sales are up more than the industry average this year,” Lantz told Counselor. 

Bank Express began in a tiny office with one bank as a customer. In the years that followed, the company created Promo Warehouse to extend its reach beyond the banking industry. Promo Warehouse now has a nationwide customer base. “All of us at Bank Express and Promo Warehouse are very excited and proud to now be a part of the tremendous Geiger family,” said Billard.

Mike Truchon, Geiger’s vice president of sales and customer experience, will oversee the day-to-day operations of Bank Express. “We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome the Bank Express/Promo Warehouse team to our company,” said Truchon. “Charlie has built a company from the ground up that shares so many of the customer and associate beliefs that drive our day-to-day activities. We are very excited and look forward to working with and learning from Charlie and his associates.“

With reported 2017 North American promotional products revenue of $185.5 million, Geiger ranked 10th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.