After six years as an affiliate of Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119),Something Inked (asi/466856) has joined Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (AIA, asi/109480), the companies announced this week.

Bill Feldberg, Vice President of Business Development, Something Inked

Representatives from both iPROMOTEu and Something Inked said that they mutually agreed to end the business relationship. In a letter sent to preferred vendors on Wednesday, Catherine Kruse, director of vendor relations at iPROMOTEu, explained that Something Inked has grown considerably with iPROMOTEu’s financial assistance and back-office support, along with its strong supplier relationships.

“Recently, however, we’ve concluded that the nature of Something Inked’s business is no longer a fit for iPROMOTEu,” Kruse wrote. “We are working diligently to unwind the relationship, but this transition will take some time as we work through certain details. While we wish Something Inked continued success, we believe this decision is in the best interest of iPROMOTEu.” 

Since 2010, Something Inked has achieved substantial growth, reaching nearly $40 million in sales last year, according to Bill Feldberg, the company’s vice president of business development. The Nashville, TN-based distributor has established relationships with big name clients in the sports world, including approximately 95% of both the NBA and NHL. Additionally, the company works with WWE, Loot Crate, Sea World, Medieval Times and other major brands. Something Inked is currently projected to top $40 million this year, Feldberg told Counselor.

“We have grown to the point where we needed to look at other options,” Feldberg said. “We’ve always said that we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in had iPROMOTEu not taken a chance on us. But the relationship had gotten to the point where we had outgrown each other, and we felt it was time for a change.”

Something Inked considered other options, such as self-financing or finding a partner outside the promotional products industry, Feldberg said. But after conversations with AIA last year and throughout the summer, Feldberg and fellow executives felt AIA’s technological and financial strategies perfectly aligned with Something Inked's long-term goals. “We’re expanding our e-commerce business heavily to manage over 50 webstores,” Feldberg said. “We’re also expanding the infrastructure of our print shop. It’s about having the flexibility of working capital and advances in technology to make all of those pieces come together.”

Matt Gresge, CEO of AIA, said that he’s very excited about the biggest affiliate ever brought into AIA’s community of more than 300 independent franchise distributors. “Being affiliated with a company like that adds prestige and luster to the overall AIA community,” Gresge said. “Something Inked is extraordinarily skilled in selling and we want to piggyback and learn from things they’ve done with suppliers.  We want to leverage their national decorator network, freight opportunities and supplier relations for the benefit of both companies.”

With reported 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $175.4 million, AIA Corporation ranked 11th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.