Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (AIA, asi/109480) has announced that Nashville, TN-based Something Inked (asi/466856) has joined AIA’s community of more than 300 independent franchise distributors. For eight years, Something Inked has established relationships with big name clients in the sports world, including approximately 95% of both the NBA and NHL. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Something Inked to the AIA Community,” Matt Gresge, CEO of AIA, said in a press release. “Since its inception, Something Inked has been incredibly successful and is poised for additional growth over the next year. It’s with this growth in mind that AIA will come alongside Something Inked, as we do with all our Owners, to provide the great service, tools and best-of-breed technology to grow their business with confidence, and help them meet their growing demand, while still prioritizing customer service.”

Currently operating out of a 57,000-square-foot warehouse, Something Inked expects to add a 40,000-square-foot expansion as well as 50 employees to its 125-member workforce within the next 12 months.

“Our focus has always been our strong relationships with customers,” said Oliver Landry, president of Something Inked. “Anyone can sell merchandise, but it’s the service we provide that keeps them coming back, and for us, that’s a point of pride. We were attracted to AIA because we could retain our independence, while still benefiting from their investments in forward-thinking technology, sales support and a shared vision for the future of our industry––all to continue to provide our customers with the best service and products.”

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.