Be nice and tell the truth. Marty Lott attributes his nearly 50-year career and the massive growth of Top 40 supplier SanMar to those two kindergarten lessons. In this Promo Insiders episode, Lott reflects on growing SanMar from his parents’ basement and discusses how the company has endured the COVID-19 crisis.

Podcast Chapters
1:05: Navigating the coronavirus pandemic
4:25: SanMar’s success with PPE
6:21: Traditional promo products that have returned
7:23: How SanMar has become the largest company in the industry
9:30: Increasing consolidation
10:29: Markets to target during the pandemic
13:27: Advice for fellow business leaders
16:09: Passing SanMar down to his son Jeremy
17:37: Retirement?

As the largest supplier in the industry with $2.4 billion in revenue, the Washington-based juggernaut certainly has the accolades to match: an 18-year winning streak for shirts in Counselor’s Distributor Choice Awards; five-star supplier ratings in ESP; and numerous appearances on Counselor’s Best Places to Work list. SanMar was named Counselor’s Supplier of the Year in 2007 and Lott was named Counselor’s Person of the Year in 2011.

Spearheading SanMar’s philanthropic efforts and extensive employee training program, as well as being a couple decades ahead of the work from home trend, Lott is certainly deserving of this year’s Counselor Lifetime Achievement Award.