July 25, 2018
Top 40 Suppliers 2018
Counselor’s exclusive ranking of the suppliers with the most revenue in the ad specialty market.
Once again in 2018, apparel suppliers dominate the top of the rankings, led this year by number one-company SanMar (asi/84863), which Counselor estimates generated $1.4 billion in 2017 sales. While SanMar is an apparel-only supplier, three of the next five largest firms on our list now sell both wearables and hard goods, including alphabroder (asi/34063) following its 2017 purchase of Prime Line (asi/79530).
Click on the company links below to find facts and figures on each Top 40 company.
| Supplier | 2017 sales | % difference vs. 2016 | rating/stars | 2017 ESP clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. SanMar (estimate) | $1,400.0 | 8.0% | 5 | 958,940 |
| 2. alphabroder | $1,370.0 | 20.2% | 5 | 380,316 |
| 3. Polyconcept North America | $606.3 | 4.0% | 4.5 | 1,380,946 |
| 4. Gildan (estimate) | $540.0 | 20.0% | N/A | 7,412 |
| 5. S&S Activewear | $485.0 | 23.0% | 5 | 448,384 |
| 6. Hit Promotional Products | $397.1 | 12.0% | 4.5 | 3,357,073 |
| 7. BIC Graphic | $313.1 | -1.2% | 4.5 | 593,653 |
| 8. Next Level Apparel | $201.2 | 33.2% | 5 | 17,842 |
| 9. Staton Corporate and Casual | $158.6 | 1.3% | 5 | 27,396 |
| 10. Heritage Sportswear | $141.6 | 0% | 4 | 53,759 |
| 11. TSC Apparel | $130.0 | 12.6% | N/A | 33,288 |
| 12. The Magnet Group | $114.2 | 4.5% | 5 | 1,303,232 |
| 13. Logomark | $108.9 | 0% | 5 | 817,257 |
| 14. Sunscope | $105.7 | 2.4% | 5 | 84,595 |
| 15. HUB Promotional Group | $103.5 | 38.4% | 5 | 259,650 |
| 16. Gemline | $99.8 | 2.9% | 5 | 775,247 |
| 17. ETS Express | $98.3 | 3.4% | 5 | 175,352 |
| 18. 3M Promotional Markets (estimate) | $93.0 | -3.1% | 4.5 | 48,520 |
| 19. Sweda Co. | $91.6 | 0.3% | 5 | 377,764 |
| 20. ADG Promotional Products | $72.0 | -5.1% | 4 | 109,616 |
| 21. IMAGEN Brands | $71.5 | 2.4% | 4.5 | 270,569 |
| 22. Edwards Garment | $68.6 | 3.2% | 5 | 42,940 |
| 23. Cutter & Buck | $61.0 | 3.4% | 5 | 59,811 |
| 24. Blue Generation | $60.0 | 0.3% | 5 | 53,025 |
| 25. Tri-Mountain (estimate) | $55.8 | -4.1% | 4.5 | 82,540 |
| 26. Ariel Premium Supply | $52.3 | 21.9% | 5 | 663,988 |
| 27. Innovation Line | $51.0 | 21.4% | 5 | 694,352 |
| 28. Bag Makers | $50.9 | -0.8% | 5 | 113,563 |
| 29. Stouse | $50.9 | -1.9% | 5 | 60,776 |
| 30. Gill Studios | $50.2 | -10.0% | 5 | 105,101 |
| 31. Vantage Apparel | $49.6 | 0.2% | 5 | 59,300 |
| 32. Garyline | $49.2 | -0.2% | 4.5 | 237,799 |
| 33. Chocolate Inn/Lanco | $49.0 | 6.5% | 5 | 146,976 |
| 34. Evans Manufacturing | $48.2 | 2.6% | 5 | 695,989 |
| 35. Delta Apparel | $46.2 | 2.7% | N/A | 22,018 |
| 36. Gold Bond | $46.0 | 2.4% | 4.5 | 226,377 |
| 37. Charles River Apparel | $45.0 | -2.2% | 5 | 79,830 |
| 38. SnugZ/USA | $43.3 | 4.8% | 5 | 356,102 |
| 39. Moderne Glass Company | $36.3 | -2.9% | 4.5 | 215,456 |
| 40. Starline | $33.7 | 8.0% | 5 | 142,765 |
*all sales in millions
*Distributors rate suppliers on a five-star scale with the highest possible score being 5. Total clicks calculated from 1/1/2017-12/31/2017.