Austin-TX-based Republic Promos (asi/307316) just had its best sales month ever – an impressive feat both because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and because of how well the women-run distributor has been faring recently. Over the last three years, Republic Promos had a compounded annual growth rate of 27.2%, finishing off 2019 with $3.8 million in sales.

That rapid growth rate was enough to land Republic Promos a spot on the Austin Fast 50 by the Austin Business Journal, the second time it’s received the distinction since the distributor opened its doors in 2013. Founder and owner Lisa Smith attributes her company’s success to strong teamwork and a focus on religion. “We do well because we truly love to help our customers,” she says. “We’re consistent, methodical and also creative. Our core foundation is that we’re faith-based – this is where our love of serving clients comes from. We’re a team that truly values people first, always. That’s why we’re so fortunate.”

Republic Promos has a staff of a dozen women, and owner Lisa Smith (top left) says teamwork has been key to the distributor’s growth.

As it did with so much of the promotional products industry, COVID took an economic toll on Republic Promos. “It’s taken us all summer to get back to where we were,” she says. “Just this last month, we’re going to have the biggest month we’ve ever had.”

After taking a few weeks off at the onset of the pandemic, Republic Promos leaned into strategy, putting together a list of prospects and doing cold-calling, rather than relying on the referral and repeat business that had once been their bread and butter. “We’ve never had to do that in the past,” Smith says. “We’re still doing more outreach than we ever did. That will probably continue beyond the pandemic.”

PPE – whether hand sanitizer or masks – has been a big part of Republic Promos’ product mix this year. In fact, the second-largest order in the company’s history was for branded masks: A large company ordered 100,000 of them, each screen printed with one of five different logos.

Drop-shipping custom kits also ramped up this year, with employers sending out “COVID survival kits” and other gift items to their clients and employees. Drop-shipping wasn’t a new concept for Republic Promos, which has a warehouse and has run employee programs for its customers, but it’s never reached the volume that it has in 2020. “It’s helped us to stay really busy,” Smith says.

Republic Promos’ other winning strategy for 2020 was an extra push for holiday gifting, reminding customers back in August and September to get their orders in early. “We told our customers, ‘I would do Christmas now. I wouldn’t wait,’ ” Smith adds.

To be a part of the Austin Fast 50, companies must show net revenue growth during the past three fiscal years, even if one year wasn’t as successful as the other two. A company must have shown minimum net revenue of more than $500,000 in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“Winning this award for the second time signals we have staying power,” Smith says. “This is definitely a bright spot for us given how difficult things have been. It’s been a highlight this year for the team.”