Changes in Latitudes and Changes in Totes
New Years Eve has come and gone and the first of the resolutions are already being broken. All over the country gym memberships will begin to lapse in the coming weeks as eager members slowly slump back towards their couches. Soon enough the days will be noticeably longer and another sure sign the next season is upon us is the introduction of new totes from the major promotional products suppliers.
A category that had fallen into disrepair prior to the last economic bust is finally getting needed attention once again. Up through last year suppliers were most focused on providing customers in this hemisphere with goods in a higher price range. That's all ended now as price points are being driven through the floor and with cinch bags having run their course attention goes back to totes. They tend to be more rugged being made from polycanvas and more puncture resistant. Leading the pack is the Hemisphere Meeting Tote from Leed's which was introduced today at the PPAI show in Las Vegas. The tote is made from 600 denier materials making it durable and resistant to punctures from pens and other objects while maintaining light weight and some breath-ability. Like so many other promotional products it is available in a wide variety of colors and Leed's typically releases more colors during the year. In total they now have about 80 totes in the line of which 40 were released after July 2011.
Gemline has followed suit and has released and revamped their entire line over the winter. A quick check of the numbers shows that about 40% of the line has been refreshed. In some cases colors have been the only change but there are over 150 clearance items on their site in addition to about 150 new products. This is a clear indication that the industry had a good year in 2011 and put money into development with a passive acknowledgement to the slowing conditions in 2012. What do we expect to see? Mergers and acquisition activity pick up on the distributor side as a year of haves and have nots bears fruit. Expect a middle of the year price increase from most suppliers with the excuse being higher supply costs and the introduction of new colors and some new products.
The past year has been a good one for many distributors and suppliers but the year sputtered to a close. Honest suppliers are reporting sharp sales drops in the October to December period versus 2010 and the same is expected in 2012. Tighten up the budget and sharpen the pencil because it is going to be a bumpy ride this year.