The BPMA is your trade association and one of the key strands of its mission is education.

The BPMA education program is growing from strength to strength with just over 100 learners currently studying. The demand for a structured industry-specific training program that can be integrated into each business is rising steadily.

Geiger BTC is acquiring York-based distributor Response Marketing as part of its continued UK and European expansion strategy. Response Marketing has been in business since 1999. Geiger BTC, the UK subsidiary of US merchandise business, said it made the acquisition to support the needs of global customers in North America, Europe and worldwide.

Liverpool merchandise company, Wild Thang, provided a special embroidery job recently when it stitched Liverpool Football Club’s first team kit for its winning Champions League Final in Madrid. Andrew Dwerryhouse, Wild Thang MD said he was proud that the club had chosen the local company to brand the first team kit again – Wild Thang also produced last year’s embroidered final shirts.

I was recently referred to as an industry veteran which I guess, having been in the market for more than 40 years can’t be far from the truth. In those early days, there were no computers, the fax hadn’t been invented let alone email, there were no mobile phones and artwork was sent by post. Three-quarters of all business gifts. were made in the UK, and no one delivered in less than four weeks.

Just before Easter, the Briman group commissioned a research project to help determine the buying trends of distributors in relation to buying British made products. An impressive 94% of survey participants recognised benefits in buying products made in the UK.

In the hot seat is Andrew Hill from Listawood, he is the director of sales and marketing!

Where do merchandising businesses need to focus their marketing efforts? Watertight Marketing founder, Bryony Thomas, outlines what BPMA members’ experiences reveal – 

The second annual BPMA Golf Day saw a great day of golf in the sunny Berkshire countryside. This year’s event was enjoyed by both distributors and suppliers. Held at the stunning Burnham Beeches Golf Club, more than 20 golfers battled it out for the coveted trophies supplied by Crystal Galleries and Laser Crystal.

Stately Woburn was the venue for the catalogue group’s annual event, and the BPMA came too.

NorthWest promotional merchandise company Hatters has committed to expansion plans for 2019 with the acquisition of new workspace in Stockport town center.

The Pen Warehouse has also given two of its best-selling ballpen ranges a mellow makeover to produce a collection of appealing new pastel colors.

The PenWarehouse (TPW), has launched an online marketing platform called Business Solutions, aimed at driving distributor sales growth, digitally. Since 2013, TPW has been credited with the introduction of several digital marketing firsts, including web-to-print technology with the award-winning platform No-Minimum. co.uk and most recently personalised customer logo digital catalogs.