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Alphabroder Acquires Commonwealth Cotton

Commonwealth Cotton is a Massachusetts-based apparel wholesaler.

Alphabroder (asi/34063), the second largest supplier by revenue in the promotional products industry, has acquired Massachusetts-based apparel wholesaler Commonwealth Cotton. Announced Tuesday, the deal’s financial terms were not released.

Founded in Boston, MA in 1987, Commonwealth Cotton provides a range of apparel, from T-shirts and tank tops, to sweatshirts and fleece, to headwear and more, according to the company website. Norm Hullinger, CEO of alphabroder, said Commonwealth Cotton will help Trevose, PA-based alphabroder better serve customers in New England and beyond.

Norm Hullinger, alphabroder

“Commonwealth Cotton has built an outstanding business through developing the right assortment of products and excellent customer focus,” said Hullinger. “These tenets align very well with alphabroder’s commitment to product assortment, deep inventory and outstanding customer service. The two businesses will immediately complement each other.”

Commonwealth Founder/President, David Cramer, will be joining alphabroder in a senior sales position. He’ll remain “fully engaged” with the Commonwealth Cotton business, executives said. “We are looking forward to maintaining and, in fact, increasing the support level for Commonwealth Cotton’s loyal customers,” said Cramer. “Alphabroder represents the best in the industry from products to inventory to customer service. We couldn’t be more excited for the growth and expansion this represents.”

Alphabroder told Counselor that it would be keeping Commonwealth Cotton’s sales numbers private. It wasn’t clear how much revenue the acquired firm could potentially add to alphabroder in 2019. Hullinger told Counselor that Commonwealth Cotton would continue to operate in its existing facility for an unspecified period of time. Ultimately, though, operations will roll into alphabroder’s Middleboro, MA facility.

With reported 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $1.37 billion, alphabroder ranked second on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry. The new list debuts in July.