4imprint (asi/197045) is outpacing its pre-pandemic performance.

In a trading update issued Friday, Nov. 5, the third-largest distributor in the promotional products industry reported that its weekly order counts from July through the end of October averaged 2% greater than 2019 levels – the last year in which the marketplace was not affected by COVID-19 complications.

Paul Moody is the chairman of 4imprint.

While COVID’s delta variant and supply chain challenges plaguing all of promo have made the going more difficult for 4imprint, the London, U.K.-headquartered distributorship said that customer acquisition has remained strong. New customer orders for the July-through-October timeframe were up 8% over the same time period in 2019.

“This gives us confidence that the significant adjustments made to the marketing mix over the course of the pandemic have worked well, further strengthening our position in the market looking forward,” read a statement from 4imprint, whose main operations are in Wisconsin and whose primary market is North America.

4imprint’s reported growing sales strength is indicative of a broader recovery occurring in the promo products market. The recently released ASI Distributor Quarterly Sales Survey showed that promo distributors increased sales, on average, by 18.4% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same three-month span in 2020.

Did you miss the good news that came out yesterday? Despite all the challenges, #promoproducts sales are increasing significantly: https://t.co/eKdPY9mwhH @ASI_MBell @Tim_Andrews_ASI

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) November 2, 2021

4imprint noted that it’s working to address issues like inventory shortfalls, increased production times and product cost inflation. Tactics include sourcing alternative products, raising prices and “other creative strategies to help mitigate cost pressure,” the company said.

4imprint reported that its cash balance at the end of October was $41.9 million. That’s down from the $52.8 million it had at the end of June, but up from the $39.77 million cash balance it had at the end of the second half of 2020.

“The demand numbers so far in the second half of 2021 show clearly that our offering continues to resonate with our target customers,” said 4imprint’s board of directors. “Notwithstanding the ongoing market uncertainties, the board expects that (4imprint’s) full-year financial performance will be in line with expectations.”

In August, 4imprint reported that it generated total global sales of $326.8 million during the first six months of 2021. That’s a 23% increase over the same half-year period during 2020, when COVID-19 lockdowns caused business to plummet. The North American market led 4imprint’s rebound, with half-year revenue of $321.7 million. 

After-tax profit also rose, tallying $2.56 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the January-through-end-of-June span. Last year, profit for the same period was $21,000, or less than a cent.

According to Counselor’s Top 40 rankings, 4imprint had been promo’s largest distributor for three straight years before falling to third this year, following a 34.5% revenue freefall that saw the firm bring in $549.9 million in annual North American promo sales in 2020. 4imprint executives Kevin Lyons-Tarr and Suzanne Worwood rank seventh on Counselor’s Power 50 list of the promo products industry’s most influential people.