BAMKO Acquires Gifts By Design

BAMKO, the promotional product and branded merchandise arm of Superior Group of Companies (SGC), announces the acquisition of Seattle, Washington-based Gifts By Design Inc. The transaction closed effective as of Feb. 1, 2021.

Gifts By Design, born in 1989, is a promotional product and branded merchandise agency that has established itself by developing corporate awards, incentives, and recognition programs for some of the world’s biggest brands.

It delivered approximately $18.2 million in revenue in 2020 and is expected to add gradual growth to SGC’s fiscal year 2021 operating results. With the acquisition, Gifts By Design operates as the awards, recognition, and incentives division of BAMKO.

Jake Himelstein, COO and CFO at BAMKO, says, “This acquisition will provide BAMKO with the opportunity to develop the awards, incentives, and recognition program vertical across our existing portfolio of clients and leverage our salesforce to extend that vertical to future clients.”

“Joining forces with BAMKO is not a decision we arrived at lightly,” adds Jamie Stone, president and founder of Gifts By Design. “I’ve known the BAMKO team for years. As I’ve watched their growth and success in recent years, it became clear that BAMKO is something very different from the rest of the industry. BAMKO has distinguished itself with its unmatched technological capabilities, an award-winning creative team, an incredible overseas sourcing operation, and an unparalleled ability to win and service major program business for the world’s biggest brands.”

Stone remains with the business, now as the president of BAMKO’s newly-formed award, incentives, and recognition division.

“What excites me most is the opportunity to become part of such a positive, enthusiastic, and hard-working team,” adds Stone. “We’re excited to partner with BAMKO and build something special here.”

BAMKO president Phil Koosed comments, “By joining forces, both companies will immediately become better with increased capabilities and product offerings. We are adding talent and proven leadership whose positive impact will reverberate throughout the entire organization. Our employees and clients will benefit substantially from the opportunities that this acquisition creates, and we cannot wait to get started.”