THE GOLF SHIRT

According to a logoed apparel study done by Wearables Business magazine and PROMO in 2003, golf shirts are the second most common wearable for promotional product distributors, trailing only the T-shirt (and not by much).

In other research, after two years of sales decline — the only sales dip in 30 years of tracking — promotional products once again headed up in sales. In its annual report on sales by promotional products distributors, published in June, the Promotional Products Association International said the industry posted sales of $16.3 billion in 2003, an increase of 4.57%. (After growing steadily for 27 years, overall industry sales declined in 2001, and then fell again in 2002.)

For 2003, wearables again topped sales, garnering 29.5% of overall promotional product sales, or just under $5 billion, near even with 2002 sales.

The industry has grown precipitously over the years, crossing the $1 billion mark in 1976. The $2 billion milestone was eclipsed in 1981, and a steady increase was maintained throughout the 1990s. In 2000, premium distributors reportedly sold $17.8 billion worth of promotional products, up a whopping 19.5% from 1999. In the early 1990s, the wearables category began taking off, and has maintained a more-than-29% share since 1999. Wearables was also the fastest-growing sales category in the industry for much of the 1990s.

For more on the PPAI survey, visit www.ppa.org.