Highlighted Events in SanMar History

1971:

Founded by Marty Lott as a college project from the basement of his father's building in Seattle, WA. The new company distributed t-shirts, and Marty handled all purchasing, marketing and sales.

1974:

Marty hired his first employee.

1975:

Moved into a 4,000-square-foot rental location.

1977:

Purchased a 10,000-square-foot facility, grew to 20 employees and installed company's first computer invoicing system.

1979:

The first company catalog was introduced, and became the first supplier in the industry to hire a group of outside sales representatives.

1980:

The need for more space prompted a move into a 30,000-square-foot facility in Bellevue, WA.

1984:

Order processing and inventory tracking became more streamlined when the company moved to a completely computerized system.

1990:

Moved to a newly completed 120,000-square-foot headquarter facility in Preston, WA.

1994:

Opened a 125,000-square-foot Cincinnati distribution center.

1995:

Introduced Port Authority^®, America's No. 1 private label brand.

1996:

Launched the company website, www.sanmar.com.

1997:

Began custom catalog imprinting program.

1998:

Hosted first customer appreciation party, with over 3,000 customers in attendance.

Introduced Port & Company^®, budget-friendly private label brand.

1999:

Received ASI Counselor Spirit Award for best family-owned business.

2000:

Expanded the Cincinnati, OH distribution center to 360,000 square feet and the Reno, NV center to 420,000 square feet.

2002:

Online ordering is launched on www.sanmar.com, with live inventory and freight comparison.

2003:

Expanded into the East Coast with a 140,000-square-foot distribution center in Cranbury, NJ.

2004:

The simultaneous opening of the fifth and sixth distribution centers in Coppell, TX and Jacksonville, FL brought total warehouse space to over 1.65-million square feet and enabled 1-2 day service to 99% of the U.S.

Introduced Sport-Tek^®, an athletically inspired lifestyle private label brand.

2005:

Opened the largest imprinted apparel distribution center in the West, with a new 490,000 square-foot facility in Reno, NV.

Introduced District Threads^®, a trendy youth apparel private label brand and CornerStone^®, a durable workwear private label brand.

2006:

Became the exclusive supplier of Nike Golf, the world's most popular brand of golf apparel.

Introduced Precious Cargo^®, a private label collection of toddler and infant apparel.

Launched the At Home Program, which enabled employees to work from home, eliminating the commute and offering a better work-life balance.

2007:

Introduced Red House^®, a luxury apparel private label brand inspired by the wine country lifestyle.

Accepted as a participating company of the Fair Labor Association (FLA).

2008:

Marty Lott ranked No. 1 in the ASI Power 50 list of the industry's most influential leaders.

Became the exclusive promotional products supplier of New Era™, the world's largest sports-licensed headwear company and the supplier of the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball.

Won the 2009 PPAI Supplier Star Award for high-volume suppliers.

2009:

Opened new 525,000-square-foot distribution center in Jacksonville, FL and 585,000-square-foot distribution center in Dallas, TX.

Became the exclusive promotional products supplier of OGIO, a revolutionary name in gear bags.

Won the 2009 PPAI Supplier Star Award for high-volume suppliers for the second year in a row.

2010:

Won ASI Distributor Choice Awards for General Wearables, Hats & Caps, Shirts and Women’s Wear for the fourth year in a row.