1971	Marty Lott begins SanMar as a college project. It was initially an import/export business that included T-shirts. Marty works in the basement of his father's building in downtown Seattle and does all the purchasing, marketing, sales and receivables functions.
1974	Marty hires his first employee.
1975	SanMar moves to rented space in Pioneer Square of approximately 4,000 square feet.
1977	SanMar purchases a 10,000 sq. ft. building on Poplar Place in Seattle and has 20 employees. First computer system gets installed and is used for invoicing.
1979	The first SanMar catalog is introduced. SanMar hires first group of outside sales reps and is the first distributor to take this step.
1980	SanMar moves into a 30,000 sq. ft. building on Northup Way in Bellevue and has 30 employees.
1982	One employee handles all purchasing. The Sales department has three employees.
1983	SanMar breaks a record and takes 100 orders in one day.
1984	The Credit department expands to three people and the Purchasing department grows to two people. The first computerized inventory system is implemented—before this there was only one hardcopy of the inventory for each day. Order taking was also computerized at this time.
1986	SanMar gets a new computer, the Honeywell Ultimate System. The UPS Manifest System was installed—prior to this all outgoing orders and tags were logged by hand.
1987	SanMar reaches 50 employees and ranks in the top 5 distributors in the country.
1988	The Sales department grows to 10 members. The Sales and Marketing departments split from being under one manager and Marketing is handled by one person.
1989	SanMar Canada opens as a sister company.
1990	SanMar completes construction on a 120,000 sq. ft. Preston location in March. The Seattle Pickup Center and Showroom open. In June, SanMar reaches 100 employees.
1992	SanMar achieved our first 1,000 order day.
1994	SanMar upgrades to the Sanyo Computer System. SanMar opens Cincinnati distribution center with 125,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space, office space, pick-up center and showroom. Our Mission Statement is adopted.
1995	Our distribution center opens in Reno, NV (121,600 sq. ft.), complete with pick-up center and showroom. SanMar introduces a proprietary brand—the Port Authority line.
1996	SanMar premiers on the internet with the introduction of www.sanmar.com, a website provided by Fruit of the Loom.
1997	SanMar launches the Outreach Department (later known as Account Development) with 1 representative who proactively calls customers to teach them the SanMar Difference and support our Outside Sales Team. SanMar adds a second annual catalog to exclusively showcase the Port Collection line. SanMar begins custom catalog imprinting program. Grommeted and Wearable sample programs are introduced.
1998	Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) awards SanMar "Imprinted Sportswear Supplier Sales Leader". An addition to our Preston facility is completed, increasing the building space to 250,000 sq. ft. SanMar hosts its first customer appreciation party in conjunction with the Dallas PPAI Show. Over 3,000 customers attend.
1999	The Counselor ASI honors SanMar with "Spirit Award" for best family owned business.
2000	SanMar introduces Ping Collection products as an exclusive within our industry. We grow into a larger facility in Cincinnati, OH (360,000 sq. ft.) and Reno, NV (420,000 sq. ft.). Custom websites are introduced, as well as a showroom fixture program. SanMar earns Promotional Products Industry's "2000 Imprinted Sportswear Supplier Sales Leader" designation.
2002	Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) presents www.sanmar.com with "Silver Web Award". Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) presents SanMar with "Distributor's Choice Award". In April, online ordering is launched on www.sanmar.com, complete with live inventory and freight comparison. A Team Apparel catalog is introduced in May. The Catalog and Flyer Wizards launch allowing our customers to build custom catalog cover and promotional flyers online. In October, SanMar opens an East Coast distribution center (140,000 sq. ft.) in Cranbury, NJ.
2003	Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) presents SanMar with "Distributor's Choice Award" for the second year in a row. A new catalog, Ladies Edition 2003, premieres. SanMar employs 600+. SanMar carries 16 brands, including in alphabetical order—Anvil, Badger, Bella, Cross Creek, Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, Jerzees, Lee, Outer Banks, Ping, Port Authority, Port Authority Ladies, Port Authority Signature and Port & Company. Total SKU count is 13,000.
2004	SanMar's simultaneous opening of its 5th and 6th distribution centers (approx. 200,000 sq. ft. each) in Coppell, Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth area) and Jacksonville, Florida, in July brought total warehouse space to over 1.65 million square feet nationwide, allowing 1–2 day service to 99% of the U.S. continental population. SanMar launches a new private label—Sport-Tek™. Originally developed as a collection of athletic–inspired fleece in 2005, Sport-Tek™ was expanded into an entire line. Designed for Active Lifestyles on—and—off the field, Sport-Tek™ carries the newly created tagline "What's your Game?" SanMar produced two new focus catalogs in the Spring, "Golf" and "Outfitting Kids", to capitalize on growing sales opportunities in these specialized markets.
2005	SanMar opens a new 490,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Reno, NV—the largest imprinted apparel warehouse in the West. ASI presents several major awards to SanMar including "Customer Service Team of the Year", "Wearables", "Shirts" and "Hats & Caps". SanMar introduces District Threads®, a young stylish collection of apparel including hoodies, tees, sport shirts and more. With the premier of CornerStone® industrial workwear, SanMar’s apparel offering covers everything from the factory floor to the boardroom.
2006	ASI presents SanMar with Distributor's Choice Awards for best "Hats & Caps", "Wearables" and "Shirts". SanMar becomes the exclusive wholesale supplier of Nike Golf, the world's most popular brand of golf apparel. Two new catalogs are introduced: Uniform Collection 2006/2007 and Headwear & Accessories 2007. Precious Cargo™, a new brand of apparel and accessories for infants and children, makes it's debut. SanMar opens the industry's largest warehouse, at 970,000 square feet, in West Chester, OH. Marty Lott ranked as number 4 on a list of the 50 most powerful people in the promotional products industry by Counselor Magazine
2007	SanMar debuts Red House™, a premium collection of cashmere, silk and leather inspired by the wine country lifestyle. SanMar named Supplier of the Year by ASI. Also took awards in every wearables sub-category: General Wearables*, Hats & Caps*, Shirts*, and new for 2007, Women's Wear. (*SanMar also won these categories in 2006.)

The name SanMar was first used by Marty's father in 1963. He combined the first part of his children's names, Sandra and Marty to create the name SanMar. It was originally used for a construction company and then picked up by Marty when he needed an incorporated name for a college project.