Scott Kooken of Links Unlimited Sees IRR Growth, Consolidation, More Specialization
The Need for a Retail Experience
Growth Will Come From Increased Demand and Specialization
Scott Kooken, President and Co-Founder of Ohio-based Links Unlimited, believes the coming year will be marked by continued moderate growth, further
market consolidation resulting from mergers and acquisitions, continued expansion of promotional distributors into the IRR market, and increased expectations from corporate end-users, brands and program participants alike for fulfillment companies to provide retail services.While not anticipating rapid growth, Kooken expects the market to continue growing as a result of the ongoing need to engage employees, customers, and distribution partners. He expects some of his company’s growth to come from some consolidation in the market, as smaller fulfillment players get purchased or go away and some incentive and recognition companies merge. “The resources needed to compete in this space in terms of being able to buy like a retailer and provide a retail-like experience for program participants is going to put a squeeze on the traditional fulfillment companies without the necessary resources.”
The Need for a Retail Experience
Creating a retail experience for participants requires levels of service increasingly difficult for small players to manage. This includes “having the resources to do a quality check on every inbound product received and outbound shipment processed.
Providing a retail experience, he continues, means not only being able to make the same type of purchase and inventory commitments as retailers do to brands but being able to ship the day and having inhouse capabilities to meet the continued growth for customization and personalization. Kooken says his company is investing in the ability to provide customization on-demand, reducing the traditional need to maintain a large inventory customized items. This also means being “able to provide a high-quality customized letter with each package.
Aligning promotional product strategies with retail practices, he says, also involves maintaining up-to-date product offerings, implementing consistent return policies to satisfy consumer expectations, and having high levels of shipping reliability and customer service.
The marketplace now demands “comprehensive services like online company stores, holiday gifting, event management, and loyalty platforms to meet
diverse customer needs,” he says. It also requires companies like his to build closer partnerships with the most popular brands so that his customers can benefit from the same pricing advantages as retailers. This also requires managing the different requirements of retail brands versus non-retail promotional products, which his company provides as well. Kooken says his company’s policy of focusing on the best brands ensures not only a broad selection of appealing products but also making sure his company has the clout to get the products it needs for clients at the best possible pricing. “You can’t just go out there now with a leading brand with a purchase order for 10,000 items and expect to get it when you want it at the best price.”Growth Will Come From Increased Demand and Consolidation
Growth this coming year, he says, is coming from new types of online gifting platforms, from more distributors getting involved with incentives, recognition, and gifting, and some incentive or recognition companies expanding their services to address different audiences.
Many promotional distributors remain resistant to the IRR marketplace, but Kooken sees the resistance gradually fading due to demand from their customers. “We are creating more and more redemption web sites each year,” he says. These support companies that wish to ensure that people keep and enjoy their gifts by offering brand-name products redeemable through transactional web sites so that people select only what they want. “We still have more work to do educating distributors on this marketplace and the economics.” He points out that while the margins with brands are lower, the program budgets tend to be larger and require less labor, because of the growing number of online transactional sites.
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