In the early days of the pandemic, the team at Top 40 distributor BAMKO (asi/131431) in Los Angeles tapped their established network and worked long hours to source PPE for their clients. Fortunately, co-founder Brett Marz was prepared for the crazy.

The company, first founded by Marz and childhood friend Phil Koosed (now president) got its start in their room in a frat house at the University of Southern California, more than 20 years ago.

“Truthfully, it looked like we were working in the fraternity with the chaos all around us again,” says Marz, the ASI’s 2021 Distributor Salesperson of the Year. “It literally took me back 20 years. It was like, ‘What are we doing, and how are we doing this?’ ”

“We all have [promo] items around us, and if … there’s a story and a reason and a why, there’s so much potential. It’s endless.” -- Brett Marz, BAMKO

In the midst of it all, Marz, working remotely from his home office during the pandemic, had a huge sales year with his clients, bringing in over $60 million in sales revenue in 2020, an increase of more than 130% from the previous year. Let’s put it this way: If Marz were his own distributorship, he would be among the industry’s 30 largest firms.

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Executive Editor Sara Lavenduski speaks with Marz about the early days of BAMKO and doing big business during the pandemic.

Podcast Chapters
1:30 BAMKO’s early days at USC
6:57 Banding together during the pandemic
12:26 Marz’s passion for brand partners
19:28 The WFH experience and staying sane

“When I find a brand that I love, I think I sell that brand more than I sell BAMKO’s services,” he says. “I get so excited and so passionate.” Among his big projects this year was a merch revamp for Dunkin’, including items that sold out within hours as they gained popularity on social media and among influencers in 2020.

It came a few years after Marz made in-person visits to more than 100 Dunkin’ locations around the country to talk to the franchisees about what was working and not working in their branded merch offerings.

“I dove deep,” he says. “The more you know about a partner, the more you understand how it all works – the franchisees, the employees, the customers, the bakers, the everything – the more you set yourself up for success.”

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