They say the world is smaller than it has ever been due to the connectivity of technology and the relative ease of travel. That said, it’s still pretty darn big. We still live where we live, and people tend to do business with who and what they are comfortable with. Naturally, that can keep a lot of industries local or regional.
The more time you spend around the branded merch world, though, you’re going to hear that, fundamentally, it’s a relationship industry. So, perhaps it only makes sense to see it blossoming in recent years as it’s exposed to relationships between countries around the globe.
Branded merch is everywhere, from the United States to Europe to China to Australia to Japan and so on. Even in the most remote areas of Africa (not to mention the more booming countries there), you’ll find a distributor looking to serve clients.
Maybe that won’t surprise you if you already knew the power of merch. After all, the world was bound to catch up. But now, that international ubiquity is being harnessed, and PPAI is being intentional in bringing together that global industry. In January, the Association revealed a five-year strategic plan, which included a priority lane focused on International Partnerships and Advocacy.
PPAI’s strategic plan states that it has the organizational goal to “Develop partnerships to distribute a global voice and establish a more connected community.”
You can’t connect the branded merch globe overnight, but fostering an international promo landscape does more than fill up a passport. It creates ripple effects for every region. It helps one continent anticipate a coming problem while potentially bringing a lucrative or savvy trend to another continent.
Global Supply Chain + Regional Sales Ecosystems
How global is branded merch in 2026?
The answer is difficult to pin down because it’s shifting as we speak, but a common refrain from industry people who work internationally is that branded merch utilizes a global supply chain while often falling back into ecosystems of regional sales.
“These ecosystems still operate somewhat independently, but within Europe, European Associations Cooperation now offers a platform for intensive exchange of knowledge and ideas,” says Ralf Uwe Schneider, CEO of GWW and EAC board member. “The industry’s trajectory could be summed up as ‘globalizing, but not fully global.’”
This is where we introduce a word that is a theme in the international landscape of branded merch: collaboration. PPAI has collaborated with EAC so that it can continue that work of bridging ecosystems across Europe and extend it, primarily to North America.
Earlier this year, PPAI, EAC and ASI worked together on a global carbon impact study revealing merch’s carbon footprint is eight times smaller than digital.
PPAI is also working in conjunction with EAC to host the second annual International Leadership Summit in Brussels, Belgium (more on this later).
Still, the notion of ecosystems and falling back into regional bubbles is echoed by Steven Baumgartner, CEO of Cybergroup International and chair of the EAC board.
“Brands operate globally today, supply chains are global and ideas move instantly,” Baumgartner says, “but our industry is still more fragmented than the brands we serve.”
What might hold back constant international business in merch is somewhat natural growing pains. Distributor networks, sourcing preferences, regulations and sustainability standards are simply not uniform across borders and oceans.
Europe’s branded merch industry, for example, is far ahead of the U.S. in the sustainability sector due to both regulation requirements and consumer demand. On the other hand, the North American market has a stronger demand for tech products and high-volume orders.
None of this is insurmountable, of course, and at an industry level, opportunities lie in those differences once bridges are fully formed. But for an individual firm, it can seem a daunting task to overcome. The answer is to get out there and create that new business and erase those learning curves.
Tyler Schooley moved to Uganda from Oklahoma 18 years ago to start a business in East Africa, hoping to create jobs for the community and build up a business for himself. Now, his distributorship, Rocket, has a few dozen employees across multiple African countries. He didn’t know the branded merch landscape in Africa when he got started. As a matter of fact, he didn’t know the branded merch landscape anywhere when he got started. So, he went to The PPAI Expo, as well as trade shows in Dusseldorf, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.
“It made sense to invest and say it’s worth the $2,000-$3,000 to fly to a country, to go to a show, meet people and learn, because it exposed me to so much,” Schooley says.
The reality is that the ecosystems exist, but compartmentalization is fragmenting, simply because ambitious companies want to do business with multinational brands and expand their business across borders.
Take a company like Goldstar, PPAI 100’s No. 16 supplier. The San Diego-headquartered company also has locations in Ireland and the Czech Republic, and its leader, Heather Smartt, holds the title of global head of Goldstar and is based out of Portugal.
Unsurprisingly, her European environment affects her sustainability focus; Goldstar signed British Promotional Merchandise Association’s Step Forward Pledge, which requires companies to establish “meaningful” environmental and social goals, and the progress will be reviewed on an annual basis.
There’s nothing exotic about that kind of worldly focus among the industry’s most successful firms. It’s not just suppliers or massive companies strategically utilizing outside markets, either. The PPAI Expo has become a meeting place for international distributors and suppliers every year, sometimes their one trip to the U.S. that will include additional legs to meet with clients.
“At ASA Brands, we work closely with several U.S. distributors, supporting their EMEA orders – so when their clients have offices across Europe, the Middle East or Africa, we handle that side of things for them,” says Caroline Bourke, COO of Ireland-based distributor ASA Brands.
“It saves time, money and keeps branding consistent across regions. Being at Expo gives me the chance to meet our U.S. partners in person, discuss upcoming projects and spot new trends in the U.S. market,” she adds. “It’s also great for comparing what’s hot in the States versus Europe – they can be very different!”
This is all work, but it reaps benefits and rewards. As Schooley suggests, it’s a decision.
Tyler Schooley
Owner, Rocket
“You have to choose to have a global mindset,” Schooley says. “The moment someone makes that choice, you start to see that this is a very global industry. If you don’t make that choice, it’s hard to see, and you stay in that bubble.”
‘Align Around A Collective Voice’
But the burden isn’t all on the individual firms to create that international landscape. PPAI aims to help build those bridges. That’s where events like the International Leadership Summit come in, providing something the industry has historically lacked: a structured forum for cross-regional leadership dialogue.
“The 2026 International Leadership Summit is both a showcase and a catalyst for elevating branded merchandise on the global stage,” says Drew Holmgreen, CAS, CEO and president of PPAI. “When we bring industry leaders together from across continents in this unique environment, the impact compounds. We don’t just share perspectives, we align around a collective voice that ensures merch has its rightful place within the brand ecosystem and every brand strategy.”
Drew Holmgreen, CAS
CEO & President, PPAI
Schneider points out that an event like this can rectify so much of what keeps the industry siloed regionally simply by putting people with shared focuses and slightly different perspectives in the same rooms.
“The strategic significance is that it moves the industry toward shared standards, coordinated responses to regulation and stronger global partnerships,” he says.
Baumgartner says that after just one year he has seen how it breaks the pattern of regional bubbles. “It brings leaders from North America, Europe and beyond into one room to challenge assumptions, exchange real insights and shape the future of the industry together,” he adds.
Related: International Leadership Summit Returns As PPAI Advances Global Strategy
There will be immediate dividends, but the hope is that seeds are planted and dominos begin to fall, making the world smaller for those interested in crossing borders through branded merch. The International Leadership Summit is less about generating business and more about long-term industry alignment. During last year’s inaugural event, for example, a network of European Young Professionals was created to encourage cross-border collaboration among emerging leaders.
The itinerary will be packed, and much of the globe will be represented. As the event continues, it can really test the relationship model of this industry. Professionals from different countries can compare how the same trend manifests differently across markets and preview what may eventually hit other markets.
“Beyond the exceptional content, the learning and sharing that happens naturally through conversation and networking sparks new ideas, new solutions and a stronger, more unified global community,” Holmgreen says.
That unified global community is a rising-tides-lifts-all-ships scenario. Anyone can remain in their ecosystem if they prefer, but the industry can only benefit from the information provided by a global network of shared knowledge.
That’s the international landscape being built in branded merchandise.
Auping is PPAI’s senior news editor.
