Distributor Impact Dimensions, LLC (UPIC: IMPA0005) has been selected by the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to be its official merchandise provider and manager. Impact Dimensions, a Philadelphia-based Certified Hispanic Minority Business Enterprise, has experience in the role, having performed a similar service when the Republican National Convention came to the city in 2000.
“We are extremely honored to be selected as the official merchandise vendor,” says Luis Liceaga, president of Impact Dimensions, LLC. “As an established minority-owned Philadelphia company, we look forward to working with many of our diverse vendors, Pennsylvania and Made in USA suppliers.”
Norbert McGettigan, Jr., chief operating officer of Impact Dimensions, tells PPB Newslink, “We’ve tripled in size since the 2000 convention. We’re a larger, stronger company. When Philadelphia won the convention, it was almost natural for us to bid. Of course, it’s a whole different committee and a very formal process. It took about six weeks. They were looking for a company that can accommodate all of the delegates who will be attending, as well as anyone in the region who wants to be part of the convention.”
Impact Dimensions will be responsible for manufacturing, marketing, selling and fulfilling orders for a variety of host committee merchandise and promotional materials. These products will depict the host committee’s official, trademarked logo and will be available for purchase by residents, delegates, media and visitors at online stores and physical locations in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention, to be held July 25-28. The host committee’s products will be available alongside separately branded products from the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaigns.
“Impact Dimension’s proven record handling large-scale projects make this a great partnership to offer Host Committee merchandise, which will serve as mementos from this summer’s historic event,” says Kevin Washo, executive director of the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee. “Since day one, we have been committed to working with diverse, local companies to help us put on the convention, and I’m thrilled Impact Dimensions will help us provide keepsakes to Philadelphians and convention visitors alike.”
The distributor’s team will be responsible for myriad aspects of the project. It will run a brick-and-mortar retail store, including leasing, fit-out, staffing and stocking, and it is responsible for merchandise kiosks at area hotels, retail merchandise venues at the Wells Fargo Center (site of the convention), and a store at PoliticalFest, a festival of political exhibits and memorabilia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center held during the convention. An online store featuring host committee merchandise is slated to go live in the beginning of May, and Impact Dimensions is working with the committee to produce gift bags featuring a wide array of products, many of which will be co-branded by the event’s corporate sponsors, for the thousands of delegates that will be in attendance.
McGettigan expects the company to have 15 to 20 of its full-time staff working on the project at its peak, as well as dozens of contract and part-time staff handling graphic design duties, running the retail locations and more. The distributor will oversee quality assurance, sales, inventory and royalty of all merchandise products. All of the host committee’s products will be made in the U.S. and, whenever possible, union-made or union-decorated, and will represent diversity in the supplier base. The distributor’s agreement with the committee will remain in effect through the end of September, allowing host committee merchandise and promotional materials to continue to be sold during the weeks immediately following the convention.
“This is a clean slate, a fresh approach,” says McGettigan. “We’re working to produce the best, most appealing collection of products that people will either go online or visit a retail location to buy for themselves, and to take home to friends and family. The entire company is pumped. You can’t help but get caught up in it because it’s such an exciting thing for Philadelphia. For us.”