It’s 1994.
Harry Styles is a new-born.
A new sitcom called “Friends” debuts on TV.
iPhone isn’t a thing.
DVDs aren’t even a thing.
Facebook’s a decade away.
Some fella called Jeff Bezos is selling books on the world wide web from his garage.
Another fella called Jamie Marshall, sitting in a room above his dad’s shop, finally finds time to register his fledgling business.
And so, Premier Print & Promotions Ltd was born.
In the early years Premier cut it’s teeth serving the Pharmaceutical industry. Orders quickly escalated from the likes of 500 pens to the heady heights of 340,000 sticky note pads delivered in no less than 7 articulated lorries!
Cigarette lighters, cat urine collection kits, vaginal speculums, Guatemalan worry dolls, and inflatable fleas all got the promotional treatment over the years.
As Premier’s orderbook grew, so did the headcount and the illustrious list of customers.
Later, Premier found it’s home in a purpose built office not 5 miles from Jamie’s childhood house.
In a twist of fate, Premier’s first acquisition came in the form of a company that supplied Jamie from back on day 1.
But it wasn’t all rosy… Premier suffered some lows too.
First up, the Pharma’s banned merch, cutting revenue by half overnight.
Then accidentally sending £200,000 worth of hampers to all the wrong addresses.
Or falling for a six figure con that led to private investigators and law suits.
Or having to personally hand QC 50,000 stress toys when they arrived from a very questionable source in China.
Or having to individually check thousands of USB flashdrives after some were found to contain X-rated content.
But with every disaster came a lesson and an opportunity to improve.
Then COVID came along…
Premier’s team of 32 was slashed to 9.
Premier’s pharmaceutical roots provided the network to supply PPE and help it weather the storm.
As the world retuned to normality Premier rose from the ashes a stronger, leaner, closer, well-oiled machine.
Premier had found it’s focus. Carved it’s niche.
B-Corp certification was achieved to underpin Premier’s dedication to it’s 3 values, People, Place and Karma.
As it enters it’s 30th year, Premier has grand plans. Ambitious charity pledges, further acquisitions, new services, collaborations, further investment in compliance and sustainability and even new ownership….
Plus a big birthday party to throw. 😉
