Top 40 supplier BIC Graphic (asi/40480) hosted a media day at its Clearwater, FL, headquarters last Thursday, signifying what executives characterized as a new era of transparency, stability and innovation for the company. Attendees toured two different manufacturing facilities and met with members of BIC Graphic’s management team to discuss future initiatives now that the supplier is under new ownership: BIC Graphic was sold to private equity firm H.I.G. Capital for a reported $80 million in June.

“For the past 18 months, we have been stuck with focusing on the sale of our company,” said recently named BIC Graphic President Emmanuel Bruno, who took over for global general manager Edgar Hernandez as part of the acquisition. “Now we can move forward and really look at our business, sharing with the industry some of the exciting advancements we’ve been working on that will improve our customers’ experience.”

The supplier has heavily invested in automation, updating machinery to perform more tasks at a quicker pace. Its BritePix service, a proprietary process that applies sharp, photographic-quality imprints to hundreds of products, has implemented full-color design. Meanwhile, the company’s online self-service tools, which average more than 10,000 views per month, are regularly enhanced with the latest features and applications.

As part of BIC Graphic’s ongoing effort to strengthen its relationship with distributors, the company plans on hosting customer focus groups in California, Florida and Illinois starting in November. Bruno said the goal of the focus groups is to gain more end-user information.

“As a supplier, we are blind to the end-users’ needs. If distributors will give us intel, then we can help them satisfy the end-users’ needs,” Bruno said. Relatedly, Robert Babb, Jr., vice president of sales for BIC Graphic, wants distributors to bring his sales reps into meetings with customers to help sell the product. “We’d love to partner with distributors. We’d love to help,” Babb said.

BIC executives hope the focus groups will help quell concerns about BIC Graphic’s commitment to the traditional supply chain in the wake of Walmart entering the promotional products industry. Walmart Promoshop, an online destination allowing shoppers to personalize/customize products with imagery and text, has product offerings from BIC Graphic and fellow Top 40 supplier SanMar (asi/84863).

“We know they’re scared to death that we’re selling directly to the end-user, but that is not the case,” Bruno said. He explained that BIC Graphic is selling through a registered distributor member who has a relationship with Walmart. Industry sources told Counselor that Harland Clarke (asi/219943), a Texas-based distributor, is playing an integral role in powering Walmart PromoShop.

“We have no shame at all in being on Walmart’s site,” Bruno said. “Walmart and Amazon entering our industry give us credibility. It may be daunting for distributors, but we want to help them be able to compete against these guys.”

Now that BIC Graphic has stepped away from BIC Group, there is less red tape and a shorter chain of command, allowing for management to make instant decisions and open their doors, company executives said. “When you’re part of a large corporation, you can’t be very nimble,” Bruno said. “It was absolutely forbidden to have anyone on the production floor. How can you have a distributor trust you? Now we’re able to be more transparent.”

In the months following the H.I.G. deal, BIC Graphic has been active in raising its profile. With increased exposure from Walmart and a renewed focus on public relations, the supplier hopes to become the leader of the industry. “To be with BIC is very good because you have their name,” Bruno said. “To not be with BIC is even better because they are focused on retail while we are focused on promotional. It’s an entirely different industry and H.I.G. understands our business.”

Miami-based H.I.G. Capital is an investment firm with $21 billion of equity capital under management. The firm formerly owned distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000), acquiring the Top 40 company in 2003 through a bankruptcy sale. H.I.G. sold HALO to another private equity firm in 2007 for $62.5 million. H.I.G. also owned U.K.-based Brand Addition before selling the firm this year.

With reported 2016 North American promotional products revenue of $316.9 million, BIC Graphic ranked fifth on Counselor’s 2017 list of the 40 largest suppliers in the industry.