Headquarters: Stillwater
Founded: 1998
Revenues: $100 million (projected 2008)
Employees: 170 in Stillwater
Ticker: Private
Web Site: gartnerstudios.com
What It Does: Creates, designs, and distributes “social expressions” products such as greeting cards and party goods
It’s only fitting that a company whose products are often mailed is headquartered in the 100-year-old Post Office building in central Stillwater.
“It’s a beautiful building,” says Greg Gartner, president and CEO of Gartner Studios, which designs and distributes stationery, invitations, greeting cards, gift bags, and other “social expressions” products. “When you walk in the front door, whether you’re a team member, customer, or vendor, you feel the energy and the vibe, and you know this is a different kind of company.”
When Gartner started the company out of his home in 1998, he told people he wanted to be a $100 million company in 10 years. And after reaching $70 million in 2007, Gartner Studios is indeed poised to pass $100 million in sales in 2008. With two distribution centers in Wisconsin and sales offices in Dallas, Boston, Florida, and Bentonville, Arkansas (Wal-Mart’s headquarters city), Gartner believes he’s laid the foundation to become a $1 billion company in another10 years.
How did Gartner Studios grow so fast, particularly since it grew organically, without outside investors? The company’s founder credits its spirit of innovation—of looking at established product categories “not through the rear view mirror but through the windshield.” Its party goods division, for instance, has gone beyond plates, cups, and napkins to include “unique banners, table décor, and other fun add-on items—like eyeball ice cubes for Halloween—that would round out the party.”
That spirit of innovation, plus the opening of an office nearly three years ago in Hong Kong, helped Gartner Studios establish a strong relationship with Wal-Mart. “Three years ago, I identified that we needed to have a more global presence in our supply chain,” Gartner says. “Having an office in Hong Kong tells our customers that we can meet the demands that a 1,500-store chain requires.”
Many things went right for Gartner Studios in the last 12 months. In February 2008, it acquired one of its strongest competitors, Minneapolis-based DGInventive, which sells to 2,500 independent boutiques and upscale retailers as well as Target.
In June 2007, Gartner Studios opened Pulp Fashion, a retail paper and card store in downtown Stillwater. “We wanted to get closer to our customers,” Gartner says. “We can test new products there and go down and talk to customers any time we want. It’s really invigorating to have that ‘incubator lab.’”
Perhaps Gartner’s biggest coup came at the end of 2007, when his company landed a contract with Illinois-based Factory Card Outlet to be its primary supplier for five years. “It’s big,” Gartner says. “Not only from a dollar amount, but because we got it away from American Greetings and Hallmark.”
Gartner notes that American Greetings is a $1.8 billion company and Hallmark is a $4 billion company. “I really believe that the industry is ready for a third major player that can compete with them for shelf space and for global notoriety,” he says. “We are positioning ourselves to do just that.”
