Image Builders

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About Image Builders Image Builders was born in 1985. Mike Fanslau started the company and first called it Image Builders....Uniforms and Sportswear. After working in the industrial laundry business for years, he saw that many customers wanted more than he could offer for rented uniforms. Two key clients, Gold n Plump, and Anderson Trucking Service, wanted service that couldn't be provided by the rental uniform companies. Image Builders was able to provide the variety of product and imprints that they wanted, and both companies are still good clients to this day. Initially we only provided work uniforms, and sportswear items like t-shirts, polos, sweats, and baseball caps. Customers started asking us for other imprinted items like pens, coffee mugs, key chains and decals. Mike went to the library to research where he could get all those other items, and found it very difficult to find the wide variety of products he needed to fill his customers requests. Finally! after much research he found that it would be best if he were to join the Advertising Specialty Institute ( usually known as ASI ). This was expensive, but it was the key that unlocked the door to increasing sales of advertising specialty products. Mike realized that there were four basic types of vendors he could work with: A ) Franchised: only sell to a very select group of distributors...require a purchase of expensive sample kits, as well as guarantee of minimum sales volume to continue with the line B ) Preferred usually only sell to the top 20% of all distributors C ) Selective sell only to established distributors, who have good credit history, and have been in business at least 2 years D ) General will sell to just about anyone if you pay in advance, but have lesser quality merchandise, slower turn around times, and less variety. In order to get some of the better products his customers desired he had to purchase them through another distributorship until he could build up his credit rating, and his sales volume. By 1989 sales had grown to the point where it was time to make the big move to our current location where we have 8000 square feet. Image Builders 2907 Clearwater Road St., MN 56301 Cloud ( 320 ) 259-1311 ( 800 ) 324-8190 Fax: 320 ) 259-1368