The Detroit, Michigan-based promotional products distributorship ranks #97 on the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City’s annual Inner City 100 list.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN (December 23, 2021) – Corporate Specialties has been named a winner of the 2021 Inner City 100 (IC100) awarded by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Since 1999, ICIC has identified and celebrated the 100 fastest-growing businesses in under-resourced communities in the U.S. through the IC100 award.
The 2021 IC100 winners were evaluated based on revenue growth during the four-year period from 2016 to 2020. Corporate Specialties, led by Valerie Hayman Sklar, was ranked #97 on the list based on its four-year revenue growth rate of 23%.
When reviewing the last four years, Hayman Sklar says the growth is the result of consistent referrals, targeted outreach and a whole lot of hustle. Being able to achieve this growth in Detroit makes the recognition that much sweeter.
“Ever since visiting my family’s business in downtown Detroit as a child, I’ve felt very connected to the city,” Hayman Skar said. “I moved the headquarters to Detroit in 2013 because I saw the city was on the edge of change. There was an excitement, an energy, and I wanted to be a part of it and contribute to the rebirth of a legendary American city. Being included on the IC100 list for my contributions to economic growth in a city I love is a true honor.”
This year’s IC100 list was unveiled during an awards ceremony at ICIC’s 2021 Annual Conference held virtually on December 9.
Growth During Covid-19
In light of the economic and financial impact of COVID-19, small businesses are more vital now than ever to local economies and small business ecosystems. Thus, it is important to recognize and celebrate them for their growth and resilience.
“Recording financial growth year over year is a significant accomplishment,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman. “The Inner City 100 class of 2021 sustained their momentum amid the unprecedented challenges faced during the pandemic to greatly expand their respective businesses’ revenue—a tremendous accolade to be celebrated.”
Corporate Specialties sales in 2020 actually grew 38% over 2019, and it wasn’t in sales of PPE. “Our clients had to get very creative to continue marketing their brands, connecting with customers and hosting events during the lockdowns,” Hayman Sklar said. “They relied on our expertise to design strategic promotional marketing programs, and the sales came naturally as a result.”
Support For Charitable Organizations
While sales growth was the primary factor for evaluation, how companies support nonprofits and charitable organizations within their communities was also considered.
Grossman added, “These firms have been engines of job growth and a healthy, inclusive economy in these incredibly challenging times. They have also been actively engaged in strengthening their communities by donating their time and resources to local organizations and charities. We are truly inspired by our IC100 winners.”
In 2020, Corporate Specialties supported the City of Detroit with donations of tote bags for food distribution as well as the Detroit Fire Department with gifts of pet oxygen masks to provide respiratory assistance to pets that were in fires.
But the biggest contribution to the community was when Drew Barrymore wore a vintage The Detroit News t-shirt on the cover of InStyle magazine, and Hayman Sklar worked with the media outlet to recreate the shirts as a fundraising campaign. Corporate Specialties manufactured, sold and individually mailed 5,500 shirts, helping The Detroit News raise more than $70,000 for the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation. Learn more here.
2021 IC100 Winners by the Numbers:
From 2016 to 2020, the 2021 Inner City 100 companies averaged 216% revenue growth and created 3,899 total jobs. Of these 100 winners, 32 are woman-owned/led, and 60 are BIPOC-owned/led, the latter of which is a record high-number in the program’s 23-year history.
| Average Company Age: | 20 Years |
| Cities Represented: | 51 |
| States Represented: | 24 |
| Industries Represented: | 24 |
| Woman-Owned/Led: | 32 |
| BIPOC-Owned/Led: | 60 |
| Veteran-Owned/Led: | 5 |
| First-Time Winners: | 39 |
| Hall of Famers (won IC100 5 or more times) | 21 |
| Average Four-Year Revenue Growth Rate: | 216% |
| Average 2020 Revenue: | $14.13MM |
| Total Jobs Created: | 3,899 |
| Total Employed by IC100 Winners in 2020: | 8,063 |
To view the full list of 2021 IC100 award winners by ranking and learn more about each company, visit: https://bit.ly/InnerCity100_2021_award_winners.
About Corporate Specialties
Founded by Valerie Hayman Sklar in 1997, Corporate Specialties creates strategic promotional marketing campaigns that feature branded merchandise for corporations, municipalities and small-to-midsize businesses headquartered in Detroit and all across the U.S.
CEOs, business owners, corporate marketers, meeting and event planners, and HR pros come to Corporate Specialties for its concierge service, which provides superior personalized service, stronger product recommendations and better integration into overall marketing programs—all while saving time and money.
Corporate Specialties’ expertise has been recognized with numerous awards, five of which were bestowed for outstanding blog content—including the PPAI Gold Pyramid for Technology Programs in 2021. The company was also honored for creative excellence with the 2016 PPAI Bronze Pyramid Award for Goodwill Programs.
Proudly based in Detroit, Michigan, Corporate Specialties received the 2021 Inner City 100 (IC100) award as one of fastest-growing businesses in under-resourced communities in the U.S. Since 2019, the company has been certified as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
As an affiliate with IpromoteU, the 14th largest promotional products distributorship, Corporate Specialties has all the powerful resources of a big company at its fingertips while maintaining the personal relationships of small business.
For more information, visit corporatespecialties.com.
IC100 Methodology
Recognizing that concentrated poverty exists within metropolitan areas outside of big cities (and that poverty overall is suburbanizing), ICIC has revised its definition of an inner city (or under-resourced area) to encompass large areas of concentrated poverty in suburbs and smaller central cities as well as the large cities on which it has historically focused. The new inner city definition that ICIC has developed includes large low-income, high-poverty areas located in the urban and suburban parts of all but the smallest metropolitan areas. Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks and awards the 100 fastest-growing businesses located in America’s under-resourced communities. In 2021, companies were selected and ranked by revenue growth over the four-year period between 2016 and 2020.
About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) was founded by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization that today is widely recognized as the preeminent authority on urban economic growth. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income and wealth for local residents. Learn more at www.icic.org. Follow on Twitter and Facebook at @icicorg.