Marlow's managing director Alec Pettigrew says Hong Kong contributes much to the global success of the US promotional merchandise company

Marlow International Limited set up in Hong Kong in the mid sixties won the lucrative deal supplying a varied range of promotional merchandise for the World Cup's 15 main sponsors, among them global brands like MacDonalds, Gillette and Coca Cola. 

Marlow's managing director Alec Pettigrew welcomed the opportunity to work in partnership with these commercial affiliates, calling it "the largest single merchandise contract in our business."

"We already have key global supply relationships with some of the sponsors. They recognise our expertise in supply chain management and sourcing. At the end of the day we got the contract because they realise we're passionate in what we do and we can deliver," said Mr Pettigrew.

Hong Kong, he added, contributes much to the global success of Marlow International. "Hong Kong has always been the nerve centre of our company. No matter how big the company has grown, our headquarters remains in Hong Kong. Our business is about sourcing so what better place to be located than at the doorstep of the world's biggest and most exciting production base - the Chinese mainland."

"In our business where we're mostly sourcing from the mainland, we can achieve a quick turnaround  of samples that is unmatched elsewhere in the region. A customer comes to Hong Kong, talks to us and then goes and sees a selection of factories in China, all on one trip."

The Marlow team has a diverse culture and language base to match the needs of the customers from around the world.

Marlow International has a global presence with offices in the US, UK, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Promo Group, a US based holding company formed by Black Diamond Capital Partners and Banc Boston Capital.