Corporate Specialties has been named a winner of the 2023 Inner City 100 (IC100) awarded by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Since 1999, ICIC has identified and celebrated the 100 fastestgrowing businesses in under-resourced communities in the U.S. through the IC100 award.

The 2023 IC100 winners were evaluated based on revenue growth from 2018 to 2022. Corporate Specialties, led by Valerie Hayman Sklar, was ranked #70 on the list based on its four-year revenue growth rate of 73.2%. In 2021, Corporate Specialties was ranked #97.

When reviewing the last four years, Hayman Sklar says the growth is the result of successful implementation of technology, ease-of-process and providing the one-onone customer service for which the company is known.

“Clients continue coming back because we provide not only products but also the creative ideas and campaign execution,” Hayman Sklar says. “They appreciate the concierge-level service we offer and they know that when they need merch to enhance their campaigns, they can count on us to offer ideas for events, onboarding, corporate gifts and more. Thank you to our clients for placing your trust in us to be good stewards of your brand, and thank you to ICIC for this prestigious honor.”

2023 IC100 Winners by the Numbers

From 2018 to 2022, the 2022 Inner City 100 companies averaged 454% revenue growth and created 2,781 total jobs. Of these 100 winners, 57% are BIPOCowned/led, and 50% are woman-owned/led, the latter of which ties last year’s record-high number in the program’s 25-year history.

Cities Represented: 54

States Represented: 26

Industries Represented: 23

Woman-Owned/Led: 50%

BIPOC-Owned/Led: 57%

Veteran-Owned/Led: 3%

LGBTQ+-Owned 4%

First-Time Winners: 31%

Hall of Famers (won IC100 5 or more times) 24%

Average Four-Year Revenue Growth Rate: 454%

Average 2022 Revenue: $12M

Total Jobs Created (2018-2022): 2,781