Nannicola Bucks Industry Trend

YOUNGSTOWN – The charitable gaming industry is transitioning and the number of distributors has been cut in half over 10 years as smaller companies try to compete with an increase in electronic gaming, state regulations and employee costs.

Nannicola Inc., however, has bucked this trend, says its president, Charles Nannicola. In 2019, the company enjoyed its best year for growth in 15 years, with revenue up 14%, compared to 8% in 2018. Nannicola attributes the growth to expansion of both its traditional and ecommerce businesses. 

The family-owned company is a distributor of charitable gaming and fundraising products. The company, founded it 1933, holds gaming licenses in eight states, employs 90 and services more than 2,200 nonprofits. 

Last year’s growth also was a result of the company increasing its focus on customer service, keeping a fresh product line and expanding its sales streams via Amazon and eBay, which accounted for 10% of the growth, Nannicola says.

Acquisitions also played a key role in the company’s success with Nannicola completing seven since 2017. Sales added because of the acquisitions delivered 30% of the overall growth in 2019. Other areas of growth were 30% from new customers, 20% from expanding business with current customers and 5% from increasing sales to other distributors across the country. 

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.