Stephen Young

What Stephen Young does

Stephen Young is a B2B sales representative firm founded in 1965 that connects gift-industry publishers and consumer-product brands with retail, corporate, and hospitality buyers across the Western United States. The firm operates as a multi-line representative agency, earning commissions on sales it generates for approximately 100+ brand principals spanning world-leading book publishers (Abrams, Chronicle Books, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Phaidon, The Quarto Group, W.W. Norton, Ingram), luxury personal care and beauty brands (Panier des Sens, TOCCA, Acqua dell'Elba), home fragrance (Voluspa, Cereria Molla), home accessories (Barefoot Dreams, Fringe Studio, Rosanna), children's products (Charlie Bears, Elegant Baby, Mon Ami), and jewelry and fashion accessories.

The company runs two physical showrooms — one at LA Mart/The Reef in Los Angeles (1933 S. Broadway, Suite 830) and one at the World Market Center in Las Vegas (Building C, Suites C-1112, C-1196, C-1101) — plus a network of 30+ area representatives covering Southern California, Northern California, Southern and Northern Nevada, Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. Order processing is handled through an internal system and the MarketTime B2B platform; the firm has no proprietary technology, no disclosed AI capabilities, and no app or API offering.

Revenue is generated exclusively through sales commissions on orders placed by buyers visiting the showrooms during trade market events (Winter, Summer, and Fall Markets in LA; Winter, Summer, and Toy Week in Las Vegas) or generated by area representatives in the field. Customer segments are horizontal across retail store buyers (primary), corporate gifting buyers, and resorts/hotels. The firm is privately held, has never raised external capital, and is believed to be owner/founder-family operated, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or public ownership signals in the data.

Name

Stephen Young

Legal name

Stephen Young

Website

https://stephenyoung.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stephen Young is a 60-year-old B2B sales representative firm that connects 100+ gift-industry publishers and consumer brands with retail, corporate, and hospitality buyers across the Western US through two showrooms and a 30+ person field sales force, earning commissions on wholesale orders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sales Representation Services

NAICS

Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594), Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Retail-Variety Stores (5331)

akta.pro primary industry

Educational & Learning Toys Retail (CRALAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Educational/Children’s Learning Games & Puzzles Retail (CRALALAN), Kids & Baby Specialty Department Stores (CRAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Sales representation services
• Gift industry wholesale
• Publisher sales agency
• Showroom distribution
• Brand representative firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Sales Commission: As a sales representative firm, Stephen Young earns commissions from the gift publishers, home accessory brands, personal care brands, and children's product brands they represent. They bring these product lines to retail buyers, corporate buyers, resorts, and hotels through their showrooms and sales force.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Stephen Young is a B2B sales representation firm that connects gift publishers, home accessory brands, personal care brands, and children's product brands with retail buyers, corporate buyers, and hospitality buyers. The company operates two showrooms in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and maintains a network of 30+ area sales representatives covering the Western United States, Hawaii, and Mountain States. Founded in 1965, Stephen Young earns commissions by bringing represented brand portfolios to market through showrooms, trade events, and a field sales force.

Product overview

Stephen Young is a sales representative company serving the gift industry since 1965. The company operates as a multi-brand representation firm with two showrooms (Los Angeles and Las Vegas) and a field sales force covering the Western United States. Stephen Young represents approximately 100+ publishers of books, journals, diaries, calendars, and fine papers, along with luxury personal care brands, home fragrance, home accessories, children's products, jewelry, fashion accessories, and seasonal food items. The company connects brand partners with retail store buyers, corporate buyers, resorts, and hotels through physical showrooms and road sales operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sales Representation Services B2B sales representation services connecting gift publishers, home accessory brands, personal care brands, and children's product brands with retail buyers, corporate buyers, and hospitality buyers through showrooms and a road sales force.
• Los Angeles Showroom Showroom operations at LA Mart/The Reef offering display units, product catalog access, and in-person purchasing for retail buyers, open Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM, participating in Winter Market, Summer Market, and Fall Market events.
• Las Vegas Showroom Showroom operations at the World Market Center in Las Vegas serving retail buyers, corporate buyers, and specialty retailers in the gift and home industries, participating in Winter Market Las Vegas, Summer Market Las Vegas, and Las Vegas Toy Week events.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AbramscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Abrams book publisher featuring art, architecture, design, and lifestyle titles. Spring Special available offering 52% discount on 10+ units.
• Chronicle BookscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Chronicle Books including imprints like Brass Monkey, Creative Editions, Galison, Games Room, Hardie Grant, Levine Querido, Mudpuppy, Petit Collage, Princeton Architectural Press, Quadrille, Ridley's Games, Twirl. Tiered discount specials up to 54% for 200+ units.
• Hachette Book GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Hachette including imprints Artisan, Black Dog & Leventhal, Kids Can Press, Knock Knock, Little Brown, Lonely Planet, Running Press, Summerdale, Storey, Union Square & Co., Workman Publishing. Volume discounts up to 55% on books.
• Penguin Random HousecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents PRH including imprints Batsford, Candlewick, DK, Flammarion, Flying Eye/Nobrow, Hay House, Knopf, Little Golden Books, National Geographic, Prestel, Quirk, Rizzoli, Ten Speed Press. Discounts for 35+ units at 52%, 100+ units at 53%.
• VoluspacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Voluspa home fragrance brand, the official home fragrance partner of Wicked: The Movie (November 2025). Features signature scents inspired by Glinda and Elphaba characters.
• Barefoot DreamscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Barefoot Dreams, a luxury comfort brand. Michelle Pignatello serves as Barefoot Dreams Manager for Las Vegas operations.
• PhaidoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Phaidon Press, a world-leading publisher of books on art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, travel, and gastronomy. Also represents Monacelli imprint.
• Simon & SchustercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Simon & Schuster including imprints Adams Media, Andrews McMeel, Insight Editions, Silver Dolphin, Skyhorse, Viz Media. Discount/dating specials available for $250+ net orders.
• The Quarto GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents The Quarto Group including imprints Cool Springs Press, Fair Winds Press, Harvard Common Press, Motorbooks, Quarry, Rockport, Walter Foster, Wide Eyed Editions. $75 net receives 55% discount.
• W.W. Norton & Co.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents W.W. Norton including imprints Abbeville, Countryman Press, Fantagraphics, Thames & Hudson, The Experiment. Discount or dating specials available.
• MacmillancoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Macmillan including imprints Bloomsbury, Farrar Strauss and Giroux, Henry Holt, Page Street, Priddy Books, Roaring Brook Press, St. Martin's Press. Discounts for 35-99 units at 52%, 100+ units at 54%.
• PaperblankscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Paperblanks for journals, diaries, fine papers and note cards. 40-99 units receive 52% discount with net 90 days and free freight.
• Ingram Publisher ServicescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Ingram Publisher Services including imprints Alabaster Creative, Ammonite, Gestalten, Greystone, School of Life, teNeues, Tuttle Publishing. 50+ units receive 53% discount.
• Panier des SenscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Panier des Sens, a French natural beauty and home fragrance brand. Featured product: Precious Jasmine hand cream with 96% natural origin ingredients, olive oil enriched, recyclable packaging, vegan friendly.
• TOCCAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents TOCCA, a luxury personal care and home fragrance brand. Offers tester specials ($1000+ receives free testers) and freight specials ($1500+ receives free freight).
• LA MartcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLA Mart/The Reef is the venue for the Los Angeles showroom. Stephen Young participates in trade market events at this location.
• World Market Center Las VegascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorld Market Center is the venue for the Las Vegas showroom. Stephen Young participates in Winter Market and Summer Market events at this location.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ivystone Group: Ivystone is one of the largest multi-line gift industry sales representative agencies in the United States, operating showrooms at major U.S. gift markets and representing publishers and lifestyle brands to the same retail buyer base that Stephen Young serves. Business model, customer profile, and trade-show-centric GTM directly mirror Stephen Young.
• Anne McGilvray & Co: Anne McGilvray & Co is a long-established Dallas-based gift industry sales rep agency that operates showrooms at Dallas Market Center representing publishers, gifts, and lifestyle brands to retail and resort buyers. Same multi-line rep model, same showroom-and-trade-show GTM, and overlapping publisher brands.

Broad incumbents

• International Market Centers: International Market Centers operates the Las Vegas Market and Atlanta Market, the two largest gift industry trade show venues where Stephen Young exhibits. While IMC organizes trade shows rather than repping individual brands, both businesses depend on and reinforce the same physical-trade-show buying ecosystem for the U.S. gift industry.
• Dallas Market Center: Dallas Market Center operates one of the largest permanent gift and home industry showrooms in the U.S., hosting gift rep agencies and brand showrooms across multiple seasonal markets. Closely tied to Stephen Young's business model as a venue where similar gift industry reps compete and the same retailer buyers travel between LA, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
• AmericasMart Atlanta: AmericasMart Atlanta is a major U.S. gift and home industry trade show complex hosting gift rep agencies, publishers, and lifestyle brands across multiple seasonal markets. Sits in the same physical-trade-show ecosystem as Stephen Young's LA and Las Vegas showroom participation.

Emerging players

• Faire: Faire is a B2B wholesale marketplace that connects independent retailers, including the gift and book shops that Stephen Young serves, directly with brands and publishers. Represents the most disruptive emerging channel to the traditional rep-and-showroom model, automating replenishment orders that historically went through multi-line reps.
• Abound (formerly Bullseye): Abound is a B2B wholesale platform serving independent gift and lifestyle retailers with online ordering, payment terms, and discovery features that compete with the in-person showroom order experience. Targets the same retail customer base as Stephen Young and offers brands a digital sales channel layered on top of traditional rep networks.

Others

• Hallmark Cards: Hallmark operates one of the largest vertically integrated greeting-card, gift, and home-decor businesses in the U.S., selling many of the same product categories (greeting cards, journals, calendars, ornaments, home fragrance) that Stephen Young represents. Comparable as a broad incumbent brand supplier to the gift retail channel rather than as a direct rep competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/stephenyoung.net
• Xx.com/syoungshowroom
• Facebookfacebook.com/StephenYoungShowroom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stephen-young

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stephen Young