Queensboro

What Queensboro does

Queensboro is a privately held, founder-owned custom logo apparel and promotional products company founded in 1982 by Fred Meyers and headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas. The company operates primarily as a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business selling custom embroidered and digitally/screen-printed apparel — polos, t-shirts, hats, outerwear, activewear, workwear — alongside custom promotional products including drinkware, pens, bags, and office goods. Its primary stated customer is the small and medium business buyer needing low-minimum, fair-priced branded merchandise; enterprise accounts such as Costco, Burger King, Pepsi, Lowes, and NASA appear in its public logo roster alongside the SMB base.

The core technology stack is two-fold: custom embroidery and digital/screen printing applied to hundreds of third-party apparel brands (Nike, The North Face, Brooks Brothers, Carhartt, Columbia, Adidas, Puma, Eddie Bauer, Nautica, New Era, Spyder, etc.) and to Queensboro's own in-house brand line (AP3 3.0 polo, Classic Cotton Tees, twill hats). Customer-facing platform components include a self-service Logo Upload & Studio (logo locker), a dedicated QB Online Stores product (qbonlinestores.com) that lets organizations spin up customizable, markup-enabled branded storefronts for team ordering, and three specialized sub-brand shops — QB Thread Shop, QB Print Shop, and QB Swag Shop — organized by decoration method.

Revenue mechanics are unit-based: products priced at approximately 60% of retail value with a $60 order minimum, a single included embroidered or printed logo per garment, and additional logos and shipping billed separately. The QueensboroPlus membership adds a recurring relationship layer with dedicated account representatives, custom pricing, and style guidance; registered customers are reported to save an average of 42%. A $25 referral program, a New Customer Sampler program at flat sub-$11 price points, and a No Returns Necessary Guarantee (replacement or refund without requiring product return) round out the commercial stack. Distribution is exclusively domestic — contiguous US at a $9.95 flat ship rate, Alaska and Hawaii at $19.50 — and customer acquisition leans heavily on Google paid search, SEO, and email marketing. The company has 101–250 employees and no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or acquisitions.

Name

Queensboro

Legal name

Queensboro Industries, Inc.

Website

https://queensboro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Queensboro is a privately held, founder-owned custom logo apparel and promotional products company founded in 1982 that sells custom embroidered and printed apparel and branded merchandise via direct e-commerce, primarily serving small and medium businesses with select enterprise accounts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Logo Apparel and Promotional Products

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942), Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers (458)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro primary industry

Branded Merchandise & Promotional Apparel Wholesale (CRAOADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customized & Personalized Fan Gear Retail (CRAMAOAJ), Party Favors, Gifts & Custom Merchandise (HSACACAM)

Keywords

• Custom embroidered apparel
• Custom printed apparel
• Promotional products
• Logo merchandise
• Custom branded apparel

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Apparel Sales: Direct e-commerce sales of custom embroidered and printed apparel including polos, t-shirts, hats, outerwear, and accessories. Customers upload logos and designs for customization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Queensboro sells custom-decorated apparel and promotional products to businesses and consumers. Its core offering consists of custom embroidered apparel (polos, hats, outerwear, activewear, workwear), custom printed apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts) decorated via digital/screen printing and dye sublimation, and custom promotional products (drinkware, pens, bags, office goods, outdoor gear). All items are decorated with customer-supplied logos and ordered through the queensboro.com e-commerce platform with self-service logo upload and a $60 order minimum.

Product overview

Queensboro is a custom logo apparel and promotional products company operating since 1982, offering two primary decoration methods: custom embroidery and digital/screen printing. The core product portfolio is organized around three main categories — Custom Embroidered Apparel (polos, hats, outerwear, activewear, workwear), Custom Printed Apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts), and Custom Promotional Products (drinkware, pens, bags, office goods) — all customizable with customer logos. These are supported by several service sub-brands: the QB Thread Shop, QB Print Shop, and QB Swag Shop, which specialize in their respective decoration techniques. Additional offerings include a QueensboroPlus membership providing dedicated account reps and preferential pricing (averaging 42% savings), a customizable online storefront platform (qbonlinestores.com), a self-service Logo Upload & Studio tool, a No Returns Necessary Guarantee for customer satisfaction, a New Customer Sampler program for trial orders, a Referral Program ($25 per referral), and a Donations Program for charitable organizations. The company's own proprietary Queensboro Brand Apparel line includes flagship products such as the AP3 3.0 All Purpose Polo in both embroidered and printed versions, Classic Cotton Tees, and Twill Hats, serving as the house brand alongside hundreds of third-party branded apparel from brands like The North Face, Nike, Adidas, Carhartt, Brooks Brothers, Columbia, Spyder, Puma, and Sport-Tek.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Registered customers save an average of 42% on orders
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• RushOrderTees: Custom screen-printed and embroidered apparel e-commerce retailer serving businesses, schools, and organizations. Overlaps directly with Queensboro's custom embroidered and printed apparel lines and serves a similar SMB and mid-market buyer.
• 4imprint: One of the largest North American distributors of promotional products including apparel, drinkware, bags, and accessories. Directly comparable to Queensboro's QB Swag Shop offering and broader custom promotional merchandise business, with similar SMB and enterprise customer mix.
• Custom Ink: Direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform for custom printed and embroidered apparel serving businesses, teams, and groups. Closely comparable to Queensboro on product (custom decorated apparel), target customer (SMBs and organizations), and online ordering model with logo upload.

Broad incumbents

• Alphabroder (now S&S Activewear): Major wholesale distributor of blank apparel and promotional products serving the decorated apparel and promotional merchandise market. Comparable supply-chain position to Queensboro's sourcing of brands like Nike, The North Face, and Carhartt.
• Cimpress (Vistaprint): Large-scale operator of mass-customization businesses including Vistaprint and several custom apparel and promotional product brands. Comparable to Queensboro on the custom decorated merchandise and SMB e-commerce model, but operates at significantly larger scale and across multiple categories.
• SanMar: One of the largest U.S. wholesale distributors of blank apparel and accessories for the decorated apparel industry. Comparable to Queensboro's wholesale-like operations on the supply side, though SanMar focuses on blank distribution to decorators rather than direct-to-end-customer decoration.
• HALO (formerly HALO Branded Solutions): Large corporate distributor of branded merchandise and promotional products including apparel. Comparable to Queensboro on the promotional products and corporate apparel side, but typically serves larger enterprise programs through dedicated account management.

Emerging players

• Printful: On-demand printing and embroidery service used by creators and SMBs for custom apparel and accessories. Comparable to Queensboro on custom printed and embroidered apparel but typically accessed through integrations and marketplace channels rather than direct SMB brand relationships.
• Threadless: Custom printed apparel platform with artist-driven designs and on-demand production for individuals and small businesses. Partially comparable to Queensboro's custom printed apparel line but more focused on consumer/creator designs than B2B logo apparel.
• Swag.com: Online platform for branded merchandise and promotional products with a curated catalog and team-store capabilities. Directly comparable to Queensboro's QB Swag Shop and qbonlinestores.com, with stronger emphasis on a tech-forward ordering experience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/queensborousa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Queensboro