NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — A mainstay in North Olmsted for roughly a decade, Fully Promoted late last month expanded its operation with the purchase of Garment Specialties.

Twinsburg-based Garment Specialties sells a wide variety of apparel and decorated products, including embroidery, screen printing, uniform patches and armored protective gear.

“This is a great addition to our business,” said Avon Lake resident Fernando Bertero, who co-owns the Northeast Ohio Fully Promoted franchise locations with his wife, Cristina.

“The current customer base in Twinsburg does apparel only, and in North Olmsted we do apparel, uniforms, promotional materials, signage and printing. We thought it would be a good company to bring into the fold under the Fully Promoted brand, and offer to the existing customers the other products that Garment Specialties doesn’t offer,” Bertero said.

The current plan is for Garment Specialties to keep its name during the transition to Fully Promoted over the next year.

Bertero will oversee the expansion into the 3,750-square-foot Twinsburg location, while Cristina, the current North Olmsted Chamber of Commerce president, will continue to run the existing 2,100-square-foot Clague Road store.

“We’re going to consolidate all of the operations into Twinsburg, where we’ll have a larger footprint,” Bertero said. “North Olmsted will become an expanded showroom and continue to be a sales office location.

On the global level, Fully Promoted operates a full-service branded apparel, promotional products and marketing service business with approximately 270 individually owned and operated locations.

The company is known for its branded gear, merchandise and apparel that often gets used for business conferences, trade shows, incentives, recognition/award programs, corporate gifts and company stores.

Fully Promoted Brand President Mike Brugger was personally involved in the Northeast Ohio market expansion.

“We congratulate Fernando and Cristina for a smart acquisition that offers unmatched products and services to customers,” Brugger said in a press release.

“It’s exciting to see them bring the Fully Promoted experience to thousands of new customers. As Fully Promoted expands and continues to open new locations, we have the opportunity to introduce existing companies and distributors to our proven success.”