Italian textile printing and finishing firm Imprima has strengthened its operations in the US through the acquisition of City Prints and its twin company Premier Fabrics.
The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, is the fifth strategic deal finalised by Imprima, a company controlled by Wise SGR through the Italian private equity fund Wisequity.
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Both City Prints and Premier Fabrics are American companies specialised in printed textiles. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, respectively, the companies are specialised in textile printing for the programmed collection market.
They supply printed fabrics, based on proprietary design, to major US retailers such as Walmart, Target and Macy’s, to fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and to online retailers such as Amazon.
The companies serve retailers and brands through leading private label intermediaries, currently sourcing prints and garments mainly from China. As in the case of the previous acquisitions, the brothers Jason and Ryan Borg, co-founders of City Prints and Premier Fabrics, will maintain a leadership role in the management of the companies and become shareholders of Imprima.
“Our entry into the Imprima group is an excellent opportunity to consolidate and increase our commercial positioning in the market, through the introduction of Imprima Group’s brands in the US market and the opening of a digital production facility within the US territory, relying on the technology know-how in digital printing and the financial support that Imprima provides,” says Jason and Ryan Borg.
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By GlobalDataImprima president Valentina Franceschini, and EVP Gianluca Boni, add: “With this acquisition, Imprima deals with the US market with the goal of becoming the first textile converter with full digital printing capability in this local market. The current deep crisis of American apparel retailers is pushing the industry to reshape its current supply chain strategy, mainly based on sourcing from Far East, towards a European-like fast fashion model. Imprima, through City Prints and Premier Fabrics, will allow local retailers to leverage the ‘Made in USA’ banner to deliver a great creative experience through a local, reliable partner.”
The acquisition of the US companies follows the recent purchase by Imprima of the Italian print converters SET, Guarisco and B-Blossom and of the German print converter KBC.
