Industry News


Premier Print & Promotions acquires Blueprint


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ne of the UKs largest distributors of promotional products, Premier Print & Promotions, has acquired Blueprint Promotional Products. This acquisition further enhances Premiers position in the UKs promotional goods industry, contributing to the companys future growth and performance. Founder and managing director of Premier Print & Promotions, Jamie Marshall, said: “As we welcome Blueprint into the Premier family, we believe that their expertise in the promotional market will contribute toward our business growth in 2017 and beyond.


“All of us at Premier are looking forward to building a close working relationship with Blueprint's clients and staff – introducing them to The Premier Difference!” Managing director of Blueprint Promotional Products, Mark Wilson added: “I would like to take this opportunity to


Mark Wilson and Jamie Marshall


thank our clients for their valued business and loyalty over the years, it has been very much appreciated.


“I know Jamie and his team at Premier have the experience and enthusiasm to take Blueprints client base to the next level and will serve them very well.” Blueprint will continue to trade under the umbrella group of Premier companies.


Fluid Branding opens European office J


anuary saw Fluid Branding open its first European office in Amsterdam, in The Netherlands.


This opening came following the companys recent growth and expansion in the UK market.


Miles Lovegrove, managing director, said:


“We identified the need to service our existing clients and grow our portfolio across the EMEA, where better to do this than Amsterdam, where many companies European head offices are located.”


In addition to the move, Fluid Branding has welcomed Gert-Jan Sentel as a sales director, heading up their Amsterdam office. Mr Sentel joins Fluid with 22 years of experience within the promotional merchandise industry. Mr Lovegrove concluded: “Our expansion plans ensure were perfectly placed for our EMEA clients and run alongside our continual commitment to exceptional customer service. Were very excited about the coming year.”


Gildan completes acquisition of American Apparel


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n Wednesday, February 8, it was announced that Gildan Activewear had completed the acquisition of


American Apparel. On Tuesday, January 10 Gildan emerged as the winner of a bankruptcy auction to purchase the American Apparel brand and certain assets, after raising its offer to around $88million. Gildan has not purchased any of American Apparels retail assets, but will


www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk


own its brand and assume some of its manufacturing operations. The company has also separately purchased inventory from American Apparel to ensure a seamless supply of goods into the printwear market while the brand is integrated into Gildans portfolio. American Apparel voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November following years of struggle.


Gert-Jan Sentel with Matt Franks and Miles Lovegrove


Promotional Product Expo rebrands


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ormally known as the Trade Only National Show, the Promotional Product Expo has closed following its final event back in January.


The event has rebranded to become Resellex and will take place from Sunday, January 14 to Tuesday, January 16, 2018.


The event is designed for personalisation, printwear, screen print and signage resellers, creating a bigger reseller audience for exhibitors. Day One is to be Reseller Day, which welcomes first year attendees and newer print and promotional product resellers into the market. Day Two is to be Value Added Resellers Day. This day is designed for the industrys top specialist distributors and will have a strict admittance criteria. Day Three is to be the Hosted End- Buyer Day. End-user buyers will be accompanied by their distributor reseller partners and agencies from across the UK and Europe. There will also be a Resellex Conference Programme, which will aim to bring in bigger reseller audiences and end-user brand owners. Speakers will include business leaders, academics, cultural icons, entrepreneurs, marketers and brands from across the world. Resellex 2018 is aiming to be the


UKs biggest and highest quality reseller expo focused on personalisation and print.


Oeko-Tex partners with ZDHC


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eko-Tex is joining the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals programme. The ZDHC programmes goal is to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals in the global textile and footwear value chain. This ties in perfectly with Oeko-Texs vision of globally implementing sustainable/ green chemistry and best practices in the textile, apparel and footwear industries.


Georg Dieners, Oeko-Tex general secretary, said: “Oeko-Tex has long been committed to helping companies reduce the use of toxic chemicals throughout their supply chains.


March 2017 | 11 |


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