Imprima SpA, the holding company of the multinational group dedicated to textile printing and finishing, has acquired City Prints and Premier Fabrics, two U.S. companies specializing in printed textiles.
Imprima, controlled by Wise SGR through the Italian private equity fund Wisequity, strengthens its strategic positioning, consolidating its global presence in the field of printing and textile finishing for international retailers and fashion brands.
City Prints and Premier Fabrics, founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, respectively, supply printed fabrics, based on proprietary design, to major U.S. retailers such as Walmart, Target and Macy’s, and to fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, along with 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 previous acquisitions, brothers Jason and Ryan Borg, co-founders of City Prints and Premier Fabrics, which has annual sales of more than $23 million, will maintain a leadership role in the management of the companies and become shareholders of Imprima.
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“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 U.S. market and the opening of a digital production facility within the U.S. territory, relying on the technology know-how in digital printing and the financial support that Imprima provides,” said Jason and Ryan Borg.
Imprima president Valentina Franceschini and executive vice president Gianluca Boni, said with this acquisition, Imprima gains a foothold in the U.S. 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, toward a European-like fast fashion model,” they said in a joint statement. “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.”
This acquisition follows Imprima’s recent acquisition of the Italian print converters SET, Guarisco and B-Blossom and of the German print converter KBC.