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SOLO Group and midocean join forces for one-stop merchandise offering

French promotional textiles company SOLO Group has acquired Dutch-based merchandise business midocean to better serve the needs of European buyers with a one-stop shop.

SOLO Group and midocean engaged in 2020 in commercial cooperation to explore the compatibility of both companies when offering a selection of the SOLO Group portfolio including decoration to resellers in Europe.

This proved successful and appeared a perfect fit in terms of geography, operational set-up and company values.

Alain Milgrom, president-founder SOLO Group, said: “The still fragmented promotional market today is more and more demanding service and efficiencies across the value chain. Our objective has always been to deliver the best service to our customers, always acting in ‘Fair Spirit’. This includes offering a full-service solution to stimulate the appeal for promotional textiles with end-users. When combining the strengths of both companies, this is exactly what I envision to happen, in the best interests of all our customers.”

Stephen Gibson, CEO of midocean said midocean had always envisioned a collaboration with an established textile specialist of promotional textiles.

“This will instantly strengthen the company’s presentation as a multicategory-specialist supplier, resulting in the most comprehensive item portfolio in the industry, instantly available including print/ decoration.”

Audélia Krief, CEO of SOLO Group said that combining both companies would give customers direct access to extensive inventories of promotional textiles that will be decorated and drop shipped to end-users as efficiently and quickly as resellers have become used to for hard goods.

Paris-based SOLO was established in 1991 and had revenue in 2021 of €160m, with more than 200 employees. midocean employs more than 800 people and had 2021 revenue of €130m.

6/23/2022

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Samoa from Castelli closes the book on recycling

Castelli has created the new Samoa ruled notebook, made from 100% high quality recycled paper to satisfy the growing demand for eco-friendly and sustainable promotional products.

Its FSC certified cover has been engineered from 100% recycled paper fibres which consists of 60% post-industrial waste such as cardboard coffee cups and is available in a range of colours inspired by nature.

The durable, 120gsm dyed card cover has been tested to ensure that highest branding techniques can be achieved, including blind and foil embossing as well as full-colour digital printing.

Samoa’s 160 internal pages feature paper that is carbon neutral produced from 100% recycled fibres made from stationery waste and post-consumer waste, helping to save trees, water, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Bespoke advertising pages and bands on 115gsm 100% recycled white paper can also be inserted or wrapped around your Samoa notebook for a sound eco-credential promotional product.

Samoa products comply with REACH and all components have been curated to ensure the item is 100% recyclable in its entirety with any unavoidable CO2 emissions being offset towards controlled emission reduction projects within Europe.

Double awards for Kingly boost organic credentials of textile supplier

Clothing specialist Kingly has marked a double achievement by gaining an important textile standard and winning a major promotional gift award.

The company has been approved for GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification, making it one of only 52 socks manufacturers worldwide to meet the standard. It is the only GOTS accredited producer of socks in the UK.

GOTS shows that the company has conformed to a certain standard for the organic composition of its socks. Organic cotton used in textiles must not have used chemical pesticides, genetically modified seeds, or artificial fertilisers.

There are further requirements in terms of employment conditions and production methods including the use of water, so achieving the combination is a challenge.

Kingly’s GOTS-certified cotton socks have also been awarded the 2022 Promotional Gift Award.

The company has previously won a Promotional Gift Award in 2020 for its upcycled socks in compostable bags. The socks were made from fibres mechanically recovered from recycled clothing, and the bags were made of potato starch.

Kingly is also committed to zero-waste and has adopted this approach to eliminate textile waste in every aspect of production.

Offcut waste is retained and re-used, and waste fibres are retained and find a new life as stuffing for printed pillowcases, furniture, and so on.

Rob Armour, CEO of Kingly, said: “Kingly’s Zero Waste Facility is a benchmark that other manufacturers should aim to match. Crucially, we have been able to introduce these changes and meet these standards, and remain profitable.” Direct Textiles +

manager, adding more experience

and general sales support, Fairhurst will help develop the

DTB adds two to growing team

Direct Textiles + Bags (DTB) has added to its sales team with two new appointments.

Carol Fairhurst joins as account manager, adding more experience to the already established team at the Old Dalby site.

Responsible for account management and general sales support, Fairhurst will help develop the valuable relationships DTB has with existing customers.

Kyra Lawrence, sales team leader at DTB said: “The team is growing rapidly at the minute. Carol is another fantastic addition who will help us all. With her knowledge of DTB and its systems, she is, and will continue to be, a massive asset to the sales office.”

Meanwhile, Lisa Green assumes the role of junior account manager, handling the account management of select DTB customers as well as supporting the other team members within the sales office.

Lawrence added: “Lisa is a very bubbly, friendly character who has slotted straight into the team. Her training is going incredibly well, and she will be full of DTB knowledge and looking after her own accounts in no time.”

Gilt Edged Promotions moves as company develops

Northampton-based promotional diary, notebook and calendar supplier, Gilt Edged Promotions, has purchased and moved into new premises on Moulton Park.

The new space, on Deer Park Road, has been completely refurbished, making it an exciting new chapter for the business just a few streets away was from their previous home.

Managing director, Natalie Eichmann, said the business needed to move to develop.

“We have been looking to move for some time, but finding the right space and location was of particular importance. When this gem on Moulton Park popped up, it was the perfect fit. Our new office and upgraded facilities have enhanced our operational efficiencies and will help us to continue to grow and evolve. With the renovation we have been able to incorporate some environmentally friendly measures, which we continue to build on,” she said.

The new space will make operations more streamlined and efficient and allow for greater teamworking and brainstorming opportunities across the business.

Gilt Edged Promotions look forward to welcoming clients to the new space over the coming months.

Premium Collection from Laltex aims high

Laltex has launched a new 36-page catalogue featuring an exclusive range of executive promotional gifts.

The Premium Collection showcases a handpicked range of gift ideas from each of Laltex Group’s specialist promotional merchandise divisions.

Those who took advantage of the pre-sell special offer have already received their catalogues and have commented on how well the new style of catalogue is being received by their clients.

Available plain or overprinted with your logo, the catalogue is the ideal marketing tool to re-engage with clients and offers inspiration for those seeking a higher end option for their next promotional campaign.

There’s also a handy electronic version that can be downloaded and shared with customers in an instant, completely free of charge.

Throughout the catalogue beautifully crafted images reflect the quality of each item on offer. All of these images are available to download at Laltex’s trade portal making them perfect for sharing on social media.

USB2U invests in UK facility to serve growing demand

Tech gift specialist USB2U has moved to a brand new, state of the art purpose-built premises on Northampton’s Moulton Park Industrial Estate.

The company has committed a significant investment to the new facility that has been perfectly designed and constructed to meet its current and future business requirements.

Sebastian La Porta, managing director, said: “With current market conditions impacted by Brexit, post Covid-19 economic recovery and global transport issues, we have found an increase in demand for our UK stock and production. By offering UK stock printed and finished in house in our new facility, our customers can avoid the long lead times and increased costs involved with sourcing directly from China and rest in the knowledge that our team can deliver. ”

An increase in demand has meant that the company’s print and production split has shifted to predominantly UK based in recent years. The office move will enable it to fully utilise the warehouse and production space needed to provide customers with the lead times and quality that they want.

USB2U’s new facility also boasts more green credentials, including electric car charging points, making it more energy efficient in the long term.