RPI Acquires DPI, Expands North American Capabilities
SEATTLE—May 1, 2013—RPI, a leader in make-on-demand, private-label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers, today announced that it has acquired DPI, an Atlanta-based company that provides Web-to-print, on-demand products and services for business-to-business customers such as Nestle, Johnson Controls and CB Richard Ellis.
The acquisition is a win-win for both companies, according to executives from both companies.
“Many of our customers have asked us to develop a strong presence on the East Coast, and this acquisition of DPI addresses that need,” said Rick Bellamy, CEO of RPI. “It will help us significantly reduce the time to deliver personalized products to consumers and businesses, and minimize unexpected delays in order delivery created by elements out of our control, such as weather.”
“Our customers can now take advantage of increased scale, faster delivery times to the West Coast, and expanded IT development capabilities offered by RPI,” noted Bob Moore, CEO of DPI. “They also will benefit from a broad assortment of products and services that will enable new ways to bring the brand to the consumer.”
This is RPI’s second significant acquisition in the past two years. In 2011, RPI acquired Paro, a company based in the Netherlands that provides print products for the corporate and consumer markets in Europe.
By acquiring DPI, RPI is addressing a growing market need for a company that can deliver powerful, near-time, Web-to-print solutions for global brands addressing both the consumer and business markets, Bellamy said.
“With the proliferation of today’s technology, we have entered a new age of personalization,” Bellamy added. “Consumers are using social and mobile platforms to control conversations about the brand story. Savvy companies are looking for authentic and meaningful ways to participate in these conversations, and to ultimately engage consumers to co-create experiences where tangible physical products are essential to the experience.”
RPI specializes in make-on-demand photo merchandise for mass and specialty retailers, an estimated $2 billion market worldwide. However, stationery ($11B), yearbooks ($4B), home décor ($26B) and pets ($50B) represent much larger market opportunities for personalized print products, Bellamy said.
“With the acquisition of DPI, we believe we are uniquely positioned to help companies address and capture this multi-billion dollar market opportunity,” he explained.
DPI will become a RPI company and its management team and 27 employees will be blended into the RPI management structure and workforce. Other terms of the deal, including acquisition price, were not disclosed.
About RPI
RPI is a leading make-on-demand producer of private label personalized photo books, greeting cards and stationery products for mass and specialty retailers. The Seattle-based company, founded in 1979, has additional production facilities in Atlanta and in Eindhoven, NL. RPI’s blue-chip retail and online publishing customers rely on its consistent, reliable execution, creative design services and state-of-the-art manufacturing for the rapid delivery of innovative products utilizing consumer-generated content. RPI has one of the largest digital printing facilities on the West Coast for both HP Indigo and Xerox Igen technology and has been listed on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the past four years.
About DPI
DPI was formed in 1992 to address the emerging digital printing and print on demand market. Since then, DPI has evolved into a full service color digital printer supporting all aspects surrounding the digital printing and marketing process. As one of the first Indigo digital printing sites in the United States, DPI has been recognized as a true innovator in digital color printing technology. DPI specializes in versioned or personalized printing for national chain-based and dealer-comprised companies by focusing on Web-to-print solutions for global brands addressing the B2B market.
Source: RPI.
