VistaPrint Announces European Partnership With Viking Direct
Press release from the issuing company
HAMILTON, BERMUDA--(December 10, 2008) - VistaPrint Limited, the small business marketing company, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Viking Direct, the leading stationery and office products supplier, that will enable both companies to expand their European reach by giving small business customers online access to VistaPrint's high-quality printed products through Viking Direct Web sites. Viking Direct is the direct-mail office supplies channel of Office Depot in Europe.
As part of the agreement, VistaPrint will develop Viking branded e-commerce Web sites for Viking Direct to be launched across Europe. The program will begin in the United Kingdom and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009, with other countries to come online thereafter.
Each site will be customized for local language and currency, allowing for a seamless buying experience for small business customers no matter what country they are located in. Customers will also have the ability to design and customize their marketing products -- such as business cards, postcards, invitations and brochures -- with fonts, colors, and logos using VistaPrint's online design studio. Customers will check out through the Viking Direct site, providing for a smooth and convenient transaction process.
"Selling to localized markets across Europe is something that VistaPrint has been doing for years, and truly has been a leader in this area, with a number of their own sites reaching countries like Germany, Spain and the UK," said Office Depot Europe's Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Dirk Collin. "Partnering with VistaPrint gives us the ability to expand our global reach with products we don't currently offer while using local languages and payment options. This lets us continue to help small businesses worldwide."
"Viking Direct is clearly the leading force in the stationery and office products space in Europe, and as a world class organization, partnering with them made sense for us as a business," said Janet Holian, president, VistaPrint Europe. "Expanding into European markets is something that VistaPrint has done very successfully over the past few years under our own brand. We're excited to bring that knowledge and experience to this critical relationship."