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The Image Group Acquires E-Commerce Platforms

The Image Group (asi/230069) announced it has acquired Bag Warehouse and Thirsty Promo from Mark-It Smart of Santa Ana, California. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bag Warehouse and Thirsty Promo both offer e-commerce sites from which businesses can buy directly.

“Our customers are increasingly interested in researching and procuring promotional products online,” said Jon Levine, president of The Image Group. “We believe the shift to online purchasing reflects the growing influence that millennial-aged employees are having in company buying decisions. This acquisition helps us remain ahead of that shift.”

Levine says that The Image Group will expand beyond bags and drinkware on e-commerce to offer a wider selection of promotional products and marketing services. “Our ability to offer the same online shoppers our entire product and apparel lines, as well as access to our creative design and print services, enables those buyers to complete more of their procurement responsibilities with one vendor,” Levine said.

Levine said that Mark-It Smart’s owners are pursuing new businesses in other areas outside of e-commerce and promo products.

The Image Group will move Bag Warehouse and Thirsty Promo to its headquarters in the Toledo suburb of Holland, OH, where it operates a production facility with screen printing, embroidery, engraving, warehousing and fulfillment services. The Bag Warehouse and Thirsty Promo names will be retained, but employees with both entities will not be joining.

Founded in 1981, The Image Group offers a full-range of branded merchandise as well as e-commerce management. Along with its Toledo-area headquarters, the company maintains sales offices in Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Columbus and Minneapolis.