The perils of being a small digital business in a high-investment marketplace have claimed Wellington specialty printer, Kinetic Digital.
One year after Kinetic left the shelter of NZ Post the owners have sold it on to Blue Star Group, citing the difficulties of surviving in a competitive market where ongoing high-tech investment is part of the deal. David Allen, co-owner, will leave the business, although most of the staff at Kinetic’s Vivian Street facility will keep their jobs, including the other co-owners, Max McCready and Lisa Thompson. According to Allen the independent operation didn't have the scale or investment muscle required to survive as a stand-alone business.
“I was one of the founders of Datamail which became Datam, a business of NZ Post, and we saw-in the arrival of digital print technology back in the late 1980's,” Allen told Print21. “I facilitated the Kinetic Digital divestment from NZ Post twelve months ago and we tried to give it a go on our own. But the reality is that high-street boutique businesses like ours are now struggling to compete in a market where on-going investment in technology is required, and gaining customer reach in a "me-too" market is becoming harder and harder."
Kinetic is one of New Zealand’s leading direct marketing print specialists, with HP Indigo & HP Latex equipment. The company installed the first HP Indigo Press in New Zealand in 2002 and claims to be New Zealand’s “most awarded” digital printing company.
"Blue Star Group have the size and scale and they want to build on the Kinetic Digital brand as they push into the growth based digital markets," said Allen. "I'll now be looking for new opportunities, whatever they may be.”
Blue Star Group GM Peter Ward said: “We’ve admired Kinetic’s specialty skills for many years and it’ll be great to have them as part of the group. We’d like to assure all clients that our intention is to support Kinetic, to help the business develop and grow.”
The deal, effective March 30, will see Kinetic operate as an independent division of Blue Star Group.
Blue Star in New Zealand is a NZ$125 million, 575-staff operation, and runs as a collaborative network operating under brands including Brebner Print, Format Print, McCollams Print, Nicholson Print Solutions, Printlink, Spectrum Print, Blue Star Works and Blue Star Direct.