(Catalog Age) Framingham, MA-based office supplies cataloger/retailer Staples agreed on July 9 to buy Medical Arts Press, a multi-title cataloger of medical-related printed products, for $385 million. The all-cash transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.
“We feel there are tremendous synergies to expand our offering and presence in the medical industry,” says Staples spokesperson Deborah Hohler, noting that 25% of Medical Arts’ products overlap with those sold in the Staples catalog and in the catalogs of its Quill Corp. subsidiary. “That provides us tremendous potential for cross-selling–a great opportunity for Staples and Quill to sell to Medical Arts’ 300,000-plus customers.”
The $168 million Medical Arts Press, based in Minneapolis, has three titles. The Medical Arts Press catalog sells printed office products and practice-related supplies to medical offices; SmileMakers sells children’s giveaway novelties to doctors, dentists and educators; and Hayes Marketing sells marketing-related products to chiropractors, dentists, and eye-care professionals.
The Medical Arts team, including CEO Steven Wexler, will report to Quill Corp. president Larry Morse while retaining its Minneapolis headquarters. The company plans no immediate changes to Medical Arts or widescale layoffs. But Medical Arts vice president of sales and marketing Jim Hoffman and chief financial officer Michael Kasner, whose jobs are considered redundant with those in Staples, will be let go after a transition period.
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