February 26 (SeeNews) - Panda Cooperation, a franchisee of US-headquartered stationery retailer Office 1 Superstore International for Bulgaria, said on Monday it has acquired the global brands of the company.
Under the deal concluded on February 20 Panda Cooperation becomes the sole owner and representative of the brands Office 1, Office 1 Superstore, Office 1 Superstore International and Office 1 e-shop worldwide, Panda Cooperation said in a statement.
The negotiations took more than 12 months to complete, Panda Cooperation noted.
In the short term, Panda intends to focus on completion and implementation of a fully automated warehouse and logistics centre in Ravno Pole village, some 20 km east of the capital Sofia.
The logistics centre is planned to be operational at full capacity in the third quarter of 2018, the company added.
After the completion of the logistics centre, the company will be able to maintain significantly larger stocks, which will be the main competitive advantage of the new owners of the Office 1 Superstore brand, not only on the Bulgarian market but also on the international markets.
Panda owns the rights to use the Office 1 Superstore trademark in Bulgaria since 1998. Currently it operates more than 70 stores in 42 cities and towns across the country.
Office 1 was founded in 1994 as a franchise retail chain selling office products and supplies. The company is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida with international operations managed from a central office and warehouse in Sofia, Bulgaria.