Vantage Apparel acquires majority stake in Lynka

Top 40 US supplier, Vantage Apparel has acquired a majority stake in the European corporate apparel supplier Lynka.

This acquisition will make Vantage the largest global supplier and decorator of corporate apparel — offering its decoration services world-wide.

At the same time, Lynka’s co-owners, Berendsohn of Hamburg fully exited the business on July 21, and will continue as a key customer of Lynka.

Known for its well-stocked multi-brand wholesale apparel and merchandise, Lynka will add to its existing portfolio Vantage’s core product assortment; making way for global uniform programs which have been growing markets for the two companies over the last five years.

Ira Neaman, CEO of Vantage Apparel, said: “Our partnership with Lynka will allow distributors with global customers to achieve consistency in not only their apparel merchandise assortment, but also the quality of decoration that have been a pinnacle of achievement for both Vantage and Lynka through the years.

“I’m proud to bring Vantage’s reputation in superior decoration and back-office technology services to the world stage.”

Lynka’s leadership will remain intact with founder and shareholder John Lynch, a New Jersey native, at the helm as president; leading the over 250-member team in Poland, which services customers across 25 countries in Europe including the UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, CEE and further afar. Lynka ships decorated apparel anywhere in Europe in as little as three to 10 business days.

Mr Lynch added: “I have personally known Vantage for well over a decade. Whenever we shared war stories over the years, Ira and I always agreed that Vantage and Lynka are remarkably similar companies – our unique one-stop-shop solution, our top-notch decoration, and in particular, our approach to business including our core values. I can’t imagine a better partner than Vantage for the future.”

Like Vantage, Lynka is known for its award-winning embellishment, having won more awards for decoration than any other European apparel company. It is one of the very few WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) certified apparel manufacturers in Europe — insuring safe, compliant and environmentally friendly practices.

Since being founded in 1992, Lynka has decorated more than 85 million garments, more than any other EU company. Having recently relocated to a modern 100,000sq ft decoration and logistics facility outside of Krakow, Lynka offers its clients a wide range of decoration methods including screen print, embroidery, transfer print, sublimation, and direct to garment digital printing, with the newest Kornit technology.

Single-piece garment decoration and full print-on-demand services are fast growing and important parts of both company’s strategies.