STRATACACHE Adds European Retail Services Capabilities Via Acquisition of German Firm MasterPoint

June 4, 2024 by Dave Haynes

STRATACACHE has sorted out how it can expand its retail media network activity in western/central Europe, acquiring a Cologne, Germany company that specializes in digital signage systems integration, operation and field services.

The Dayton, Ohio solutions company has acquired MasterPoint, giving the company an experienced team of project managers, technicians, engineers and installers to work on retail-focused jobs.

STRATACACHE also plans to open new service locations in Hamburg, Munich and Dresden to complement what’s in place in the Cologne headquarters and therefore cover all of the German market.

“The acquisition of MasterPoint marks another milestone in STRATACACHE’s global strategy, and a further investment and commitment to supporting leading global brands,” says STRATACACHE CEO Chris Riegel. “Post pandemic, retailers, FMCG and hospitality brands are once again investing heavily in retail digital experiences. We want to make sure we can meet their operational objectives around the world with a single call.”

Riegel has built up its European footprint mainly through acquisitions, starting several years ago with Scala, but then also adding Idklic in Belgium, Walkbase in Finland and Sys-Teams in the United Kingdom. Sys-Teams has similarities with MasterPoint, but is UK focused.

STRATACACHE says the MasterPoint service offer will involve:

• Strategy, planning and production of large-scale digital signage projects;
• Client and solution provider coordination and logistics;
• Deployment, technical support, operations and field service response with localized knowledge in Germany and the Benelux region;
• Digital signage solution expansion and optimization;
• Retail media network deployment, support and operational outsourcing.

Florian Rotberg of content partners invidis has a very helpful analysis posted, based on his MUCH deeper knowledge of the German and broader EU markets (he’s based in Munich) …

Stratacache has been looking for a suitable partner in Germany for a long time, and on Monday CEO Chris Riegel announced the first deal. With the acquisition of Master Point AG – a smaller POS agency for brands such as BSH (Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte), Garmin, Gopro and Logitech Shop-in-Shop – Stratacache is now also represented in Europe’s largest market with its own integrator business.

Master Point AG, founded in 2005, is not a classic digital signage integrator but a POS specialist for the integration, operation and field service of digital signage systems and POS material based in Cologne. Masterpoint has been using Scala CMS for years to operate digital signage screens at the POS.

The acquisition expands Stratacache’s global presence in Europe and complements the previous acquisitions of Idklic in Belgium, Scala in the Netherlands, Walkbase in Finland and Sys-Teams in the UK.

Scala is already firmly established in the DACH market with its own sales team around Matthias Hofmann, Jan Kubitza and Käthe Fleischer; all that was missing was its own integrator in Germany. Until now, DACH projects have relied on the group’s own integrator resources from other European markets.

The acquisition of Master Point now enables Stratacache to serve retail customers in Germany, in particular with its own service team. The Master Point team of project managers, engineers and installation technicians not only take on the development, planning and production of digital signage projects for well-known brand manufacturers, but also the coordination and logistics of other service providers at the POS.

The small-scale shop fitting, shop decoration and digital shop-in-shop POS business requires an experienced field service team. With the acquisition of Master Point, Stratacache now has its own installation and service team for Germany and the Benelux region.