Stratacache is investing in Europe’s largest digital signage market by acquiring Scala partner Master Point AG. The Cologne POS and digital signage expert is a long-standing Scala partner and develops, installs and maintains POS concepts primarily in retail. Stratacache plans further acquisitions in Germany.
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.
New nationwide service locations planned
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. According to Dirk Hülsermann (Stratacache Capital), additional service locations are to be set up in Hamburg, Munich and Dresden by 2025 to ensure that Stratacache can serve the market efficiently nationwide.
“The acquisition of Master Point marks another milestone in Stratacache’s global strategy and a further investment and commitment to supporting leading global brands,” said Stratacache CEO Chris Riegel. “After the pandemic, retailers, FMCG and hospitality brands are once again investing heavily in digital experiences. We want to ensure that we can achieve their operational goals worldwide with a single call.”
According to invidis information, the acquisition of Master Point will not be the only transaction to happen in Germany. Stratacache is planning two more digital signage and retail media acquisitions in Europe’s largest economy.
invidis analysis
CEO Chris Riegel and his team remain true to their strategy of being represented in the most important markets worldwide with their own teams. In recent years, Stratacache did not focus on taking over large, well-known digital signage integrators, but often secret champions unknown in the broader market. The takeover of Master Point AG, which is largely unknown in the digital signage sector, fits into the picture.
Scala, in contrast, is probably the best-known digital signage brand in the world, so it does not necessarily need to take over large, well-known providers. What it does need, however, are “people on the ground” who know the market and its specific characteristics and who can be on site quickly. Digital signage projects are changing from hardware installation to service-focused offers. Without your own presence in the most important markets, it is difficult to provide reliable service.
