Australian education & office supplies company COS has purchased the business of Vital Office, a leader in paper and education solutions operating across Australia, cementing COS as a lead contender in the education market.
As a privately-owned Australian business, COS is the second largest B2B office and education supplier in Australia, competing against Winc owned by US-based private equity investment firm Platinum Equity who acquired OfficeMax Australia in 2017.
COS was founded in 1977 by the current CEO Dominique Lyone and is joined today by his two daughters Amie & Belinda Lyone. COS employs over 500 Aussies and delivers to thousands of businesses and schools every day. COS currently holds a preferred supplier on many education state government contracts across Australia including NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD and WA.
What does this acquisition mean for COS?
Founder and CEO of COS, Dominique Lyone says; “We are a proud Australian family owned business, which I established 40 years ago selling typewriter ribbon and carbon paper in Western Sydney. Acquiring Vital will help continue our growth and success and give Australian schools a strong alternative to buy from an Australian owned company.”
“Blending COS and Vital business and teams, will deliver synergies that will benefit the school buyer and Australian families at BTS time. Schools and Businesses in Australia will be delighted that COS is a locally owned and operated alternative, with significant buying influence to deliver competitive prices, a larger product range, world class website,” concludes Mr Lyone.
“Sharing values with a family service based mindset and combining Vital and COS expertise, I am convinced COS is the right choice to look after our loyal customers who have come to expect a personalised service”, said Nick Harvey, CEO of Vital.
Today Vital Office employs approximately 20 people across Australia, selling similar range of products to COS. With a larger range in products, COS will offer the existing Vital customers some new choices to their existing needs. The decision was made by the Vital Group to focus on its core business as a paper merchant where Vital Paper will continue with a firm commitment as a trusted direct to market supply chain partner in the paper and print industry. Vital Paper will also continue to operate in the reseller paper market.
COS was attracted to Vital because of its impressive record of service and extensive success in back to school season for schools. As part of the acquisition COS acquires the service offering of a parent portal, a new service offering for COS.
“I’ve been impressed by Vital’s loyal customers and staff and the commitment to personalized service. This acquisition of Vital will help the COS brand to expand into the education market exponentially,” said Mr Lyone.
COS takeover the servicing of Vital customers effective 19th August, 2019.
