News

Stratacache acquires, rebrands Popscreens

December 12, 2018

Stratacache, owner of Scala Digital Signage, has acquired Popscreens, an all-in-one intelligent tablet and computing device manufacturing company based in Ningbo, China, according to a press release. 

As part of the acquisition, Popscreens is now called Scala China in a rebranding designed to strengthen solution visibility and brand presence in the global commercial market. The acquisition enhances Stratacache's expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its commitment to the Scala brand, following Scala's acquisition in August 2016.

"We have demonstrated significant focus on growth in the important Asia-Pacific market, investing more than $100 million in the region in the past 24 months, including the acquisition of Scala," Stratacache CEO Chris Riegel said in the press release. "We are enjoying tremendous growth in the region with strong new leadership, a greatly expanded services team and a strategic focus on the markets in China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Asia-Pacific region has added more than 2 billion consumers to the middle class in the past decade and we're helping leading retailers, brands and marketers develop these new consumer relationships. Scala China is another step along that journey and, with the recent progress on U.S.-China trade relations, now was the right time to move forward on this opportunity."

Scala China will continue to produce embedded computing devices ranging from seven to 98 inches. "The devices are ideal for 24x7 commercial use in interactive consumer engagement environments such as retail stores, gaming, hospitality and banking," said Chief Operating Officer Patrick Saletta. "With over 8,000 existing Scala customers worldwide, we will help expand opportunities in many strategic markets and client partnerships."

As part of the acquisition, Stratacache adds a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and more than 125 employees in research and development, production and manufacturing lines, as well as design and software engineers with experience in the Rockchip platform, a core element of the smart touchscreen devices. The acquisition also includes a support and logistics center and a China-based network operations center.