Source: Beckett.com
After weeks of rumors spreading through the sports card industry of the potential sale of Donruss Playoff LP, The Panini Company finalized the purchase of the sports card icon Friday.
“Acquiring the trading card business from Donruss is very meaningful for a number of reasons,” said Peter Warsop, Panini’s Group Licensing Director. “Panini’s vision of the future is to grow the North American trading card market considerably, and this determination is demonstrated yet again by this acquisition.
“When the announcement was first made that Panini would become the exclusive licensee to the NBA, there was some concern over Panini’s will or ability to maintain and improve product quality, innovation and service to the hobby market. It is significant, therefore, that we demonstrate our commitment to these important disciplines by bringing into our business the level of expertise that currently exists with the Donruss facility.”
This announcement no doubt comes as a relief to those hardcore basketball collectors who’ve spent the last forty or so days wondering about the future of their hobby. Having an experienced, award-winning product development team at the ready gives Panini the chance to immediately put its best foot forward in the NBA.
Whether or not that foot will include Donruss-branded basketball products remains to be seen.
“All publishing will come under the Panini Brand umbrella and you will also see Panini-branded football series as well as Donruss, Playoff and Score series,” Warsop confirmed. “It is possible that Donruss brands will be utilized on some NBA series, although this has yet to be decided.”
Read the full story at Beckett.com
