Studio Emma and Creatief strengthen the Gumption Group
West Flanders sister companies Studio Emma and Creatief are becoming a member of the Gumption Group. Studio Emma is a well-established name in the world of e-commerce, webshops and data management. Communications firm Creatief is set to join brand agency Oddball. With the accession of both companies to the Group, Gumption is strengthening its regional foothold in West Flanders.
West Flanders sister companies Studio Emma and Creatief are becoming a member of the Gumption Group. Studio Emma is a well-established name in the world of e-commerce, webshops and data management. Communications firm Creatief is set to join brand agency Oddball. With the accession of both companies to the Group, Gumption is strengthening its regional foothold in West Flanders.
As a full stack web agency, Studio Emma has a firm focus on e-commerce. Creatief specialises in online and offline communication, both in B2B and B2C. The two companies, managed by brothers Patrick and Pascal Vandenbrande, have been household names in West Flanders for many years.
Studio Emma has twenty years of experience in the development of internet applications. For the past ten years, the company has specialised in e-commerce and data management solutions with Magento, Open Source, Adobe Commerce and Pimcore.
As a full stack web agency, Studio Emma has a firm focus on e-commerce. Creatief specialises in online and offline communication, both in B2B and B2C. The two companies, managed by brothers Patrick and Pascal Vandenbrande, have been household names in West Flanders for many years.
Studio Emma has twenty years of experience in the development of internet applications. For the past ten years, the company has specialised in e-commerce and data management solutions with Magento, Open Source, Adobe Commerce and Pimcore.
E-commerce experts
CEO Pascal Vandenbrande will remain with Studio Emma for a year to help support the transition. After that, he will move on to new challenges and hand over the baton to his brother and co-founder Patrick Vandenbrande.
Patrick will retain a 35 per cent share in Studio Emma and will lead the company from within the Gumption Group. ‘Gumption’s economies of scale and entrepreneurial expertise are a major positive for us,’ explains Patrick Vandenbrande. ‘The service that Gumption offers to its companies by supporting them in areas such as HR and finance allows us to focus on our mission and our customers. We aspire to grow with our customers.’
E-commerce experts
CEO Pascal Vandenbrande will remain with Studio Emma for a year to help support the transition. After that, he will move on to new challenges and hand over the baton to his brother and co-founder Patrick Vandenbrande.
Patrick will retain a 35 per cent share in Studio Emma and will lead the company from within the Gumption Group. ‘Gumption’s economies of scale and entrepreneurial expertise are a major positive for us,’ explains Patrick Vandenbrande. ‘The service that Gumption offers to its companies by supporting them in areas such as HR and finance allows us to focus on our mission and our customers. We aspire to grow with our customers.’
The team of 30 operates from Bruges and Kortrijk. With customers and projects in both the B2C and B2B fields, including Roularta, the Colruyt Group, Tom&Co and Zelfbouwmarkt, Studio Emma is renowned in the world of e-commerce. The company also has a stake in Ghent-based hosting company Cloudstar, allowing it to serve customers at infrastructure level as well.
Complementary
Sister company Creatief has been working in communication for more than four decades. Creatief will join Antwerp-based Oddball, another Gumption company, and continue under that name. Derk De Kimpe, managing partner at Oddball explains: ‘The expertise of the Creatief team in graphic work complements Oddball’s expertise in branding, motion and activation. This step will help Oddball to establish a foothold in West Flanders.’
Bart Embrechts, managing partner at Gumption explains: ‘Studio Emma and Creatief complement our group’s current range of services. Studio Emma’s expertise and target group in the field of webshops nicely complements the expertise in customer experience and e-commerce of fellow group company TheValueChain.’ TheValueChain and Studio Emma have already collaborated on several projects, including for cookware shop Allinox. There is also a neat complementarity with others, including supply chain expert valueXstream.
The team of 30 operates from Bruges and Kortrijk. With customers and projects in both the B2C and B2B fields, including Roularta, the Colruyt Group, Tom&Co and Zelfbouwmarkt, Studio Emma is renowned in the world of e-commerce. The company also has a stake in Ghent-based hosting company Cloudstar, allowing it to serve customers at infrastructure level as well.
Complementary
Sister company Creatief has been working in communication for more than four decades. Creatief will join Antwerp-based Oddball, another Gumption company, and continue under that name. Derk De Kimpe, managing partner at Oddball explains: ‘The expertise of the Creatief team in graphic work complements Oddball’s expertise in branding, motion and activation. This step will help Oddball to establish a foothold in West Flanders.’
Bart Embrechts, managing partner at Gumption explains: ‘Studio Emma and Creatief complement our group’s current range of services. Studio Emma’s expertise and target group in the field of webshops nicely complements the expertise in customer experience and e-commerce of fellow group company TheValueChain.’ TheValueChain and Studio Emma have already collaborated on several projects, including for cookware shop Allinox. There is also a neat complementarity with others, including supply chain expert valueXstream.
Buy-and-build strategy
Following the takeover of Canguru and IDinIT earlier this year, the accession of Studio Emma and Creatief to the Gumption Group is yet another example of Gumption’s buy-and-build strategy. The acquisition strengthens the group’s regional positioning. In addition to the head office in Kontich, there are now Belgian branches in Antwerp, Ghent, Genk and Waver. These are now joined by an outpost in West Flanders.
Bart Embrechts explains: ‘We will shortly be opening a branch of Gumption in Bruges, where we will join the new headquarters of Studio Emma.‘In addition, Studio Emma also has an office in Kortrijk, where we’ll be establishing a hub with Gumption, starting in 2023. That will be the location of the West Flanders branch of Oddball.’ Gumption also has offices abroad, specifically in the Dutch cities of Amersfoort and Den Bosch, and in Kehlen in Luxembourg.
Future certainty
Patrick Vandenbrande, managing partner at Studio Emma continues: ‘Gumption companies operate as a knowledge network and ecosystem. That strategy is beneficial both to us and to our customers. We’ll now be able to offer more expertise all under the same roof. As part of the group, we can also refer our customers to reliable partners if that is what their business demands. Our accession to the Gumption Group gives us certainty for the future.’
Buy-and-build strategy
Following the takeover of Canguru and IDinIT earlier this year, the accession of Studio Emma and Creatief to the Gumption Group is yet another example of Gumption’s buy-and-build strategy. The acquisition strengthens the group’s regional positioning. In addition to the head office in Kontich, there are now Belgian branches in Antwerp, Ghent, Genk and Waver. These are now joined by an outpost in West Flanders.
Bart Embrechts explains: ‘We will shortly be opening a branch of Gumption in Bruges, where we will join the new headquarters of Studio Emma.‘In addition, Studio Emma also has an office in Kortrijk, where we’ll be establishing a hub with Gumption, starting in 2023. That will be the location of the West Flanders branch of Oddball.’ Gumption also has offices abroad, specifically in the Dutch cities of Amersfoort and Den Bosch, and in Kehlen in Luxembourg.
Future certainty
Patrick Vandenbrande, managing partner at Studio Emma continues: ‘Gumption companies operate as a knowledge network and ecosystem. That strategy is beneficial both to us and to our customers. We’ll now be able to offer more expertise all under the same roof. As part of the group, we can also refer our customers to reliable partners if that is what their business demands. Our accession to the Gumption Group gives us certainty for the future.’