Japanese forwarder Nippon Express has purchased Italian fashion logistics firm Traconf for €144.5m as it looks to expand outside of its home market and further develop its apparel services.

Nippon Express said it believed the acquisition would help it grow its fashion logistics business dramatically and would fit well with its 2013 purchase of forwarder Franco Vago, which also targets apparel logistics.

“The combination of Traconf and Franco Vago will provide us with the mutual access to the customers of both companies, and furthermore the ability of offering each customer with non-stop integrated logistics services from international transportation, product warehousing, to distribution to the markets,” Nippon Express said.

“In terms of our geographic strategies, the complementary interaction of the two companies and the local bases of our group will create a global network beyond the European market, allowing us to provide high quality services to customers worldwide as a leading distributer in the fashion logistics industry.”

Traconf is headquartered in Verona, Italy, providing the warehousing, distribution and other services for the fashion and lifestyle industries in Europe, mainly Italy, as well as the US and China.

Last year, the Italian logistics firm reported revenues of €130.2m.

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