CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PlanetArt, a subsidiary of Claranova Group (Paris:CLA), announced today that it has acquired the assets of CafePress from Shutterfly LLC’s Snapfish business unit. Based in Louisville, Kentucky and developer of one of the world’s best known ecommerce creation platforms, CafePress brings a new growth engine to PlanetArt, already one of the fastest growing businesses in the personalized products space.
“We are pleased to have had the opportunity to collaborate with our friends at Shutterfly/ Snapfish on this deal,” said Roger Bloxberg, PlanetArt’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re looking forward to the many synergies that will result from what is truly an outstanding complement to our existing brands. In particular, we will be the beneficiaries of an amazing group of experienced and talented team members in every area of development, marketing and merchandising.”
While a modern technology stack with numerous unique characteristics, the CafePress brand itself dates back all the way to 1999, making it one of the earliest companies in the personalized products space. From T-shirts to mugs to tote bags, CafePress’ products are developed almost entirely by third-party content contributors and are sold on a combination of CafePress’ own sites, operating in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, and custom stores that can be set up by any user.
The acquisition adds Canada and Australia to the geographies into which PlanetArt sells, as well as a host of product categories in which the company’s brands have only dabbled until now, notably many categories in the apparel space.
“Most importantly,” continued Bloxberg, “CafePress gives PlanetArt a battle-tested marketplace orientation and all of the exciting benefits that such a system provides, including hundreds of thousands of content contributors worldwide. Notably, CafePress comes with a best-of-breed technology toolset that will make it possible to bring a marketplace facility to many of our other brands.”
“We are pleased to have closed this acquisition,” said Jim Hilt, President of Shutterfly, “as we believe PlanetArt is uniquely positioned to offer the focus and investment that can return the CafePress brand to sustained growth. PlanetArt has strong capabilities and a long track record of success in the personalized products market. We believe that the combination of CafePress’ talented team and PlanetArt’s infrastructure and experience will drive strong performance.”
In addition to product diversification and geographical expansion, the CafePress acquisition will accrue a third advantage to PlanetArt, putting the company in an enviable position as licensee of hundreds of high-profile properties. CafePress has been the licensee of properties from Marvel, Hasbro and many others. These properties are used to create unique content that is easily applied to a large assortment of engaging merchandise.
The financial aspects of the deal will remain private.
For more information, visit CafePress.com, CafePress.ca, CafePress.co.uk or CafePress.com.au.
Financial calendar:September 30, 2020: Publication of the 2019-2020 annual results
About PlanetArt:
PlanetArt is a leading technology platform in the personalized products industry. Founded in 2010, the company develops and operates more than a dozen ecommerce sites and mobile apps for iOS and Android, including FreePrints™, Personal Creations®, SimplytoImpress® and Gifts.com®. All of the company’s brands support the vision of allowing consumers to forge closer, more meaningful relationships with family and friends. PlanetArt is unique in its space with a large emphasis on mobile transactions and a presence in 11 countries.
About Claranova:
A high-growth technology group, Claranova is an international player that is firmly positioned in the long term, drawing on resilient business models for high-growth potential markets. As the leader in personalized e-commerce (PlanetArt), Claranova also sets itself apart through its technological expertise in software publishing (Avanquest) and the Internet of Things (myDevices). These three business divisions share a common vision: simplify access to new technologies using reliable solutions, combining innovation and ease of use. Drawing on this vision, for the past five years Claranova has enjoyed an average annual growth trajectory of over 30% while improving its profitability, both through organic and external growth.
