Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is one of the participants in a funding round by Latvia online print provider Printify. It has raised $45 million of funding to expand its network of suppliers capable of single copy printing of promotional items, cards, gifts and textiles, produced by designers working through Etsy, Patreon and Shopify.
Many of these are operating online shops as a side hustle to their main employment, creating unique designs for greetings cards, social stationery, mugs, stickers and casual clothing. It reckons to have 2 million merchants as part of its network and is shipping more than 1 million orders a month through a network of around 100 print providers in nine countries across the world.
In the UK these include Prodigi, Print Clever, M-A-N-A Factory, WPaPS and T Shirt and Sons. The company is continually adding to the network with printers able to offer existing products to the Printify network via a seamless API link to the Printify ecommerce platform which provides an image of the product, its sku and shipping information.
The impetus for the Series A round of funding was a rapid rise in demand for its services, prompted at least in part by lockdowns around the world, stimulating both online shopping and trends to set up online retail businesses. It is the same effect that Gelato, Printful and Zazzle, other operators with a similar business model, have noted.
“Our mission is to build an ever evolving platform that lets anyone start an ecommerce business with as little investment and risk as possible. Our vision is to transform ecommerce from mass manufacturing to on demand production, eliminating excess stock and reducing environmental waste,” says Printify CEO James Berdigans.
“Last year brought significant changes to the industry, as customers increasingly chose to shop online, while more and more merchants were looking for opportunities to earn additional income. We’re proud to serve the growing demand from creators and entrepreneurs and plan to continue our rapid growth by expanding into new markets and investing in a team of the most talented and ambitious people from across Europe.”
Branson says: “Entrepreneurial spirit runs through the Virgin Group, which is why I’m proud to support Printify. Both Printify’s vision and success story to date embed this special entrepreneurial spirit, which in turn has created a rapidly growing and robust ecommerce platform. Printify’s unique proposition helps people market their brands through customisable products, with no upfront investment. We’re excited to support its growth in the coming years.”
This is not Branson’s first investment in print. Virgin has previously backed a 24-hour instant print shop in London hoping to establish a franchise chain, but the venture failed to take off.
