Printfly Makes Strategic Acquisition To Leverage Expertise Across New Verticals

Athlete Originals and Artist Originals are the newest brands under the Printfly umbrella


PHILADELPHIA, March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Printfly, a technology and printing platform that powers end-to-end custom apparel businesses, today announced the acquisition of AthleteOriginals.com and ArtistOriginals.com from AOMVP, LLC . The acquisition combines the 70-plus athletes and artists under the Originals umbrella, with Printfly’s 15 years of technology, production, supply chain and fulfillment expertise. Printfly’s capabilities will enable Originals’ storefronts to reach further into the exploding custom apparel market and provide athletes, artists and fans the best custom apparel experience possible.

“AthleteOriginals and ArtistOriginals have created strong inroads into prestige markets that will be instrumental as we grow our Printfly brand portfolio,” said Michael Nemeroff, Co-founder and CEO of Printfly. “Printfly has a proven ability to work with up and coming brands and leverage their success by using our state-of-the art platform to make the process fast and easy.  We look forward to helping the Originals brands grow.”

AthleteOriginals includes the likes of NFL running back and three-time Super Bowl champion LeGarrette Blount, along with other big names like two-time NBA Finals champion Draymond Green.

“After five years of building out a marketplace that provides Athletes a turn-key commerce solution to sell authentic products featuring their original designs directly to their fans, it was the right time for me to find a strategic partner that could help me scale the AO Commerce Platform beyond a singular vertical,” said Chris Dey, Founder of AOMVP. “What became clear to me was that Printfly at its core was a technology company.  With their leadership position in the on-demand space combined with their technical expertise, Printfly was the right partner to scale the platform capitalizing on the demand for the solution across multiple industries, for example ArtistOriginals.com for visual and performing artists.”

By acquiring these brands, Printfly is using its position as one of the largest players in the custom apparel space to reach into smaller, more segmented audiences. Proprietary technology, production techniques and logistics, combined with strategic partnerships like the Originals brands are in line with the significantly more segmented audiences looking for connections to athletes, entertainers and celebrities they enjoy.

“AO is a pioneer in custom apparel designs and storefronts for the sports and entertainment market. They have deep relationships with athletes and artists from many diverse markets,” said Robert Levin, COO of Printfly. “We are excited about the opportunity to build on the success that AO has had and to be able to work with such a forward-thinking company.  Look for us to expand on what they have built.”

Printfly has been a leader in innovation in the custom printing business, making it easy for anyone to create custom apparel to express their creativity and promote their cause, community or brand. Founded in 2002, Printfly ended 2017 with a team of over 250 full-time employees growing its headcount over 67 percent in just the last 18 months.

About Printfly:
Printfly is the premier platform for custom printed apparel and products. The company’s industry-leading technology, proprietary logistics, state-of-the-art production facility, and employees combine to make a remarkable experience through the RushOrderTees.com and College.Ink brands.
                                   
Contact:
Sara Dodrill
printfly@codewordagency.com
415-977-0636