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Custom Ink
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Online Custom Apparel and Accessories, eCommerce
Available inEnglish
Founded2000; 24 years ago (2000), in McLean, Virginia[1]
HeadquartersFairfax, Virginia
No. of locations42 (February 2022)
Area servedUnited States, Canada, Worldwide
Founder(s)
  • Marc Katz
  • Dave Christensen
  • Mike Driscoll
CEODavid Doctorow
IndustryCustomized Apparel and Accessories
ProductsT-shirts, Apparel, Accessories
ServicesCustom Apparel, Swag, Promotional Products, Fundraising Campaigns, Uniforms and Corporate Gifts
Revenue~US$500 million
Employees800+
URLcustomink.com

Custom Ink is an American online retail company headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, that makes custom clothing and other items such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, and tech accessories.[2][3]

History

[edit]

Custom Ink (first launched as CustomInk) was founded in 2000 by Marc Katz, the company’s CEO and Chairman, and several of his college friends.[4][5][6][7] It began as a t-shirt design company with funding from family and friends, and consisted of a 10-person team.[8] BT Wolfenshohn was the company’s first lead investor.[9] Custom Ink reported $1 million in sales its first year and $3 million in 2002.[10] The company’s first profit was reported in 2003 with gross revenue of $7 million.[11]

In 2005, Inc. Magazine ranked Custom Ink the 55th fastest growing business in the U.S.[12] The company reported $61 million in sales in 2009.[13]

In 2011, Custom Ink opened its first production facility in Charlottesville, Virginia.[14] At the time, the company had expanded to include customized specialty items such as golf balls and umbrellas.[15] It would continue to expand, offering more customized clothing and items including sweats and hats.[16]

In November 2013, Custom Ink received $40 million from Revolution Growth, the investment fund run by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, and Donn Davis.[17] The investment reportedly helped the growth of two new projects: Booster and Pear.[17] Booster[18] (later Custom Ink Fundraising) is a crowd-funding website where organizers design and sell T-shirts to raise money for different social causes.[19]

In 2016, the company had nine locations and around 1,670 employees.[20] The company’s name changed to the current form of Custom Ink in 2017.[21]

By 2020, Custom Ink provided customization services for more than 1,000 types of apparel and accessories.

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the company saw sales drop 80% in only a few days as people stopped planning reunions or in-person gatherings of any kind.[22] The company was forced to furlough around 75% of staff, but continued paying health insurance premiums for all, helped employees apply for unemployment benefits, and offered other support services.[23] Due to the N95 mask shortages, the company switched gears to sell cloth masks, they also sold work-from-home kits to help remote employees remain connected and drive-by graduation gear for schools.[24] Sales from these ideas and a return to normal business as the pandemic began to recede, Custom Ink was able to bring back its employees by August of 2020.[25]

On January 3, 2023, Custom Ink laid off 206 workers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and another 132 in Reno, Nevada. Some workers were able to move to open positions at Custom Ink's Dallas facility; those who didn’t received separation packages that included three months of health benefits, job placement assistance, and between 10-20 weeks of pay dependent on tenure.[26][27]

In December 2023, the company launched a new “end-to-end” swag management platform called Swag Space.[28] Swag Space provides an ecommerce platform, automated design support, order production, order tracking, warehousing and distribution, and Shopify integration.[29] It is designed for distributors and is an effort to “bridge the gap” between the traditional supplier-distributor model and direct-to-consumer platforms.[30] Swag Space was built upon the infrastructure and technology of their acquisition of Swag.com.[31]

For several years Custom Ink held the Be Good to Each Other Campaign, this campaign raised money and awareness for the National Bullying Prevention Center.[32][33] Custom Ink’s work was supported by athletes and celebrities such as Gina Rodriguez and Paul Rabil.[34][35]

In July 2024, the company announced that in August the former Realtor.com CEO David Doctorow would be the company's new CEO, while Katz would continue as Chairman of the Custom Ink Board of Directors.[36][37]

Acquisitions

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On February 4, 2016, Custom Ink acquired the Los Angeles company Represent.com, which helps celebrities sell limited-run T-shirts and merchandise to fans and followers.[38][39][40] Represent was later acquired by Cameo in 2021.[41]

In 2019, Custom Ink purchased Sidestep, a website and mobile app that strictly sells concert merchandise. The acquisition was done through Custom Ink's at-the-time subsidiary Represent.[42]

In November 2021, the company purchased New York City-based Swag.com for an undisclosed amount.[43][44] Swag.com is an online design and ordering company for corporate swag and gifting.[45]

Two months later, in January 2022, the company acquired Printfection, a swag management platform.[3] Printfection's clients include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk.[46]

Locations

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By April 2024, Custom Ink has 42 showroom locations across 15 states and Washington DC.

Awards

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In 2014, Fortune and Great Place to Work ranked Custom Ink as one of their Top 100 places to work.[47]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 17, 2010). "Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Washington Post Media. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  2. ^ Murillo, Ana Lucia (December 10, 2021). "Custom Ink CEO says the company is back in growth mode after pandemic low. But supply challenges remain a sticking point". Washington Business Journal.
  3. ^ a b Ruvo, Christoper (January 7, 2022). "Custom Ink Acquires Printfection". www.asicentral.com. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Custom Ink".
  5. ^ "Ink positive: With national ambitions, Custom Ink continues to grow". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  6. ^ Lucia Murillo, Ana (January 19, 2023). "Merrifield's Custom Ink consolidates production operations, lays off hundreds". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  7. ^ Central, A. S. I. (January 7, 2022). "Custom Ink Acquires Printfection". members.asicentral.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Heath, Thomas. "Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". Washington Post.
  9. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 17, 2010). "Thomas Heath - Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  10. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 17, 2010). "Thomas Heath - Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 17, 2010). "Thomas Heath - Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Ink positive: With national ambitions, Custom Ink continues to grow". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 17, 2010). "Thomas Heath - Harvard graduate left Wall Street to start CustomInk T-shirt design business". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ink positive: With national ambitions, Custom Ink continues to grow". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Adams, Susan. "CustomInk's Marc Katz and Father Steve Katz: Is Entrepreneurship Inherited?". Forbes. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  16. ^ "100 years of T-shirts: Fashion icon celebrates centennial - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. July 16, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Lawler, Ryan (November 12, 2013). "CustomInk Nabs $40 Million In Funding From Revolution Growth, Adds Ted Leonsis To Its Board". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "What happened to Booster?". www.customink.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  19. ^ Castellanos, Sara (April 9, 2014). "Online crowdfunding site Booster lets users raise money for social causes". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  20. ^ "The 15 Best Workplaces in Retail". Fortune. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Ink positive: With national ambitions, Custom Ink continues to grow". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Heath, Thomas (March 4, 2021). "Custom T-shirt maker saves its business with early pivot to masks". Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  23. ^ Heath, Thomas (March 4, 2021). "Custom T-shirt maker saves its business with early pivot to masks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  24. ^ Heath, Thomas (March 4, 2021). "Custom T-shirt maker saves its business with early pivot to masks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  25. ^ Heath, Thomas (March 4, 2021). "Custom T-shirt maker saves its business with early pivot to masks". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  26. ^ Hidalgo, Jason. "Custom Ink closing Reno and Charlottesville production facilities; 338 jobs affected". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  27. ^ Murillo, Ana Lucia (January 24, 2023). "Merrifield's Custom Ink consolidates production operations, lays off hundreds". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  28. ^ Central, A. S. I. (December 12, 2023). "Custom Ink Launches Merch Management Platform for Distributors". members.asicentral.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  29. ^ Central, A. S. I. (December 12, 2023). "Custom Ink Launches Merch Management Platform for Distributors". members.asicentral.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  30. ^ Menapace, Brendan (December 12, 2023). "Custom Ink Launches Swag Space Platform for Distributors". Print & Promo Marketing. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Menapace, Brendan (December 12, 2023). "Custom Ink Launches Swag Space Platform for Distributors". Print & Promo Marketing. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  32. ^ "'Jane the Virgin' star Gina Rodriguez: 'I definitely haven't gone untouched' by bullying". EW.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  33. ^ Ciampaglia, Dante A. (October 22, 2014). "10 Questions with... Paul Rabil". SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  34. ^ "'Jane the Virgin' star Gina Rodriguez: 'I definitely haven't gone untouched' by bullying". EW.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  35. ^ Ciampaglia, Dante A. (October 22, 2014). "10 Questions with... Paul Rabil". SI Kids: Sports News for Kids, Kids Games and More. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  36. ^ Central, A. S. I. (July 19, 2024). "Custom Ink Names New CEO; Marc Katz to Remain Board Chair". members.asicentral.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  37. ^ "Custom Ink Names New CEO". PPAI - Promotional Products Association International. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  38. ^ Heath, Thomas (February 4, 2016). "Washington-area T-shirt seller goes Hollywood". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  39. ^ Niedt, Bob (February 4, 2016). "CustomInk buys L.A.-based T-shirt firm with large roster of celebrity investors, customers". www.bizjournals.com/washington. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  40. ^ Tepper, Fitz (February 5, 2016). "CustomInk Acquires Represent, A Custom Merchandise Marketplace for Influencers". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  41. ^ "Cameo Acquires Represent to Offer Celebrity Merch on Its Platform | Built In Chicago". Built In. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  42. ^ Ruvo, Christopher (September 23, 2019). "Custom Ink Subsidiary Acquires Music Merch Platform". www.asicentral.com. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  43. ^ Verdon, Joan. "Apparel Company Custom Ink Acquires Fast-Growing Digital Disruptor Swag.com". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  44. ^ Schulte, Katherine (November 10, 2021). "Custom Ink acquires corporate swag platform". Virginia Business. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  45. ^ Schulte, Katherine (November 10, 2021). "Custom Ink acquires corporate swag platform". Virginia Business.
  46. ^ Central, A. S. I. (January 7, 2022). "Custom Ink Acquires Printfection". members.asicentral.com. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  47. ^ "Custom Ink". Fortune. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

See also

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