Louisville-based CafePress being bought by San Francisco company

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville-based e-commerce company will soon have new ownership.

According to a news release, Snapfish, a San Francisco-based supplier of personalized photos, has announced plans to acquire CafePress.

Headquartered in Louisville, CafePress offers a number of products that can be customized, including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pajamas.

According to the news release from Snapfish, the boards of directors of both companies have approved the initial plan for the merger. As a next step, a subsidiary of Snapfish is expected to make an offer to purchase all the outstanding shares of CafePress common stock.

Phil Milliner, a spokesman for CafePress, said the company's Middletown, Kentucky, headquarters, and printing plant on Riverport Drive, in Louisville, will remain. He added that there are no plans for any layoffs as a result of the merger.

He said CafePress has a workforce of roughly 200 employees.

In a statement, Jasbir Patel, CEO of Snapfish, offered his support for the proposed merger.

"We are looking forward to welcoming CafePress and its employees into the Snapfish organization and working with them during the next phases of each company's evolution," Patel said. "Since its beginning in 1999, CafePress has been a leader in print-on-demand, personalized and custom merchandise because of its design community and best-in-class manufacturing capabilities. We look forward to leveraging CafePress' highly efficient and innovative manufacturing process to further enhance our manufacturing capabilities. We are excited to combine our efforts to provide our customers more options and more value."

"Today marks a critical turning point in our pursuit to return CafePress to its market leading position in the personalized and expressive gift category," said Fred Durham, founder and CEO of CafePress, Inc., in a statement.

CafePress has been struggling with falling sales and layoffs in recent years. The company posted a $10.2 million loss in 2017, after losing $26 million in 2016. In March, the company laid off 17 employees and parted ways with its chief operating officer.

At the time, the company blamed search engine algorithm changes that had reduced its web traffic and said it was working on a redesigned site that would be more visible.

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