TECHNOLOGY
46
From promoting snappy slogans and allowing people to create to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive , global self-expression company Spreadshirt made its name as a European T-shirt printer , but is now fast becoming a much more diverse , global entity . When we last spoke to CEO Philip Rooke , the company was just starting to expand in the US . Now , it has reached over € 100mn revenue thanks in part to this new market and is looking to optimise efficiency and stick to its customer centric vision in order to help the European business grow in uncertain times where productivity is ever more important .
“ The majority of our business is European ,” says Rooke . “ That ’ s what drove us over € 100mn ( US $ 114mn ) revenue .” Last year , Spreadshirt reached € 106mn ( US $ 121mn ) in revenue , making € 8.6mn ( US $ 9.8mn ) EBITDA . “ This probably makes us the most profitable in our industry , and that ’ s because we ’ re able to concentrate on the right things .”
For Spreadshirt , the US marks a mammoth opportunity , but the region is not without its challenges . “ America is a huge market – the average American buys 9.4 T-shirts per year , while the average German buys 4.5 ,” Rooke explains . “ More importantly , in most European countries we have three
DECEMBER 2018