Turning into the World's Biggest DIY Online Platform

Location

Hamburg

Date

March, 2020

● Acquisition marks the next step towards the world’s biggest digital platform for DIY & crafting

● Makerist’s strong community and digital marketplace complements fabfab’s creative platform

● Transaction in the tens of millions

Two market leaders, one vision: fabfab, Europe’s leading digital creative platform in the online do-it-yourself market, is the new majority owner of Makerist, a destination site for crafting and creative hobbies. The acquisition of the leading online marketplace for digital patterns and Europe’s largest crafting communities is the first step in building the world’s largest digital platform for crafting projects.

“With this move, we are, now more than ever, the driving force and pioneer for the digital awakening of DIY and craft sector”, enthuses fabfab CEO, Dr Andreas Seifert. “With the solid backing of our private equity investors we can further accelerate growth in this market, together with the Makerist team.”

The acquisition of Makerist makes fabfab the largest international online DIY crafting player – with a combined product offering covering the entire range of do-it-yourself needs; from inspiration via user projects to thousands of patterns and tutorials combined with the largest selection of fabrics and materials. Amber Riedl, Co-Founder of Makerist, explains: “Together with fabfab, we can now offer our customers the best user experience through a seamless customer journey from inspiration to finishing their projects.”

Makerist works with over 1,200 independent and creative pattern designers worldwide to provide online sewing, knitting and crochet patterns and how-to tutorials for crafting projects, as well as professional video classes. “fabfab and Makerist have the strongest technology in the DIY market – together we can offer much more value, more features and more tools to our users and marketplace sellers” explains Axel Heinz, Co-Founder of Makerist.

DIY crafting segment: a market with billion-dollar potential

Both fabfab and Makerist are enjoying double digit growth, have recorded over 2 million customers to date and are quickly winning shares in the highly fragmented and traditionally offline arts & crafts market. The DIY market is currently estimated to be worth 100 billion USD, with materials, especially fabrics, noted as the fastest growing segment.

“We have led fabfab through a reinvention of its business model over the last couple of years. The next logical step was to build more added value in terms of content and connect communities to complement fabfab’s strong leadership position in Europe. The deal with Makerist will help deliver this quickly, with immediate and valuable upsides on both sides”, explains Dr Alastair Alderton, CEO of Rianta Capital and chairman of the Advisory Board.

The founders of Makerist, Amber Riedl and Axel Heinz, are staying with the company in their current roles. Together with Makerist, fabfab has grown to around 250 employees in two locations – Berlin and Schenefeld, near Hamburg.

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About fabfab

fabfab is Europe’s leading company in the online do-it-yourself market. In addition to the German speaking creative platform stoffe.de, the company, with headquarters near Hamburg, is also present in the UK, Sweden, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland and Portugal, and exports to 50 countries worldwide. Fabfab’s product offering includes a range of 10,000 (often exclusive) textiles for fashion, children’s items, and decoration, which is complemented by a wide selection of sewing accessories, wool and further DIY supplies. The creative platform also offers inspirational content on various topics and trends, well-founded specialist knowledge and tips from experts, as well as countless free sewing instructions.

At the end of 2015 a majority share in fabfab was acquired by an investment fund coordinated by Rianta Capital. Since then, fabfab has been strategically and holistically repositioned under the leadership of Andreas Seifert and his management team.

About Makerist

makerist.com is the European market leader for e-books and e-learning products in the DIY crafting segment. The online crafting marketplace offers how-to instructions, digital patterns, and detailed learning videos on sewing, knitting, crocheting, plotting and other creative areas, as well as DIY materials. Makerist has local platforms for users in Germany, France and the UK, and is home to Europe’s largest online crafting communities. Via the online commission-based marketplace, 1,200 independent pattern designers sell through Makerist.

Makerist is led by Axel Heinz, previously Director of International Business and Expansion at DaWanda,and Amber Riedl, previously founder of the startup 1001hochzeiten.

Makerist investors Ringier Digital Ventures AG, HTGF, MCB Salt, CEWE, G+J Digital Ventures, and others will continue to support the new business group in future.

Press contact

fabfab GmbH

Annika Nagel

Tel.: 040-609 459 162

E-Mail: annika.nagel@fabfab.com