Printful Invests $1 Million to Create 150 New Jobs in Latvia

For many Baltic start-ups expanding their business to the US is a very common move. But the hero of this story is different. With over 300 employees across the globe, Printful is not a tech startup per se, but it solves a pretty significant problem – connects print with e-commerce. And now, it is also coming to Europe.

Europe is readying for an e-commerce boom, and Printful is on the ground floor,” says the company’s CEO Davis Siksnans. “The ultimate goal is to make it easier for our customers to grow their businesses in the European market.”

Printful prints t-shirts and other merch products for online e-commerce stores and provides drop shipping service for them. Its API automates orders and can be integrated with major e-commerce platforms including Shopify and BigCommerce.

Headquartered in California, Printful announced that will open its fulfilment centre to serve European customers in Latvia. The new 1,500 sq meters facility lies in a historic manufacturing neighbourhood in Riga. Latvia is a natural choice for the drop shipping company – it is the native country of Printful founders and part of the team is already located there. Plus, Latvia’s central location allows for quick shipping to destinations across Europe and its affordable labour market makes it financially easier to establish a business.

Last year the company invested $1.5 million to build a new plant in Charlotte, North Carolina to cope with growing demand, the print-on-demand drop-shipping service. The new fulfilment centre cost Printful over $1 million, but the investment will pay off as the company plans to hire 150 local employees over the course of two years. To date, Europe estimates 30% of the company’s order volume, and with the new fulfilment centre, this number is expected to grow.