India’s creator economy is the entry point for Articore’s acquisition of Frankly Wearing, adding a local print-on-demand creator marketplace and engineering presence to its Redbubble and TeePublic business, with Bencis Capital Partners backing the buyer.

The transaction gives Articore access to an Indian print-on-demand market valued at more than $1 billion.

Frankly Wearing operates in print-on-demand e-commerce, where creators sell merchandise without upfront manufacturing or fulfilment costs.

The India-based company has produced high double-digit growth and is cash flow positive, and its team gives Articore a base for engineering talent in the country.

Articore owns and operates Redbubble and TeePublic, online marketplaces where independent artists sell designs across apparel, stationery, housewares, bags, wall art and other product categories.

More than 10,000 new designs are uploaded daily to Redbubble and TeePublic by artists from more than 100 countries.

Across the two marketplaces, more than 250 million products have shipped and $3.2 billion in cumulative revenue has been generated.

Redbubble and TeePublic together host more than three million creators and 75 million unique designs.

Articore said Frankly Wearing is the first step toward building a Global Capability Centre in India focused on technology development and longer-term operating cost reduction.

The company, founded as Redbubble in 2006, is ASX-listed and also operates Dashery, an emerging storefront platform.