Shutterfly Acquires BorrowLenses, Now Rents Photo And Video Equipment
Online photo service Shutterfly has announced the acquisition of BorrowLenses. The purchase brings photos and video equipment rental services into the mix for Shutterfly.
Terms of the deal have not been revealed at this time.
BorrowLenses is a popular destination for photographer and videographers who need short-term use of camera lenses, video cameras, and various other pieces of multimedia equipment. Users simply order what they need online and then pick up the equipment at a BorrowLenses retailer or wait for a FedEx shipment.
While renting equipment for a longer period of time won’t save you money, a short-term rental is often a great addition to a users arsenal of devices and for testing purposes before a big purchase.
In a statement released on the BorrowLenses website, CEO Jeffrey Housenbold says the acquisition gives Shutterfly a “presence in the rapidly expanding sharing economy. We now have a greater ability to diversify our revenue streams, reduce fourth quarter seasonality and improve upsell and cross-sell opportunities among our family of brands.”
Currently BorrowLenses operates in nine states: California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington. It also operates in Washington, DC.
On the BorrowLenses website, the company says orders will continue to be delivered and that the company will continue to operate at full capacity.
Shutterfly has already captured the attention of millions of users and the BorrowLenses acquisition should allow it to push more products to its user base. Now, users can pick out a camera they want to try out and then have Shutterfly process their photos and place them in photo albums, on coffee mugs, and across various other options.
After news of the acquisition, Shutterfly stock finished up 0.18 percent to close at $54.83.
At this time, we don’t know what type of expansion plans Shutterfly has for BorrowLenses. The company does have partnerships with many national retailers, which could help it expand the BorrowLenses brand.
