Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, has a acquired South African-born e-commerce enabler, WooCommerce.<\/p>\n
WooCommerce is the headline open-source product of WooThemes, which enables e-commerce activity on the WordPress platform via plugin.<\/p>\n
WooThemes was co-founded in 2007 by three WordPress enthusiasts: South Africans Adii Pienaar and Mark Forrester, and Norewegian, Magnus Jepson.<\/p>\n
Pienaar left the company in late 2013.<\/p>\n
The business was initially just a WordPress theme builder with custom plugins, tools and support, but quickly grew to become one of the most prolific theme providers in the world.<\/p>\n
As rationale for the acquisition, Automattic CEO and WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg said that it was the group’s e-commerce system that sealed the deal.<\/p>\n
“At a WordCamp a few years ago, someone stood up and asked me when we were going to make it as easy to create an online store as we\u2019d made it to create a blog,” Mullenweg said.<\/p>\n
“Everyone applauded; there\u2019s long been demand for better e-commerce functionality, but it\u2019s been outside the scope of what Automattic could do well.”<\/p>\n
Data from Automattic shows that the WooCommerce plugin has over 7.5 million downloads and a over a million active installs.<\/p>\n
“Even a conservative estimate that WooCommerce powers 650,000 storefronts means they\u2019re enabling a huge number of independent sellers,” the group said.<\/p>\n
“WordPress currently powers about 23% of the web. As we work our way toward 51%, WooCommerce joining Automattic is a big step opening WordPress up to an entirely new audience.”<\/p>\n
According to WooThemes co-founder, Mark Forrester, approximately 25% of all e-commerce sites use WooCommerce as a platform.<\/p>\n
WooThemes currently has around 55 employees who “won’t be going anywhere”, according to the group, as they continue to work in 16 countries across the globe.<\/p>\n
Added to Automattic\u2019s 325 people in 37 countries, that\u2019s a combined 380-person company across 42 countries.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the acquisition, WooTheme’s founder Magnus Jepson said that many parties had displayed interest in the company, but Automattic and WordPress were a natural fit.<\/p>\n
“(Automattic) CEO Matt Mullenweg had built his company in the same distributed manner as WooThemes with a team of over 300. This was our dream partner,” he said.<\/p>\n
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