Scrapbook.com Acquires Rival Site

Now that it was acquired the Web-retail and catalog assets of Keeping Memories Alive (KMA), scrapbook accessories site Scrapbook.com finally has its hands on the Scrapbooks.com domain name and Website.

“The domain name, Scrapbooks.com, was very attractive to us,” says Drex Davis, president of Scrapbook.com. “There is some market confusion between Scrapbook.com and Scrapbooks.com. By acquiring this domain name, the market confusion that does exist becomes irrelevant.”

But the deal, announced May 31, wasn’t only about acquiring the similar domain, Davis says. “We had known the previous owners of KMA for some time and have long admired them,” he says. “They are a pioneer in the scrapbooking industry and have a very good name and history among scrapbooking consumers. We felt like we could bring additional offerings to their customer base.”

Mesa, AZ-based Scrapbook.com, which launched in 2000 and operates Scrapjazz.com, ComputerScrapbook.com, ScrapTutor.com, and ScrapbookAdvertising.com, is an Internet pure-play; KMA includes manufacturing, distribution, and a brick-and-mortar store, in addition to its online component. “We felt that we could bring our unique online expertise particularly to that business and grow that segment,” Davis says.

Founded in 1981, Spanish Fork, UT-based KMA has provided products wholesale to more than 1,900 retail stores in the U.S. and internationally. The deal was made possible because the owners of KMA–A.J. and Marielen Christenson–plan to retire, but KMA co-owner Liz Rosenbaum will continue with Scrapbooks.com as part of its creative team.

Davis says he plans to operate the KMA Scrapbooks.com Website as a separate Web destination. During the next few months, technology and resources from Scrapbook.com will migrate to the KMA Website.

“Scrapbooks.com has a very loyal customer base,” Davis says. “Rather than try and migrate them to a new site, we’ll bring all of the flagship-site offerings to them. We foresee them embracing these additional offerings–both product- and service-related.”

Scrapbooking, the art of preserving photos, articles, and other memorabilia in special books, has gone from a quaint hobby to a nearly $7 billion industry, according to a 2006 study by the Crafts and Hobby Association (CHA). That’s up from $2.9 billion market in 2002.