Online image company Fotolia thrives through Global Recession

NEW YORK, NY, December 22, 2009 – Fotolia is part of a handful of companies that grew during the global recession, and this month, the online image provider celebrates its fifth anniversary. During 2009, the company saw its online library double to over 8,000,000 images and nearly 2 million images were downloaded every month. Since December 2006, membership increased nearly 10-fold, with over 1.5 million people worldwide now signed up to the site.

CEO Oleg Tscheltzoff explains the secret to Fotolia’s success, “Sourcing photos, vectors, and videos that are legal for commercial and promotional use from the most talented artists around the world has enabled Fotolia to provide incredible value. Designers, marketing, and creative professionals traditionally paid upwards of $500 per image in the past. Fotolia offers the same quality and usage rights starting at $1.”

Also contributing to the company’s success is an aggressive geographical expansion plan. Attention has returned to the North American market after success throughout Europe during the company’s initial years. Fotolia hired North American President Patrick Lor and Executive Vice President Garth Johnson, who were instrumental in the development of a major competitor. More recently, Fotolia set up shop in Turkey using its signature localization strategy.

As for where the company is headed, Tscheltzoff says, “as the economy continues to rebound, we will ramp up our global marketing efforts and continue to pursue our geographical expansion plans. Another key area is our video collection - it is the next wave of microstock. There is a real opportunity for contributors to set a precedence in this market and earn a significant income.”

For more information on Fotolia, visit www.fotolia.com

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Over 1.5 million people prefer Fotolia, LLC for affordable, royalty-free photos, vectors, and HD videos. With the introduction of the Infinite Collection, Fotolia became the first worldwide microstock organization to offer both crowd-sourced and professional images on one site. Founded in New York City in 2004, Fotolia spans the globe with websites in 10 languages and offices in 12 countries. With over 8,000,000 images to choose from, find it on Fotolia. www.fotolia.com