Casetify Explained
Casetify |
Former Name: | Casetagram |
Type: | Private |
Products: | Phone accessories |
Founded: | in Hong Kong |
Area Served: | Worldwide |
Revenue: | ~US$300 million (2022) |
Num Employees: | 1,000[1] |
Casetagram Limited,[2] trading as Casetify, is a Hong Kong company that produces phone cases and electronic accessories.[3] Founded on 1 November 2011 by Wesley Ng and Ronald Yeung, the company first featured custom phone cases by using Instagram photos. It later expanded to selling accessories with different designs.[4] It has sold more than 25 million phone cases.[5] [6] [7] [8]
The company is headquartered in Hong Kong and has offices in Los Angeles.[9] [10]
History
Formerly Casetagram, Casetify's initial products were customized cell phone cases created using the purchaser's Instagram photos. Users could upload images from Instagram to an interface that allowed them create a custom collage or single-image case.[11] Users can now create custom cases using photos from Instagram and Facebook, or by directly uploading photographs and adding custom text. Casetify also produces additional products such as tech accessories.
The company has brick and mortar locations in the United States,[12] [13] Hong Kong, including a flagship store in the city's Landmark Mall complex, Japan, South Korea[14] and a pop-up store in Bangkok, Thailand.[15] [16]
Partnerships and collaborations
To create cases, Casetify works with galleries, museums and artists. The Louvre collection features art by Leonardo da Vinci, Eugène Delacroix and ancient works such as the Venus de Milo.[17] The Metropolitan Museum of Art partnered with Casetify to produce licensed products featuring the art of Vincent van Gogh, Degas and Monet. Casetify has also partnered with individual artists such as David Shrigley and Yayoi Kusama to produce collections featuring their work.[18] [19]
Casetify has also collaborated with more than 100 companies,[20] including brands such as DHL,[21] Blanc & Eclare,[22] Pokémon,[23] Pixar,[24] Lucasfilm,[25] Vetements,[26] and K-pop groups BTS and Blackpink for product collections. Food companies such as Coca-Cola, Oreo and Vegemite have also collaborated along with sporting companies such as the NBA, MLB and the AFL. Collections commonly feature phone cases, however other items such as watch straps and earbud cases are included in certain collaborations.[27]
Plagiarism allegations and lawsuit
On November 23, 2023, YouTuber Zack Nelson, known online as JerryRigEverything, uploaded a video where he announced[28] [29] that he and case manufacturer dbrand had filed a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against Casetify for plagiarizing product designs relating to their "Teardown" line of items. The video claimed that Casetify had either copied or modified multiple exclusive designs by dbrand and JerryRigEverything. Nelson shared numerous Easter eggs that were included within the dbrand designs that were present in Casetify products, as well as demonstrating that the designs from Casetify were direct replicas of dbrand, with only some slight changes made. Less than an hour following the release of the YouTube video, the Casetify website experienced downtime,[30] and upon restoration, the products featured in the video were no longer available.[31] Casetify later released a statement that they are investigating on the allegations and mentioned that the cause of the downtime was a DDOS attack.[32] [33]
On the following day, Casetify was accused of stealing x-ray images of the iPhone X from iFixit's design and using it on their "X-Ray Case" line of items.[34] [35]
Notes and References
- Web site: Wesley Ng. Tatler. Asia. Tatler Asia. January 6, 2023. December 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221204124101/https://www.tatlerasia.com/people/wesley-ng. live.
- Web site: 2011-11-01 . Casetagram Limited :: Hong Kong :: OpenCorporates . 2024-05-08 . OpenCorporates.
- Web site: Luk . Lorraine . 2015-03-13 . Casetify: Design Your Own Band For Your Apple Watch . 2019-05-23 . WSJ. subscription.
- Web site: Lessons from Casetify on physical products and Hong Kong startups . 2019-05-23 . Tech in Asia . November 25, 2023 . https://archive.today/20231125140244/https://www.techinasia.com/talk/lessons-casetify-physical-product-hong-kong-startups . live .
- Web site: 2017-11-20 . How Casetify founder Wesley Ng taps millennial trends . 2019-05-23 . South China Morning Post . May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190523175607/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/2120675/how-casetify-founder-wesley-ng-taps-millennial-trends . live .
- Web site: Crawford . Fletcher . 2022-06-08 . 7 Reasons Why Casetify Is So Expensive (Full Guide) . 2022-10-20 . VeryInformed . en-US . January 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230127015332/https://veryinformed.com/why-is-casetify-so-expensive/ . live .
- Web site: Staff . Wonderland . 2020-06-10 . How Wes Ng Turned CASETiFY Into The Buzziest Tech Accessories Brand . 2023-01-06 . Wonderland . en-GB . January 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230106182422/https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2020/06/10/casetify-wes-ng-buzziest-tech-phone-accessories/ . live .
- Web site: 17 May 2019 . THE BRAND MAKING YOUR PHONE CASE STAND OUT . 6 January 2023 . DHL . January 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230106182434/https://www.dhl.com/discover/en-id/about-dhl/success-stories/the-brand-making-your-phone-case-stand-out . live .
- Web site: Tallon . Monique . 2016-04-19 . Grid110 - How a Group of Diverse Entrepreneurs are Shaping the Tech Ecosystem in Downtown LA . 2019-05-23 . HuffPost . April 3, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190403223912/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/grid110-how-a-group-of-di_b_9704202 . live .
- Web site: Leung . Alex . 2015-12-05 . An Interview with Wes Ng, CEO and co-founder of Casetify . 2019-05-23 . ALEXANDER LEUNG . May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190523191121/https://leungalexander.com/an-interview-with-wes-ng-founder-of-casetify/ . live .
- Web site: Ranj . Brandt . This startup lets you use your own photos to create a custom iPhone case for a little as $29 . 2022-10-19 . Business Insider . en-US . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202320/https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/casetify-create-a-case-custom-iphone-tool-2018-10 . live .
- Web site: 2022-11-14 . Casetify plots expansion plan, opening first US permanent store . 2022-12-06 . Inside Retail . en-US. subscription.
- Web site: 2022-11-18 . Tech accessory brand Casetify opens doors on first retail location in the U.S. . 2022-12-06 . The Mercury News . en-US . December 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208105834/https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/18/tech-accessory-brand-casetify-opens-doors-on-first-retail-location-in-the-u-s/ . live .
- Web site: 2022-01-14 . Casetify launches its first South Korean store . 2022-11-14 . Inside Retail . en-US. subscription.
- Web site: Lung . Tiffany . How Casetify Is Reinventing The Retail Experience Ahead Of The New iPhone 12 Launch . 2022-10-19 . Forbes . en . November 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101143022/https://www.forbes.com/sites/tiffanylung/2020/10/13/how-casetify-is-reinventing-the-retail-experience-ahead-of-the-new-iphone-launch/ . live .
- Web site: 2022-09-27 . CASETiFY launches a pop-up in Thailand and our phones are ready for a makeover . 2022-10-19 . Lifestyle Asia Bangkok . en-US . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202325/https://www.lifestyleasia.com/bk/gear/tech/casetify-pop-up-thailand-centralworld/ . live .
- Web site: Marzovilla . Julia . 2021-02-23 . The Louvre x Casetify Collection Is The Epitome Of Museumcore . 2022-12-08 . StyleCaster . en-US . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202331/https://stylecaster.com/louvre-casetify-phone-case-collection/ . live .
- Web site: CASETiFY Tap British Artist David Shrigley For Tongue-In-Cheek Techwear Collab . 2022-12-08 . Complex . en . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202332/https://www.complex.com/style/casetify-david-shrigley . live .
- Web site: 2022-11-09 . CASETiFY x M+ Yayoi Kusama Special Capsule Collection . 2022-12-08 . StreetArtNews . en-US . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202324/https://streetartnews.net/2022/11/casetify-x-m-yayoi-kusama-special-capsule-collection.html . live .
- Web site: Giles . Oliver . "The World Rewards Creativity"—Casetify Co-founder Wesley Ng on How He Built One of the World's Biggest Tech Accessories Brands . 2022-11-14 . Tatler Asia . en . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202338/https://www.tatlerasia.com/style/fashion/wesley-ng-casetify-asias-most-stylish-2021 . live .
- Web site: CASETiFY's new collab with DHL for Limited Edition iPhone Cases and Apple Watch Bands . 2019-05-23 .
- legend
. May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190523175608/https://hashtaglegend.com/style/casetifys-new-collab-dhl-limited-edition-iphone-cases-and-apple-watch-bands . live .
- Web site: Casetify's Taps K-Pop Star Jessica Jung for Its Latest Collaboration . 2018-12-22 . HYPEBAE . March 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230321043641/https://hypebae.com/2018/12/casetify-k-pop-star-jessica-jung-collaboration-phone-case . live .
- Web site: Alexander . Julia . 2019-05-02 . Casetify reveals adorable pokémon phone cases in time for Detective Pikachu . 2019-05-23 . The Verge . May 5, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190505055213/https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/2/18527134/casetify-pokemon-phone-cases-iphone-android-detective-pikachu . live .
- Web site: Casetify 'Toy Story' iPhone 13 case review: Your favorite Pixar characters complement your phone . 2022-10-19 . AppleInsider . en . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202320/https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/08/16/casetify-toy-story-iphone-13-case-review-your-favorite-pixar-characters-complement-your-phone . live .
- Web site: Casetify Star Wars collection: Transport the original trilogy with your mobile gear . 2022-10-19 . ZDNET . en . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202341/https://www.zdnet.com/article/casetify-star-wars-collection-transport-the-original-trilogy-with-your-mobile-gear/ . live .
- Web site: Vetements & CASETiFY Release Sticker-Covered iPhone Cases . 2019-05-23 . HYPEBEAST . May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190523175607/https://hypebeast.com/2019/1/vetements-casetify-sticker-apple-iphone-case . live .
- Web site: Tingley . Anna . 2022-07-25 . BTS and Casetify Drop 'Permission to Dance' Collection . 2022-10-19 . Variety . en-US . December 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221213202333/https://variety.com/shop/bts-casetify-permission-to-dance-collection-1235325046/ . live .
- JerryRigEverything . November 23, 2023 . I'VE BEEN ROBBED .
- News: Dbrand is suing Casetify for ripping off its Teardown designs. Emma. Roth. November 23, 2023. The Verge . 24 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231124053046/https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/23/23958788/dbrand-casetify-lawsuit-teardown-skins-copyright . live.
- Zack . Nelson . 2023-11-23 . Have you ever been so embarrassed that you left the planet? . 1727724500643729796 . ZacksJerryRig . live . 24 November 2023 . https://archive.today/20231124052741/https://twitter.com/ZacksJerryRig/status/1727724500643729796 . 2023-11-23 . X (formerly Twitter) . en.
- Web site: Inside Out . 2023-11-23 . CASETiFY . https://web.archive.org/web/20231123150354/https://www.casetify.com/collection/inside-out-collection? . 23 November 2023 . live.
- Casetify . 1728004068507787294 . Castify Official Statement.
- Web site: Schoon . Ben . 2023-11-24 . Casetify is 'investigating' the 'allegation' of its pretty obvious theft of Dbrand's designs . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231124142615/https://9to5google.com/2023/11/24/casetify-dbrand-statement/ . 2023-11-24 . 2023-11-25 . . en-US.
- Web site: Flores . Inno . 24 November 2023 . iFixit Joins Dbrand in Accusations of iPhone X-Ray Theft Against Casetify . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231125024712/https://www.techtimes.com/articles/299090/20231124/ifixit-joins-dbrand-accusations-iphone-xray-theft-against-casetify.htm . 25 November 2023 . 25 November 2023 . Tech Times.
- Web site: Shakir . Umar . 2023-11-24 . The case of the stolen X-Ray cases is bigger and dumber than we thought. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231125024851/https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/24/23975005/the-case-of-the-stolen-x-ray-cases-is-bigger-and-dumber-than-we-thought . 2023-11-25 . 2023-11-25 . The Verge . en.