Leica’s Largest Stakeholder Buys Stake in Photo Contest Website
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, the majority shareholder and chairman of Leica, has apparently purchased a 25.1% stake in photo sharing and contest website I-SHOT-IT, reports Leica Rumors.
“Many amateur photographers, and professionals, too, think our platform is great, because this is where their work finds the recognition they would otherwise often never find,” said Hartmut Hennige, founder of I-SHOT-IT.
“There has been a tremendous upswing of interest in photography over the past few years. The wish to be able to present your own photos to a virtually unlimited number of people in competitions is widespread,” Andreas Kaufmann said on the matter. “The growing numbers of fans and users shows just how enormous the demand is amongst photographers around the world. We intend to satisfy this demand.”
With over 1.8 million page views and 130,000 visits, I-SHOT-IT has become increasingly popular, especially in the United States – from which a majority of its visitors reside. Over 5 million images have been uploaded to date, according to Hennige.