Star Tribune Article Features Snap Social Media

CEO George Lee, owner of Snap Social Media and Probus OneTouch, was interviewed by the Business editor at Star Tribune for a feature on Pad & Quill, a startup e-commerce business and client of Snap Social. Sales for Pad & Quill’s iPad book covers have exploded in 2011 and are projected to reach close to the $1 million mark by the end of the year.

Everybody has a different reason for buying a protective cover—security, protection, it looks like a book, it feels like a book. But guess what—everybody wants a cover of some kind.

George Lee is partnering with Pad & Quill owner Brian Holmes on a strategy for further growth and expansion. Snap Social Media, one of Lee’s businesses, currently provides Web design and social media marketing strategy for the Minneapolis-based client, but Lee and Holmes are looking into other opportunities for partnership as well.

One of the biggest opportunities for growth in iPad cover sales is in the business and education sectors, according to Lee. Lee and Holmes have discussed the possibility of offering a wider selection of covers and price points, including budget cases imported from China, premium leather covers from Mexico, and the current Twin Cities-handcrafted covers that Pad & Quill currently sells.

As Lee or Snap Social said to the Star Tribune, “Everybody has a different reason for buying a protective cover—security, protection, it looks like a book, it feels like a book. But guess what—everybody wants a cover of some kind.”

The popularity of iPad covers, tablet computer covers, and e-reader covers is a trend that is expected to continue for the next few years. According to recent studies, sales for tablet computers will grow from 25-30 million units per year to 120 million per year in just three to five years. Lee and Holmes plan to take advantage of this projected growth in their business partnership.