图片需求强劲，Shutterstock前景喜人

    Shutterstock打破了定价更高的华盖创意图片社（Getty Images）创造的商业模式；同时，近几年来，市场对数字照片的需求也在猛增，它的发展驶上了快车道，开始赢得市场份额。奥林杰认为，视频也将迎来类似的发展历程，而视频的售价要比静态图片高得多。2006年Shutterstock就开始创建自己的视频图书馆，还在2013年第二财季实现了与去年同期相比的销售翻番。奥林杰说：“我觉得我们还只是刚开始，还有很多很长的路等着我们去探索。”

    奥林杰2003年创建了Shutterstock，因为他深知当时要为营销材料找到高品质的素材图片是多么不易。2000年初，当他要制作一个用于销售的弹出窗口阻止程序和隐私保护软件时，就碰上了这个问题。他基本上没有靠外部投资就创建了Shutterstock，在公司IPO后也保持着控制权。就算近日卖掉了这部分股票，他仍然持有公司1600万股的股份，足以使他成为亿万富翁。分析师表示，Shutterstock要保持竞争力，就必须不断扩大自己的素材视频和图片库。通过创建自己的档案库，Shutterstock已经跑在了Corbis和Fotolia这样的对手前面。时尚和品味不断在变，广告和网上营销所需的照片也必须跟上潮流。而在国际市场上开展业务也要满足较高的要求：比如一家日本公司想要一张商人握手的照片时，他们往往希望照片上是日本人的手。而这对一家比利时公司来说又不一定管用了。

    瑟奎因说：“商家必须满足区域市场的需求。他们扩大自己图片库的速度远比其他人要快。他们正是靠这一点设法取得了对竞争对手的领先。”

    市场对数字图像和视频的需求将持续增长，新兴市场更是如此。而Shutterstock目前正好能很好地利用这种增长的势头。但这个市场发展速度极快。眼下，一家公司正蓄势待发，打算带着新的创意挺进网上素材图片业务，或许马上就会进入市场。Shutterstock是作为一家低成本供应商杀进这个市场的，但它的持续增长可能要看它能在多大程度上抵挡住不可避免的、来自低端市场的挑战。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远  

    Shutterstock gained market share by disrupting the business model of higher-priced Getty Images, and took off as the demand for digital photographs surged over the last few years. Oringer thinks the same will happen with videos, which sell at much higher prices than still photos. Shutterstock started building its video library in 2006 and has seen sales double in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2012.

    "I feel like we're just getting started in a lot of ways," Oringer says. "There's a long runway ahead of us."

    Oringer launched Shutterstock in 2003 because he knew first-hand how difficult it was to find quality stock images for marketing materials. He'd run into the issue as he tried to build a business selling pop-up blockers and privacy protection software in the early 2000s. Oringer built Shutterstock largely without outside funding and maintained control of the company after its IPO. Even after the recent stock sale, Oringer still owns nearly 16 million shares of the company, a stake that has made him a billionaire. To stay competitive, analysts say Shutterstock will need to continue to grow its library of stock video and photos. Shutterstock has risen ahead of rivals such as Corbis and Fotolia by building its archive. Fashion and tastes are constantly evolving, and the photos needed for advertisements and online marketing have to keep up with the trends. Operating in international markets is also demanding: When a Japanese company wants a photo of businessmen shaking hands, they often want to feature Japanese hands. And that photo won't necessarily work for a Belgian company.

    "You have to be regionally relevant," says RBC's Sequin. "They've grown their image base much more quickly than ... others; that's where they've managed to pull ahead of some of their competitors."

    The demand for digital images and video will continue to grow, particularly in emerging markets, and Shutterstock is in a position to capitalize on that growth. But it's a fast-moving marketplace. A new company, with a new idea for online stock images, could very well be on the verge of launching. Or maybe it already has. Shutterstock was born as a low-cost disruptor, but its continued growth may depend on how well it fends off challenges that will inevitably come from the low end of the market.