Fespa Survey: wide format used for upturn

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Fespa’s second Economy Survey shows that printers using wide format are moving on from the defensive survival tactics of 2009, using innovative and proactive sales and operational strategies to improve their business fortunes in 2010. 70.2 per cent of respondents had used new products or processes in their operations to help them through the economic downturn, with 61.5 per cent adding products to their portfolio, and 60.6 per cent entering new markets. 

The second Economy Survey was conducted by Fespa in the fourth quarter of 2009, in partnership with global research experts InfoTrends.  It shows that the wide format outlook entering 2010 is broadly optimistic. The competitive landscape is in a state of flux, with 65.6 per cent of those surveyed reporting that competitors had consolidated or gone out of business, 43.1 per cent indicating that competitors are moving into other markets or offering new services, 33 per cent experiencing new competition from other segments of the printing industry, and 22 per cent seeing customers take some wide format work in house.  Price pressure is also unrelenting, with 60.6 per cent being price compared more frequently by new and existing customers. This may be reflected in the fact that 33 per cent have themselves been aggressive with financing and payment terms, and 23 per cent have more aggressively used rebates and price promotions.  Strain on the supply chain is not restricted to price, with three quarters of respondents citing intensified pressure on production speeds or turnaround times.

Fespa’s Marcus Timson comments: “The Fespa Economy Survey, first undertaken in Spring 2009, sets out to measure the impact of the economic downturn on the wide format community, and to understand how PSPs are responding to the challenging trading conditions. These latest findings stress the need for printers to offer services that stand apart from commoditized print offerings.  As our Fespa 2010 ‘Catch the Wave of Innovation’ campaign highlights, in tough economic times innovation can be a key competitive advantage and survival skill. Cutting prices to match the shop across town is not the answer. Printers will thrive when they offer services and solutions that help customers execute their marketing and retail campaigns more effectively.”

Along with service and market expansion and new sales strategies, the survey points to a gradual refocus on developing and retaining ‘human capital’.  22.9 per cent of respondents have expanded their sales force, and talent retention would seem to be a priority in anticipation of an eventual upturn, with respondents preferring to cut staff hours or reduce pay rather than resorting to losing valued individuals.

While survival mode has diluted the industry’s environmental focus, with 59.6 per cent stating that environmentally sustainable production was less important as a result of the economic downturn, a remarkable 40.4 per cent of respondents reported that the economic backdrop has not made ‘planet-friendly’ printing any less important.  A fifth of respondents use sustainability as a point of competitive differentiation, suggesting that there are opportunities to innovate in this area, which more PSPs may seize as the economic outlook continues to improve.

The Fespa Economy Survey is based on responses to an electronic survey devised by InfoTrends and comprising a series of questions designed to measure the wide format community’s response to the economic downturn.  Respondents include stakeholders from the entire supply chain, including manufacturers, dealers of equipment and supplies, and wide format print service providers. For more information visit www.fespa2010.com

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