I am posting this blog in response to the release of the 2009 Printweek Top 500 report released this week.
Having been in the print industry for 23 years I have clearly seen many changes. However, the transformation that the industry is going through at the moment is unprecedented. Clearly the accounting period covered by the report is a little out of date but what it does do is highlight the fact that change has been well under way for some time and at this moment we are in a period of accelerated change. The rankings show that you you only needed sales of £452,000 to be included in the UK’s top 500 print businesses in 2009, in comparison to £859,000 in 2008 and £1.9m in 2007 – the point of entry into the list of the UK’s largest printing businesses virtually halving each year over the three year period, even taking into account merger and acquisition activity, is a shocking statistic.
Amazingly, in the word of Printweek columnist Darryl Danielli, it appears that there is hope “On the bright side, it appears that the smaller companies have had a positive impact on the average profit margin of the Top 500, with companies with sales of less than £2.5m typically notching up a 4% pre-tax profit margin – by far the highest of any of the turnover categories – proving that it really can pay to be small”.
Yes, proof that is does pay to be small – being able to be flexible, adaptable and to offer a personal service is clearly a good thing but do pre tax profits of 4% offer hope when credit has been crunched, paper costs are spiraling skywards and debtors are falling over more often than Emile Heskey on a good day?
Clearly the business of print production is unsustainable at this time and it will require print business owners to be more adaptable and open to change than ever before. Certainly the industry has been well known for the poor quality of its representatives and the need for training has never been highlighted more, but being able to add value to a print businesses proposition is key – closer ties and reduced levels of risk are the way forward for all.
